topic Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book in Book Club

I'm thinking about writing a Book

Goodie2shoes — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 18:43:41 GMT

Has anyone on this forum ever written a book and had it

published? I have 2 book ideas in mind, really given it some thought so I've been writing down some ideas. If you have thought about it, started writing or have written a book how has the process worked for you? did you finish and get it published? still working on it and for how long ? I know it's different for everyone and it takes time just wanted to get some feedback on your experience. Thanks

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

Tinkrbl44 — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 19:19:30 GMT

@Goodie2shoes wrote:
Has anyone on this forum ever written a book and had it
published? I have 2 book ideas in mind, really given it some thought so I've been writing down some ideas. If you have thought about it, started writing or have written a book how has the process worked for you? did you finish and get it published? still working on it and for how long ? I know it's different for everyone and it takes time just wanted to get some feedback on your experience. Thanks

@Goodie2shoes

So many things come to mind here .... yes, I have co-authored a book in the 1990s that was published by a major publisher and then translated into French, Spanish and Chinese. So I know a little bit about the process, but things have changed a LOT in publishing since then. (No, the book is no longer being re-printed).

So, in no order of importance, are you talking about fiction or non-fiction? I'm asking if you have ideas for, as an example, a who-done-it mystery .... or are you an "expert" and wish to publish a book about that topic?

Have you written any articles that have been published or posted? If you can't get your book(s) published, will you consider self-publishing?

How often do you actually sit down and WRITE? While anyone can write down ideas, do you write on a regular basis? If you attracted an agent (or publisher) that would consider representing you and they asked for several examples of your writing, do you have something to give them?

Many authors have written about how to get a book published. I assume you have already googled that topic, but if not, there's a wealth of information to be had with that search.

(I'm sure I'll come up with more, but I have to run out the door to an appt. See ya later.)

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

Goodie2shoes — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 19:36:51 GMT

@Tinkrbl44wrote:

Have you written any articles that have been published or posted? If you can't get your book(s) published, will you consider self-publishing?

Many authors have written about how to get a book published. I assume you have already googled that topic, but if not, there's a wealth of information to be had with that search.

(I'm sure I'll come up with more, but I have to run out the door to an appt. See ya later.)

Thanks for your response ! I'm thinking one book is fiction and it's a childrens book, one is non fiction. I have never written anything before this is all new. I have been jotting down notes and ideas on a regular basis. I have not checked online as to how to get a book published I didn't know that info was available online but I will certainly look into it. Thanks so much I really appreciate the info !

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

Mz iMac — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 19:58:20 GMT

@gardenman

@Goodie2shoes Hopefully, he will see the bat call & advise you. He has several published books listed on Amazon!

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

zitawins — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 21:40:44 GMT

@Goodie2shoes Yes, I've written five books, all self-published on Amazon. the responses gave some really good advice, e.g., you have to do more than THINK about writing a book. You must DO it. You can't edit a blank page!

It probably takes me a year to write one of my fiction books, writing every day and thinking through plot points in my head all the time. You would benefit from some writing workshops and/or classes, and you should try to find a writing group you are comfortable with for feedback and support.

The children's market is very compeititive, but not impossible to break into if your ideas and your execution are top notch.

I will just add: Research your genres, Research the markets, check out your library for similar books. You must know your audience. Again, subscribe to good websites and newsletters and get in gear. It's a long, lonely road, but sooo rewarding!

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

gardenman — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 22:19:21 GMT

@Mz iMac wrote:
@gardenman

@Goodie2shoes Hopefully, he will see the bat call & advise you. He has several published books listed on Amazon!

I've been writing since the 1980s. I've got seventeen books that I've self-published. You can do it. There are a lot of tools out there to help you in your writing. Grammarly (the free version) is one I use a lot. Just be forewarned, there are a lot of predators out there who prey on writers.

Amazon used to have a forum for writers who entered the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest and you would hear horror stories of writers getting taken advantage of. They would get a publishing contract, be given lots of edits to do. Essentially work for free for six months, then have the "publisher" inform them the book no longer met their needs, but the publisher would retain the rights for seven years and if they wanted the book back they'd have to repay any advance they'd gotten, repay them for their editorial oversight, cover design, and other fees. Writers would have to spend $5,000-$10,000 to get their book's rights back. There are a large number of scams targeting writers. Self-publishing is safer and easier. You're in total control.

