Anyone write books?
Discussion
Doofus said:
Derek Smith said:
Those who tried and failed, didn't really try.
You just lost one potential reader, right there.
I love aphorisms. They give all the appearance of wisdom without any of that tedious thinking.
It's meant to give hope; a sort of flash way of saying, 'If you want it enough, you can do it. But it's hard graft.'
The disappointments can be soul destroying. Produce 1500 words that you know are perfect, and it'll be rejected. The best you can hope for is to rewrite it for plebs, or use sentences and phrases in other articles. You've got to make every rejection a learning exercise, but it is difficult. I used to edit a magazine and I was forever rejecting articles for reasons of space, that someone else did it better, or supplied better images.
I made the mistake of giving feedback, but they thought I was instigating a dialogue. If I felt it didn't fit, it didn't fit. Don't tell me I'm wrong.
It's never the editor's error. It is always yours. Having it accepted by another magazine proves nothing, although I was sent that info from someone I rejected. It's not personal.
Good posts Derek.
I’m still struggling along as sales and marketing director of Emma Sharp incorporated...... !
Currently spending slightly more on adverts than making in sales!.
I think Fiction writing might be harder to get a toehold in than non Fiction as it’s just swamped.
She’s got a comedy book on the way about life through the eyes of ( our) French Bulldog Puppy, hoping the current craze for these will help sales.
I will keep pushing.
I’m still struggling along as sales and marketing director of Emma Sharp incorporated...... !
Currently spending slightly more on adverts than making in sales!.
I think Fiction writing might be harder to get a toehold in than non Fiction as it’s just swamped.
She’s got a comedy book on the way about life through the eyes of ( our) French Bulldog Puppy, hoping the current craze for these will help sales.
I will keep pushing.
velocemitch said:
Good posts Derek.
I’m still struggling along as sales and marketing director of Emma Sharp incorporated...... !
Currently spending slightly more on adverts than making in sales!.
I think Fiction writing might be harder to get a toehold in than non Fiction as it’s just swamped.
She’s got a comedy book on the way about life through the eyes of ( our) French Bulldog Puppy, hoping the current craze for these will help sales.
I will keep pushing.
For animals, YouTube is great for promotions.I’m still struggling along as sales and marketing director of Emma Sharp incorporated...... !
Currently spending slightly more on adverts than making in sales!.
I think Fiction writing might be harder to get a toehold in than non Fiction as it’s just swamped.
She’s got a comedy book on the way about life through the eyes of ( our) French Bulldog Puppy, hoping the current craze for these will help sales.
I will keep pushing.
I've got a YT channel that is showing 49,979 views. I'm going to video some sled dogs tomorrow. I bet they get more hits than my car videos.
I accept what you say about fiction. The animal-based genre is more open.
Sebring440 said:
dandarez said:
First a quick word - why tf people think Kindle is the route to go, is beyond me.
Great post dandarez, big long post, great stuff. If if Kindle/self-publishing is not the way to go, what do you advise? I'm quite sure you have not mentioned the solution in your post?He is properly talented, but his experience is a great example that for anyone who has an interest in this, just give it a go.
Derek Smith said:
velocemitch said:
Good posts Derek.
I’m still struggling along as sales and marketing director of Emma Sharp incorporated...... !
Currently spending slightly more on adverts than making in sales!.
I think Fiction writing might be harder to get a toehold in than non Fiction as it’s just swamped.
She’s got a comedy book on the way about life through the eyes of ( our) French Bulldog Puppy, hoping the current craze for these will help sales.
I will keep pushing.
For animals, YouTube is great for promotions.I’m still struggling along as sales and marketing director of Emma Sharp incorporated...... !
Currently spending slightly more on adverts than making in sales!.
I think Fiction writing might be harder to get a toehold in than non Fiction as it’s just swamped.
She’s got a comedy book on the way about life through the eyes of ( our) French Bulldog Puppy, hoping the current craze for these will help sales.
I will keep pushing.
I've got a YT channel that is showing 49,979 views. I'm going to video some sled dogs tomorrow. I bet they get more hits than my car videos.
