What kind of book? Non-fiction, fiction, general topic, etc.? That might make a difference. I wrote a science fiction about 20 years ago and am finishing a project management book now, should be working on it instead of spending time on FR. Those two have very different needs.
get some kind of dictation program...
it’ll save time in the long run
Use AI.
I’ve never published one, but I have been working on one for years, and I anticipate that it will be published by the end of the year. I’m not the expert that you need, but I will mention a very few things that I have come across.
1. Proofing and editing can take a lot longer than you might anticipate. Be sure to get friends or relatives to look it over. Other eyes can sometimes see things that yours will not.
2. Copyright infringement is a big thing. However, if you use photos, many of those with Creative Commons licenses can be used for free.
3. One of the biggest no-no’s on copyright infringement: Never use the lyrics to a song. Just don’t. Could cost you thousands of dollars. Song titles are fair game. Song lyrics are not—even if only a single line.
Best wishes to you.
I believe there are FReepers who had wrote and published books.
Hope they see your post and can help.
Good luck! 👍
Hope that helps!
Give us your elevator pitch.
Good luck with your project. I’ve loved writing and have been lucky to have found friends to proof and edit. And I’ve done the same for them. You can read the same page 10 times and someone else will STILL find your mistakes. You mentally fill in the corrections and don’t even recognize that you did it. A friend will not be as tolerant.
Long ago I wrote for an agent and that means following a specific format that is easy to find.
If you’re going the self publishing route, as I did for the last 3, then the hardest part, in my opinion, was learning the correct system to work in so that your results are automatically ready to go. Deep bow of gratitude to husband.
The copyright issue is a big deal. You do have to watch dates of when things become copyright free. I get a lot of my images from vintage postcards, and antique editions that are illustrated. I can buy damaged images cheaply as long as I photoshop the corrections.
I like you user name... :)
My daughter is an editor. She once told me that publishers won’t consider an author who doesn’t have a very robust social media presence. They won’t the advertising for the author anymore.
A girl who lived down the block from us has a huge tik toc following. She wrote a novel and sold it Print on Demand. My daughter proofread it. She proofed it for grammar. The book had numerous continuity errors. My daughter gave her a great price on proofreading and didn’t have the many hours for other editing. She didn’t really think the book would do well beyond her tik toc crowd.
Well, she was wrong. The book made the girl a millionaire at 20. The sewer just released through a major publisher and there’s a movie deal in the works.
It does show the social media power.
Be aware that sharing your experiences may cost you paid opportunities.
As for writing, hit the keys.
Read and rewrite.
Read and rewrite.
....
Done!
Try selling....
Keep trying....
Note 1: I pay what to me is substantial money to use Jim’s bandwidth.
Note 2: My brother loved to write and was quite good at it. He never made a decent living at it.
I worked for ten years for TAN Books and Publishers, and briefly had a tiny, failed publishing operation, Blue and Gold Media, LLC.
Please send information on what kind of book it is, and what you hope to accomplish with it.
One of my English teachers said there was no good writing, only good rewriting.
Ping
I can't emphasize enough how much hassle this program will save you. And you can try it out for free for 30 days. Here is how that “30 days” works:
If you don't have a licence, Scrivener will run in trial mode. The trial is exactly the same as the full version but will stop working after 30 days of use. (If you use it every day, it lasts 30 days; if you use it only two days a week, it lasts fifteen weeks.)
https://www.literatureandlatte.com/
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You can install Scrivener on multiple devices and have your work stay updated automatically:
1.) Sign up for a free Dropbox account and install the desktop app. Put everything related to your book in this. Install the app on every device you might use to work on your book.
2.) Be sure to save your Scrivener project files in your Dropbox app. Install Scrivener on every device and work from the existing project files, which should show up in Dropbox. (Hint: You need to close Scrivener on one device before opening it on another.)
1. since you are apparently not an experienced fiction writer, be willing to rewrite your book at least two dozen times throughout the process before it becomes half way decent ...
2. also, be sure to repeatedly use grammerly.com ... it’s quite pedantic, so you’re probably not going to want to take ALL of it’s suggestions, but it will definitely find dozens (eventually, maybe even hundreds) of actual grammar, spelling, and word mis-usage mistakes ...
So much depends on your personal history. Do you write at work? For a small newspaper? What are your proclivities? I produced four histories. Then as I progressed and attacked a new subject I realized I needed a co-author. (I was reinventing the wheel. So, I ask, are you sure you are on to something new?) I found one, and we worked together on nine books. After that I worked on my own. Since then, I have written twenty-one novels; two are published, and another three will be published over the next year. I have found that publishers, almost universally, (and I have dealt with the best), are bastards. If you produce a work, be prepared for the struggle to have it published! Finally, if you prepare an outline, don’t always stick to it. You, can start a book, later go to sleep and dream of an ending. Get up! Be the master and not the captive of your work.
amazon direct publishing is how I did my book... Working Title: independent Film ideas for the aspiring filmmaker... 19.95 on Amazon. Good luck. Remember to rewrite what you reread.
I agree with Jeff. Outline big general chapter possibilities. Keep the recorder with you at all times, you never know when something clicks. Even something small may grow into more words. The best time to be creative is when wakening from sleep. Sometimes we dream (but don’t realize it) and that is when the juices may start flowing. You don’t have to take a creative writing course but you could skim the courses chapters to see what they offer and judge whether it would be of benefit.