Very, very few writers ever make a real living writing, but some do. Write because you have stories you want to tell. Write for yourself. Write stories you'd want to read. You can find an audience.

Kindle Direct Publishing lets you publish your books for free. You can also do free book giveaways. I do one every Wednesday through Sunday for one book or another. It gets your books into the hands of readers and then you never know what will happen. YA writer Colleen Hoover was in the 2012 ABNA and got eliminated early. She self-published her novel and sold seven copies. She knew who six buyers were (husband, mother, sister, some co-workers) but didn't know who the seventh buyer was. It turned out it was an influential YA critic with a big following on social media. She read the book and raved about it in a blog and sales went through the roof. Colleen then had publishers coming to her. She's now a multimillionaire. It can happen. It's rare but possible.

Write what you'd want to read. Have fun writing. Don't be afraid to walk away for a bit if you run into a dead-end. Don't go in with wild expectations of success. Use the tools available to you, and have fun. It can be a nice hobby and a good way to express your creativity.

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

Goodie2shoes — Sat, 22 Apr 2023 01:12:20 GMT

@zitawins @gardenman

Thank you both for your wonderful feedback and such helpful information ! Whew !! got me wondering do I really want to take on this adventure? Yes I do ! Taking your advice I will start writing down my thoughts on my first project. I will certainly post my updates to let you know if this idea of mine is moving in a positive direction. Thanks again !!

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

Neetgal2 — Sat, 22 Apr 2023 12:21:45 GMT

Yes for years my former work colleagues and I talked about this. Even bought a book on how to write your first novel. Some of us after we left the giant, well known company in the city to raise a family. We never did it and most of us are still alive and meet regularly. This group was spread out over several locations and wow, some of the stories. We each wanted to take a story line. A few of us were very young and innocent, did not really get half the stuff until much later. Great times, great people in a fabulous city all while working for a good company.

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

GoneButNotForgotten — Sun, 14 May 2023 14:38:49 GMT

I've had a very "interesting" and colorful work history; I'm 73 now and have been self-supporting since I was 19.

My last 2 or 3 years of employment I worked as a temp and, oh boy, the stories I could tell!

My mother worked for 30+ years for a very large bank and the stories she told us kids! (And they were all true.) She became friends with one of her co-workers and they used to joke (or maybe not) that they should collaberate with a book about their experiences and title it, "Bastards I Have Known".

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

Desert Lily — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 16:53:22 GMT

@Goodie2shoes

As other posters have said, there are many resources online that can be helpful. I wish you the best if you choose to move forward with writing.

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

gardenman — Fri, 23 Jun 2023 12:42:04 GMT

"I took my novels down temporarily. I'd rather offer them for free."

That's what I love about Kindle Direct Publishing. I can offer a free book each week. Every Wednesday I make a book free, and the free giveaway runs through Monday. Some weeks only a couple of books move for free. In other weeks many will move. I gave away over 800 in one exceptional week. You never know what will happen. It's fun to watch and see which books move and when and try to figure out why.

Spoiler alert! There is no "why" that I'm aware of. The same book may give away two copies one time and then a few months later when it's rotated in as a free book again it'll move hundreds. The next time back to two or three. It's pretty random what happens. I tried promoting a giveaway on multiple free book sites one week and moved just seven copies. Without promotion, the same book had moved over fifty on a previous giveaway.

The free giveaways do move an occasional book after the giveaway, and they do generate KENP (Kindle Edition
Normalized Pages read by Kindle Unlimited Subscribers.)
And if you're lucky, you'll get a review or two from a book giveaway. In general, I get one review for every hundred books given away. Free giveaways cost me nothing and get books into the hands of readers so no harm, no foul.

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

rissajaneen — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 03:13:44 GMT

Check out Sara cannon youtube channel called heart breathings. She is a self published author on amazon and makes a lot of videos about her writing process. I also recommend the Nanowrimo app. This app lets you set goals and track your writing progress and connects you to other would be authors.

Good luck!