I accept what you say about fiction. The animal-based genre is more open.
Derek Smith said:
Publish it yourself in pdf form and sell it online.
The trick, if trick it is, is that you need a reason for people to come to your website. If you are writing, for instance, sci-fi novels, then you could blog on sci-fi films, or TV programmes. Come on social media, such as FB, maybe a forum dedicated to the genre, or one that is more general, such as one with a subheading Books and Literature - can't think of one at the moment. Make yourself known, get yourself talked of, and get them onto your website. There's nothing stopping you selling via your own website as well as Kindle.
One of my books was recently criticised quite dramatically on Facebook. My reply was polite, factual and humerous. I sold 8 copies that day. All advertising and that.
I've written a book on the Merc SLK. When I was plugging it on forums and FB, it sold quite well. Since I've concentrated on other books, sales have more than halved. It takes application to keep sales up.
Whether Kindle is for you or not depends on what you want from it. I've published six books on Kindle and will probably sell 500 this year to April. The norm is that I sell one a day, although I sold 40 in one day and 57 in two days recently. I'm never going to survive in the harsh world on that level of sales without some other form of income, and as an RoI, it is lacking. Yet I write books, what I've always wanted to do. I get an income, which is easily surpassed by my writing for blogs and websites. I go to places for research and claim expenses. In essence, I get money off tickets to Goodwood FoS, Silverstone Classic, Hampton Court Classic, etc. Last year I got money off an update to my desktop - MB, processor, SSD - and this year there's my laptop.
I enjoy writing. I also enjoy creating the book in pdf. It's fun. And it pays. A little.
A better way of earning money from writing is articles. I once had 26 unsolicited manuscripts for articles published without a rejection. On top of that, editors came to me, fairly frequently, and asked for articles on specific subjects. I also illustrated the articles where I could. I got an average of around £100 for each unsolicited article, mostly around 1000 to 1500 words, and around 50% more when told what to write. If writing is your thing, then there's an opportunity there if non-fiction is what floats your boat. Mind you, it took a bit over 10 years for me to get noticed.
I had plenty of copy for a guide to a model of car. I put the idea to a number of publishers, and got one reply. I was told how many images, what copy to supply, what headings and more constraints. No fun at all.
I have also made pen friends with people around the world: Antipodes, the Orient, countries ending in -stan, other European countries, Africa and both ends of America. I've got readers all around the world, including Russia. I've eased my way into India, Indonesia, Malaysia and one or two others around there, but China seems to reject me. I'm an author. I'm a writer. I enjoy the role.
It's easy enough to set up a website. I use free Wordpress software, with £40pa hosting. The storefront is Ecwid, free for 10 products. Oddly, people comes to the site, go onto a page for a specific book, then click through to Kindle and pay a little more for it there. Strange.
Kindle might not be, as some suggest, proper publishing, but it is publishing. You will, if you push it a bit, get a bit of money. People will read your books. You will be an author. Unfortunately, like the overwhelming majority of authors, Kindle or printed, you will not make much money out of it. You won't get anywhere near minimum wage even if you are fairly successful.
If you want to make any money writing, then go along the article route. Magazines are crying out for copy. The ones down the lower end of the scale don't pay much, and in the initial stages you might have to go pro bono. Once you get going, you'll get better at it. Bung in a few images, and your acceptance rate will quadruple. (A bit of a slap in the face for a writer, but what the hell. It gets the copy accepted.) You'll be on first name terms with an editor or three, and when you get a phone call from one, you'll know it'll pay for a 4-star hotel in London for the night even before you have spoken to the person.
My daughter-in-law is a writer. She runs two blogs, one on travel, and is an influencer. She was asked to be part of a state-sponsored travel video to Puerto Rico. When on honeymoon, she and my son went to pay for a meal, and the proprietor refused payment, thanking them for coming. My son asked how they knew they were honeymooners. The Maitre d' said that he didn't. He'd recognised my d-i-l as the writer. How cool is that? She makes a very good income from writing, more than, for instance, a Met inspector. Mind you, she's very good at her job. I've written for years, and she's just another level. Very impressive. But she wasn't always. She went via the common route of rejections.
