How to write a book

this is also a great idea...my mother who is over 70 just wrote a book over the last 30 years, and is having it published this summer. However, it is not what you know, it's who you know. You definately need a publisher, and editor. I think she had a friend of a friend who hooked her up with the publishing company, and did not have to give alot of money up front- she submitted it for review. I think you could do the same thing. If the book is good enough, you won't have any trouble.

As a writer for 57 years and published first in my 20's "START" is a keyword. HAVE YOU? The LAST thing to consider is publishing, and with no offense meant at all, Have you begun? Have you considered keeping journals which are a great source of factual, time related events? A subject like this need not be embellished or "Made Up." PROOF reading? Hmm. Do you have,,,and again, NO OFFENSE, the skills needed to write what might be a book 200 plus pages long? Certainly beyond Microsoft and simple spell check, you can invest in a program that will do much of the technical work for you. Obviously one of the reasons you want to do this is NOT strictly related to PROFIT. When you have a manuscript in hand you might connect and network with other writers of similar works, agencies that service and deal with issues related, church publishing houses, etc. etc. etc. Consider this too. Your topic is totally valid, and can never be expressed enough, but your target market/ audience, may in fact be very narrow. That narrow focus might even relate to those who KNOW what abuse is in that they have endured it? AND fear "coming out"... OR Those who know they have been abusers and deny it? OR even more sadly, those who have known that abuse was taking place, but turned away from it, as if it would stop, if they didn't regard it? "Controversial" might even define whatever you put out there as a manuscript, and you might have to begin the SELLING process very narrowly in WHO might be willing to explore publishing. Other options include E mags/books, and there are hundreds of sites for publishing that way. There are also VANITY press houses, that for a FEE will print a certain number of copies that you will then have to distribute. One final note. One other way you can NETWORK is to get involved in Advocating for those effected, in a general sense. Speak publically, not only with knowledge, but promotion for what you want to accomplish. Steven Wolf

I have been publishing my books for free at lulu.com, no set up fees, no buying required, and they can help on how to publish. I am a Christian, a child of God, baptized into Christ on October 1, 1989 and I belong to the Church of Christ founded and headed by Christ as shown in Acts Chapter 2. I am given the gift of knowledge and understanding Bible Greek and I translate the Word of God from Greek to English PLAINLY - Greek word into its English equivalent with additional words for grammar purposes written in italics so that readers may delete them as the wish. I have already published THE WILL New Testament (Greek to English), GENESIS & EXODUS (Greek to English), ELEMENTS of SALVATION, The Right Way, GOD, ORIGIN, TRANSFER into PERFECTION, GREEK-ENGLISH (Grammar & Vocabulary), WORDS in THE WILL New Testament, and others shown at http://www.lulu.com/arseniajoaquin Do visit lulu. I have no money also to publish especially my translations but I perchance found lulu and I was given a chance to publish the books without spending even a single cent for publication.

First you take a pen and a piece of paper (or open a document on Word) and start writing your thoughts and feelings. No, I am not being facetious. You are going to be dealing with some real emotions -- guilt, anger, maybe even despair. Make sure that you can deal with the memories and feelings you will be dredging up, then decide what you want the book to focus on. Obviously it will be about your sister and child abuse as you said, but what aspect -- why/how it happened? why no on did anything? what should have been done and how to prevent it from happening to other? Then write your outline -- the points you want to get across and the order you want to present them in. Once you have a few chapters written you might want to start shopping your book around, look for an agent, or research publishing it yourself. There is a site online an author friend of my brother's referred me to, although I haven't checked it out in detail you may want to look at it -- www.authorsden.com You might also consider taking a creative writing class at your local college or check the continuing education classes for a workshop on getting published. Writing a book is hard work but it is truly a labor of love. Good luck and keep us updated on your progress.

You don't need to pay anyone to publish for you, and if you look hard enough, there are TONS of places you can workshop your writing with other writers both online and in the physical world. I actually run a website for writers, poets, artists and photographers to workshop and strengthen their work for showcasing and potential publication. If you're interested in joining us, send me a note and I'll send you the link. As for where to start, just start writing down the story. You don't have to start at the beginning right now, just start where you feel most comfortable starting and worry about piecing it together structurally later. When you're done writing and workshopping and editing, you look for a publisher or an agent. An agent will help you sell your book and they don't make any money until you do.

since you have taken creative writing courses, i assume you already learned the basics and you could self-edit your works without the help of editors. well, of course, having an editor will definitely be a greater help because he is an additional mind to workshop your piece. however, there is a book i've read that teaches how to edit your work by yourself. it is an old old book from the library, sorry, i forgot the title. maybe you could read books to help you improve your craft even without paying additional services for you. you can also start sending your manuscript to publishing houses that cater to the genre of your story. sending your manuscript might cost quite much. if your manuscript gets accepted, you won't have to worry about the reproduction and promotion of your book. they would take care of it. and the good thing is, you'll get the royalties. maybe you could look first for possible markets where you can send your works. if you're from the US, there is an annual writers' market manual that is published every year. you could get it and find publishers there for your work. it is like a directory or something with submission guidelines. i know someone who first started his career by writing online. and he earns quite well. so maybe you could try first, online publishing before print. :-) hope i helped even a little :-)

Hi Inspired, just wanted to check back and see how you are doing on your book.