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

Pink123 — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 00:59:33 GMT

@gardenman You never made any money on writing with or without a publisher on your written books?

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

gardenman — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 11:25:36 GMT

@Pink123 wrote:
@gardenman You never made any money on writing with or without a publisher on your written books?

I make some money. Most months it's what I call fast food money. It's enough to buy me a meal at Burger King. The good news is I don't lose money. A lot of writers fall into a trap of spending $5,000 to sell $500 of books. "Sure, I lost money, but it's getting my book out there!" You don't have to look around long to find writers who spent $50,000 or more on promotions and advertising to get back just a small fraction of that in book sales. It's very easy to keep throwing money away and never get a return.

The facts and figures on book sales make it an insane business to get into. Traditionally published books on average sell 3,000 copies. (According to the folks at letterreview.com.) That's with the full power of publishing houses behind them. And that average is skewed upward by best sellers that sell millions of copies. Most authors just sell a handful of books. Something like 94% of traditionally published authors never get to publish a second book. It's estimated that just one in a hundred to one in a thousand books traditionally published makes a profit for the book publisher. Some make big profits, but the vast majority of books lose money. (I haven't lost a dime and I make a little each month.)

Between book sales and giveaways, I've got somewhere around ten thousand copies of my books out there. My average review on Goodreads comes in at 4.41 so people like my books. I was a semi-finalist (then the top fifty of five thousand general fiction novels) in the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. One of my books was picked by Jason Chen for his 2016 political thriller StoryBundle.

The reality is that most writers write as a hobby and to get their stories out there. If you make money, great. Just don't expect too much. The odds of success are remote. (You probably stand a better chance of winning Publisher's Clearing House.) Many writers assume they'll strike it rich. Most are wrong. Write because you have stories to tell and hope for the best.

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

Spurt — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 13:36:48 GMT

@gardenman

Congrats on the recognition you received on your books!

My brother writes books on fishing through a big publisher, (he's had 11 published) and like you he said he really doesnt make any money, BUT with his craft he gets invited to speak all over the U.S. and Europe and all expenses are paid for him and his wife by various fishing clubs. He just got back from an all-expense paid trip to Italy, he got to speak, fish and sightsee.....it made a pretty nice vacation.......

Another friend writes children's books and publishes them and they are on Amazon. She wants to become a full time writer but we tried to tell her it's difficult to earn enough to make a living on writing, but its a good hobby, and its something she enjoys doing.

We went to a cat show last weekend and of course in addition to seeing beautiful cats of many various breeds, they also sell cat themed clothing, jewelry, knickknacks, and cat toys of course----AND EVEN BOOKS---there was an author there selling her cat themed cozy mysteries, I love cozy mysteries and bought a couple of books to read during the NFL dolddrums!

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

gardenman — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 13:26:26 GMT

@Spurt

Thanks. Congratulations to your brother on his success. The best approach to take is to write stories you want to read. Whether it's fishing, cats, or whatever. If success comes, great. But don't count on it coming. It can happen, but it's the exception rather than the rule.

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

Spurt — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 13:50:17 GMT

@gardenman wrote:
@Spurt

Thanks. Congratulations to your brother on his success. The best approach to take is to write stories you want to read. Whether it's fishing, cats, or whatever. If success comes, great. But don't count on it coming. It can happen, but it's the exception rather than the rule.

@gardenman

Yep, I agree it's ---"do what you love, and love what you do---!" That's the way it should be with any area of interest. Since my brother has retired, his fishing and writing keep him busy....and his wife is his photographer, shes very good at that......

My brother got his start when he started writing a few columns for an outdoor magazine, and they encouraged him to write a book, and so another hobby began----he was more interested on sharing his knowledge than making money...good attitude....

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

Group 5 minus 1 — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 10:14:53 GMT

Everybody is.

Re: I'm thinking about writing a Book

Trailrun23 — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 03:53:07 GMT

I wrote a non-fiction book many years ago while I was working for an ISD. I was about to sign a contract for publishing with Random House. It fell apart when my employee said they would own the rights to the book since I wrote it while I was an employee.

My neighbor who lives behind us writes web-publised books. She has been doing it for years and seems to enjoy it. I don't know how profitable it is.