Lots of opportunities for writers. Pick your type, and go for it. Those who tried and failed, didn't really try.
How do you write articles and where do you get your subject matter from? Is it experience based or do you research a topic then write about it?The trick, if trick it is, is that you need a reason for people to come to your website. If you are writing, for instance, sci-fi novels, then you could blog on sci-fi films, or TV programmes. Come on social media, such as FB, maybe a forum dedicated to the genre, or one that is more general, such as one with a subheading Books and Literature - can't think of one at the moment. Make yourself known, get yourself talked of, and get them onto your website. There's nothing stopping you selling via your own website as well as Kindle.
One of my books was recently criticised quite dramatically on Facebook. My reply was polite, factual and humerous. I sold 8 copies that day. All advertising and that.
I've written a book on the Merc SLK. When I was plugging it on forums and FB, it sold quite well. Since I've concentrated on other books, sales have more than halved. It takes application to keep sales up.
Whether Kindle is for you or not depends on what you want from it. I've published six books on Kindle and will probably sell 500 this year to April. The norm is that I sell one a day, although I sold 40 in one day and 57 in two days recently. I'm never going to survive in the harsh world on that level of sales without some other form of income, and as an RoI, it is lacking. Yet I write books, what I've always wanted to do. I get an income, which is easily surpassed by my writing for blogs and websites. I go to places for research and claim expenses. In essence, I get money off tickets to Goodwood FoS, Silverstone Classic, Hampton Court Classic, etc. Last year I got money off an update to my desktop - MB, processor, SSD - and this year there's my laptop.
I enjoy writing. I also enjoy creating the book in pdf. It's fun. And it pays. A little.
A better way of earning money from writing is articles. I once had 26 unsolicited manuscripts for articles published without a rejection. On top of that, editors came to me, fairly frequently, and asked for articles on specific subjects. I also illustrated the articles where I could. I got an average of around £100 for each unsolicited article, mostly around 1000 to 1500 words, and around 50% more when told what to write. If writing is your thing, then there's an opportunity there if non-fiction is what floats your boat. Mind you, it took a bit over 10 years for me to get noticed.
I had plenty of copy for a guide to a model of car. I put the idea to a number of publishers, and got one reply. I was told how many images, what copy to supply, what headings and more constraints. No fun at all.
I have also made pen friends with people around the world: Antipodes, the Orient, countries ending in -stan, other European countries, Africa and both ends of America. I've got readers all around the world, including Russia. I've eased my way into India, Indonesia, Malaysia and one or two others around there, but China seems to reject me. I'm an author. I'm a writer. I enjoy the role.
It's easy enough to set up a website. I use free Wordpress software, with £40pa hosting. The storefront is Ecwid, free for 10 products. Oddly, people comes to the site, go onto a page for a specific book, then click through to Kindle and pay a little more for it there. Strange.
Kindle might not be, as some suggest, proper publishing, but it is publishing. You will, if you push it a bit, get a bit of money. People will read your books. You will be an author. Unfortunately, like the overwhelming majority of authors, Kindle or printed, you will not make much money out of it. You won't get anywhere near minimum wage even if you are fairly successful.
If you want to make any money writing, then go along the article route. Magazines are crying out for copy. The ones down the lower end of the scale don't pay much, and in the initial stages you might have to go pro bono. Once you get going, you'll get better at it. Bung in a few images, and your acceptance rate will quadruple. (A bit of a slap in the face for a writer, but what the hell. It gets the copy accepted.) You'll be on first name terms with an editor or three, and when you get a phone call from one, you'll know it'll pay for a 4-star hotel in London for the night even before you have spoken to the person.
My daughter-in-law is a writer. She runs two blogs, one on travel, and is an influencer. She was asked to be part of a state-sponsored travel video to Puerto Rico. When on honeymoon, she and my son went to pay for a meal, and the proprietor refused payment, thanking them for coming. My son asked how they knew they were honeymooners. The Maitre d' said that he didn't. He'd recognised my d-i-l as the writer. How cool is that? She makes a very good income from writing, more than, for instance, a Met inspector. Mind you, she's very good at her job. I've written for years, and she's just another level. Very impressive. But she wasn't always. She went via the common route of rejections.
Lots of opportunities for writers. Pick your type, and go for it. Those who tried and failed, didn't really try.
Some interesting replies above - thank you to those posters...
I think we are in an interesting place with regards to books and publishing as success seems to come down to a combination of three things:
- ability to write
- luck / viral / popularity / niche
- marketing
I suspect that the first is not as dominant as it should be
The second will drive niche publishing (e.g. a book on a particular car model such as the e-type)
The third is becoming more dominant - and a lot of it is about how you manage Amazon etc.
There is an interesting group that I follow on facebook called 20booksTo50k - the concept being that if you have 20 books in 'print' you need only sell $7 dollars of each a day to make $50k p/a - there are people on that group making 6 / 7 figures a year - and the whole focus is on how you manage the system esp. Amazon - from loss-leaders (reader magnets) to newsletters to timing of when you publish each book etc. Techniques such as having the first chapter of book 2 at the end of book 1 etc. Advertising on facebook / Amazon etc. However - the focus is on the mechanics and pays no regard to the quality of writing (shame in many ways) plus it often minimises the spend in pursuit of the holy grail of income - so someone bringing in $1,000 a month is seen as good - even if they are spending $800 a month on ads to do that - i.e. in reality $200 a month (hourly rate = ???) So there is a lot of rubbish you have to wade through to get the gems...
and as mentioned above, the chap who owns the group writes books he sells to members / runs conferences / etc. - so his income is not entirely from the books he writes as novels... interestingly categories such as erotic / sci-fi / etc. seem to be very popular - so maybe it is more about the niche?
I think we are in an interesting place with regards to books and publishing as success seems to come down to a combination of three things:
- ability to write
- luck / viral / popularity / niche
- marketing
I suspect that the first is not as dominant as it should be
The second will drive niche publishing (e.g. a book on a particular car model such as the e-type)
The third is becoming more dominant - and a lot of it is about how you manage Amazon etc.
There is an interesting group that I follow on facebook called 20booksTo50k - the concept being that if you have 20 books in 'print' you need only sell $7 dollars of each a day to make $50k p/a - there are people on that group making 6 / 7 figures a year - and the whole focus is on how you manage the system esp. Amazon - from loss-leaders (reader magnets) to newsletters to timing of when you publish each book etc. Techniques such as having the first chapter of book 2 at the end of book 1 etc. Advertising on facebook / Amazon etc. However - the focus is on the mechanics and pays no regard to the quality of writing (shame in many ways) plus it often minimises the spend in pursuit of the holy grail of income - so someone bringing in $1,000 a month is seen as good - even if they are spending $800 a month on ads to do that - i.e. in reality $200 a month (hourly rate = ???) So there is a lot of rubbish you have to wade through to get the gems...
and as mentioned above, the chap who owns the group writes books he sells to members / runs conferences / etc. - so his income is not entirely from the books he writes as novels... interestingly categories such as erotic / sci-fi / etc. seem to be very popular - so maybe it is more about the niche?
I agree it’s all about marketing, from cover design, intro ( known as blurb), key words, targeted advertising etc.
Sadly it’s not really about how good or bad the books are.
One of the things I have noticed about all the ‘advice’ is they keep talking about your ‘email list’ as if everybody has a list of a couple of thousand people to send out information too. I’ve not yet found out how you are supposed to come by this ‘list’ though. Well not unless you give somebody a fair chunk of money anyway.
Sadly it’s not really about how good or bad the books are.
One of the things I have noticed about all the ‘advice’ is they keep talking about your ‘email list’ as if everybody has a list of a couple of thousand people to send out information too. I’ve not yet found out how you are supposed to come by this ‘list’ though. Well not unless you give somebody a fair chunk of money anyway.
velocemitch said:
I agree it’s all about marketing, from cover design, intro ( known as blurb), key words, targeted advertising etc.
Sadly it’s not really about how good or bad the books are.
One of the things I have noticed about all the ‘advice’ is they keep talking about your ‘email list’ as if everybody has a list of a couple of thousand people to send out information too. I’ve not yet found out how you are supposed to come by this ‘list’ though. Well not unless you give somebody a fair chunk of money anyway.
links in your book to your list / websiteSadly it’s not really about how good or bad the books are.
One of the things I have noticed about all the ‘advice’ is they keep talking about your ‘email list’ as if everybody has a list of a couple of thousand people to send out information too. I’ve not yet found out how you are supposed to come by this ‘list’ though. Well not unless you give somebody a fair chunk of money anyway.
website
adverts on facebook
social media
etc.
akirk said:
velocemitch said:
I agree it’s all about marketing, from cover design, intro ( known as blurb), key words, targeted advertising etc.
Sadly it’s not really about how good or bad the books are.
One of the things I have noticed about all the ‘advice’ is they keep talking about your ‘email list’ as if everybody has a list of a couple of thousand people to send out information too. I’ve not yet found out how you are supposed to come by this ‘list’ though. Well not unless you give somebody a fair chunk of money anyway.
links in your book to your list / websiteSadly it’s not really about how good or bad the books are.
One of the things I have noticed about all the ‘advice’ is they keep talking about your ‘email list’ as if everybody has a list of a couple of thousand people to send out information too. I’ve not yet found out how you are supposed to come by this ‘list’ though. Well not unless you give somebody a fair chunk of money anyway.
website
adverts on facebook
social media
etc.
Common wisdom on KDP forum is Facebook adverts do not work, I’ve tried boosted posts and seen very very little return, nowhere near enough to be GVM.
For a website to be of use it’ needs to generate lots of traffic, that seems less likely than getting views of your book on Amazon.
One of the frustrating things about the Amazon search algorithm is quite heavily based on the number of reviews, yet that is obviously going to be self perpetuating, ie those book that have lots of reviews make lots of sales. Those that have very few reviews won’t make as many and therefore have less chance of getting any. They don’t even allow the reviews gained in one country ( ie UK) to appear in others ( ie the US). That seems totally unreasonable to me.
It’s no surprise that statistics say that 95% of self published books sell less than 100 copies. But the rise in sales quantity of the remaining 5% is very very steep.
Hi all, wanted to introduce myself on here as well. I am currently writing a historical fantasy based on the lore of Central Asia/China and around the Muslim invasion in 751 AD in the Great Steppe. I've taken a bit of an unorthodox route without the black-white approach, and excavating a lot of historical material in the process - basically everything that was written about that period in Central Asian history.
It took me about 12 years to explore the idea, and 3-4 more to come up with an actual concept. Which I think at the moment, is quite good. I now approach a final draft of the 1st chapter, with chapters 2-3 in close succession. The process has been painful to say the least, as I had to find out everything from contemporary languages (they've changed much with Arabic influence) to domestic habits to period combat injuries etc. It's been quite a journey itself.
I've started to write in English but quickly receded to my native Kazakh/Russian, mainly due to difficulties of building chemistry between characters. However, it's my aim to publish it in English, so I will use Russian version as a draft which few will see, and then turn it to English again. I have small to none experience as a writer, although I've worked 20+ years as a journo, and, what's more important, have a pretty clear idea of what's it going to be when finished.
I'm planning to sell the first chapter as a bait for interested publisher(s) as there are a couple on the horizon, so I could have a little bit of money and continue my work without being bothered by any actual job (which is currently a translator). I honestly don't think that the first few years should be perceived as money-earning period, so everything in that field will depend on what would reader think, and I just continue to work as much as possible.
But the first chapter must be a killer; and I think it is. However, there are a few problems with it. First and foremost, my bad English. Secondly, by spending so much time studying the background I've turned into a detail freak, which is bothering me as there are too many alien (to audience) things to understand and remember just to get into the narrative. Thirdly, which is connected to the second point, from some point it started writing itself. And it bloody grows every time I work on it, to the extent that turns it into a series of books instead of planned one story.
So if any of you guys interested, I can share the first chapter by the 2/3 of the month within this 'group', so you can bash me as much as you like
It took me about 12 years to explore the idea, and 3-4 more to come up with an actual concept. Which I think at the moment, is quite good. I now approach a final draft of the 1st chapter, with chapters 2-3 in close succession. The process has been painful to say the least, as I had to find out everything from contemporary languages (they've changed much with Arabic influence) to domestic habits to period combat injuries etc. It's been quite a journey itself.
I've started to write in English but quickly receded to my native Kazakh/Russian, mainly due to difficulties of building chemistry between characters. However, it's my aim to publish it in English, so I will use Russian version as a draft which few will see, and then turn it to English again. I have small to none experience as a writer, although I've worked 20+ years as a journo, and, what's more important, have a pretty clear idea of what's it going to be when finished.
I'm planning to sell the first chapter as a bait for interested publisher(s) as there are a couple on the horizon, so I could have a little bit of money and continue my work without being bothered by any actual job (which is currently a translator). I honestly don't think that the first few years should be perceived as money-earning period, so everything in that field will depend on what would reader think, and I just continue to work as much as possible.
But the first chapter must be a killer; and I think it is. However, there are a few problems with it. First and foremost, my bad English. Secondly, by spending so much time studying the background I've turned into a detail freak, which is bothering me as there are too many alien (to audience) things to understand and remember just to get into the narrative. Thirdly, which is connected to the second point, from some point it started writing itself. And it bloody grows every time I work on it, to the extent that turns it into a series of books instead of planned one story.
So if any of you guys interested, I can share the first chapter by the 2/3 of the month within this 'group', so you can bash me as much as you like
Wow, that’s quite the creative journey you’ve been through! I would be very interested to read what you have so far, but have to say I’m not sure if I would put any uncopyrighted material on a public forum myself. Maybe that’s just me being cynical.
I’m just trying to get some traction behind my own effort, which to this point has been on and off for a couple of years. Have made good progress recently finishing the first draft of chapter 1, just to get a feel for things, and have most of the story mapped out at a high level. Next will be character development and world building!
It’d be interesting to hear everyone’s own process by which they go from idea to words-on-paper, as I’m sure there are many ways to skin a cat.
I’m just trying to get some traction behind my own effort, which to this point has been on and off for a couple of years. Have made good progress recently finishing the first draft of chapter 1, just to get a feel for things, and have most of the story mapped out at a high level. Next will be character development and world building!
It’d be interesting to hear everyone’s own process by which they go from idea to words-on-paper, as I’m sure there are many ways to skin a cat.
funkyrobot said:
How do you write articles and where do you get your subject matter from? Is it experience based or do you research a topic then write about it?
Sorry for the delay in replying. Been a bit ill over the holidays. For unsolicited stuff, I choose the subject matter according to the particular magazine. When submitting the article/draft/idea I normally put in why I think they will want it. "It develops the premise that was the subject of the main article for the February 2018 issue . . ." That sort of stuff. It shows you've read their magazine and, more importantly, have a reason for the article.
I tend to stick to motoring and police work subjects; mostly the former nowadays. It's a massive subject and often I spend three or four times as long on research as writing despite concentrating on it for years. It is best to acknowledge from the beginning that your memory is faulty - I've written two articles on that subject - and always, but always, check the details. I was after a big contract on HGV driving and didn't know enough on the subject so researched, researched and researched again. In the first submission I included links to research from universities in Canada, Australia (x2) and the USA on driver tiredness and sensible steps to combat it for long distance drivers.
The article was accurate. It was rejected as the customer checked the conclusions I came to (ie those of the universities) with BRAKE and the chap was told what I'd said was rubbish and would cause accidents. That was around 60 hrs of work wasted. I'm still bitter. It would have been a nice earner. It's no good being right, and being able to prove it, if pressure groups, ill-informed or not, are against you.
I was into graphic design as a kid and have written a number of articles on the subject despite being incompetent at it. I've worked with real artists, one bordering genius, and nothing rubbed off. I was merely sales. However, my love for it seems to come through, and my articles are normally accepted without problem. I started working in design when the Krohne VW adverts were still coming out regularly. People have nearly forgotten them, but once they read an article on them, they want more. https://vimeo.com/177880740
For solicited work that requires research, it is essential that you take the time into consideration. Even with the internet, you need to cross-reference everything. It's been pointed out, rather harshly, that it was not a G27 I'd photographed, but a G33.
Derek Smith said:
I was into graphic design as a kid and have written a number of articles on the subject despite being incompetent at it. I've worked with real artists, one bordering genius, and nothing rubbed off. I was merely sales. However, my love for it seems to come through, and my articles are normally accepted without problem. I started working in design when the Krohne VW adverts were still coming out regularly. People have nearly forgotten them, but once they read an article on them, they want more. https://vimeo.com/177880740
As someone who loved it, rather than executed it, you were probably best placed to write about it. Most designers I know (self-included) are so self-critical they find it difficult to think positively about their work. Whenever I come across anything I've designed I start worrying about tiny details that I think I could have done better. I had my first article published in 1981 and have been writing since then on my two loves - angling and cars/ motor sport . I had my frist book published in 2007 , the second in 2012 (both angling) and my third last summer- DRIVEN - an elegy to cars . roads and motorsport (you can guess the subject ). All were accepted by established publishers and I've been lucky enough only to have had two rejections . Latterly, I write motoring book reviews for the US website , speedreaders.info and I get some angling books to to review as well . I do a bit of poetry and short story stuff but strictly for my own amusement . Maybe we should have haiku writers of PH ?
There's not much money in it , but I don't do it for reward , but because I love writing , I love people hearing from people who enjoy my stuff and , best of all , I love seeing a book written by me in a bookshop . Of course it's a massive ego trip . as I suspect all creative stuff is.
How to do it ? Write , write , write , write - and then write some more, then edit it , edit it some more and then write some more . When you are not writing, think about it , take notes if you get an idea (long solo walks are good for this ) and read people who can write, and not just in your preferred subject . If you are doing articles , read anthologies of writers like AA Gill or Clive James(and weep - they set a high bar )
Don;t wazz on about how you're going to choose a publisher or angst about titles until you've actually written something - if I had a pound for every dreamer who said 'oh , I'm thinking of writing a book '... Tell us when you've made a start ...
But do it - it is immensely rewarding
There's not much money in it , but I don't do it for reward , but because I love writing , I love people hearing from people who enjoy my stuff and , best of all , I love seeing a book written by me in a bookshop . Of course it's a massive ego trip . as I suspect all creative stuff is.
How to do it ? Write , write , write , write - and then write some more, then edit it , edit it some more and then write some more . When you are not writing, think about it , take notes if you get an idea (long solo walks are good for this ) and read people who can write, and not just in your preferred subject . If you are doing articles , read anthologies of writers like AA Gill or Clive James(and weep - they set a high bar )
Don;t wazz on about how you're going to choose a publisher or angst about titles until you've actually written something - if I had a pound for every dreamer who said 'oh , I'm thinking of writing a book '... Tell us when you've made a start ...
But do it - it is immensely rewarding
I recently started writing children’s bedtime stories. I read stories to my six year old Daughter before bed and over the last few years I’ve picked up on the various styles they’re written in.
I’ve currently got two completed stories which will be part of a series (publishers of children’s books seem to like a series’ of stories) and I’ve also started writing another based on a different set of characters. The two completed stories get read to my Daughter as and when requested by her and she loves them which I guess can only be a good thing!
I have no idea what to do once I have a complete series written though. I’ve looked at publishing with Amazon although I don’t really know if it’s a good option to go with. I’ve also looked up the various publishing companies but it’s all a bit daunting!
I’ve currently got two completed stories which will be part of a series (publishers of children’s books seem to like a series’ of stories) and I’ve also started writing another based on a different set of characters. The two completed stories get read to my Daughter as and when requested by her and she loves them which I guess can only be a good thing!
I have no idea what to do once I have a complete series written though. I’ve looked at publishing with Amazon although I don’t really know if it’s a good option to go with. I’ve also looked up the various publishing companies but it’s all a bit daunting!
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