Has anyone written a book before?

[musclefan21]

If so, fictional or non-fictional?
What’s the process like? Self published or actually got a publisher? What kind of out of pocket expenses involve?

I am currently working on a non-fictional book because I have nothing better to do in this Covid 19 thing and curious how this whole thing works.
I am currently in the brain dump stage, just typing away, no editing.

I figured I would dump some of my experiences into a book to help others who plan to follow a similar path.

 

[lOOKnGO]

Go for it! 1 leads to 2 and so on! Good for you!

 

[Reaper14]

I dont recall his name, but Ive seen an author pop in from time to time to talk about his books here. Maybe someone will remember & tag him.

Vic

 

[03cobra#694]

Maybe Snover?

 

[Reaper14]

I dont recall his name, but Ive seen an author pop in from time to time to talk about his books here. Maybe someone will remember & tag him.

Vic

 

[ViciousJay]

What's the rough idea of the story?

 

[lOOKnGO]

I think it a horror story about a guy that wraps a McLaren in rainbow colors.

What's the rough idea of the story?

 

[James Snover]

I write fiction, particularly humorous sci-fi. For my short stories I have gone the self publishing route via Amazon Kindle Direct. I've liked it so much, I'm probably going that route when I get the 150K-word novel done.

Old-school traditional publishers are terrible, at least with regard to fiction. Blanket statement, full stop. Amazon is killing old-school publishers as more and more people realize they make more money, and have much better accounting and sales tracking. It might not be so bad in non-fiction publishing, but I have no experience with that so can't say. BUT you can still do everything you want to do with non-fiction via Amazon.

You do not need an agent. You don't have to take any particular pains to copyright anything, WITH THE EXCEPTION of writing for movies and TV. They are thieves. Theft is rampant in that one sub-set of the industry.

The absolute worst kind of publisher are the "Vanity" publishers. They offer to print your book, distribute it in bookstores, get you ads, for an upfront cost. Don't do it. One thing still stands with any legit publisher: you do not pay for anything, that's the publisher's job. The other bad thing about Vanity publishers is, buried in the legalese of the contract they will have you sign, is usually a clause stating you are giving them the rights to your work in perpetuity. So what you thought might be a one-time $4,500.00 expense to print a couple hundred copies of your work, might, actually be more like a one-time sale of your content, to them, forever. And believe it or not, it's legally enforceable.

Also watch out for writing contests that promise to get you exposure. You get almost no exposure, and they almost always include you giving them the rights to your material forever. Contests in writing are often a scam.

The best thing about publishing on Amazon: You can forget all of that stuff! These are just a few of the reasons everyone is more and more going to self-publishing via Amazon, etc.

Out of pocket expenses: (if you go with self-publishing)

An editor. They can be expensive. They're worth it, it doesn't matter how good of a writer you may be, everybody misses stuff, doesn't explain enough in one spot, too much in another, mis-spellings, grammar, etc. For a 150K word book, which loosely translates to 150-200 pages, it will cost several hundred dollars. If you want what you've written to be as good as it can be, get an editor!

Depending on the book, and your own art skills or lack thereof, you may want a cover artist. That'll also be around a couple hundred or so.

The internet, as in so many things, is your single best resource. Writer's groups are everywhere, editors and artists, good ones, have their own sites and fb pages, etc.

And this is just scratching the surface.

My opinion: go for it, buddy!

 

[musclefan21]

I write fiction, particularly humorous sci-fi. For my short stories I have gone the self publishing route via Amazon Kindle Direct. I've liked it so much, I'm probably going that route when I get the 150K-word novel done.

Old-school traditional publishers are terrible, at least with regard to fiction. Blanket statement, full stop. Amazon is killing old-school publishers as more and more people realize they make more money, and have much better accounting and sales tracking. It might not be so bad in non-fiction publishing, but I have no experience with that so can't say. BUT you can still do everything you want to do with non-fiction via Amazon.

You do not need an agent. You don't have to take any particular pains to copyright anything, WITH THE EXCEPTION of writing for movies and TV. They are thieves. Theft is rampant in that one sub-set of the industry.

The absolute worst kind of publisher are the "Vanity" publishers. They offer to print your book, distribute it in bookstores, get you ads, for an upfront cost. Don't do it. One thing still stands with any legit publisher: you do not pay for anything, that's the publisher's job. The other bad thing about Vanity publishers is, buried in the legalese of the contract they will have you sign, is usually a clause stating you are giving them the rights to your work in perpetuity. So what you thought might be a one-time $4,500.00 expense to print a couple hundred copies of your work, might, actually be more like a one-time sale of your content, to them, forever. And believe it or not, it's legally enforceable.

Also watch out for writing contests that promise to get you exposure. You get almost no exposure, and they almost always include you giving them the rights to your material forever. Contests in writing are often a scam.

The best thing about publishing on Amazon: You can forget all of that stuff! These are just a few of the reasons everyone is more and more going to self-publishing via Amazon, etc.

Out of pocket expenses: (if you go with self-publishing)

An editor. They can be expensive. They're worth it, it doesn't matter how good of a writer you may be, everybody misses stuff, doesn't explain enough in one spot, too much in another, mis-spellings, grammar, etc. For a 150K word book, which loosely translates to 150-200 pages, it will cost several hundred dollars. If you want what you've written to be as good as it can be, get an editor!

Depending on the book, and your own art skills or lack thereof, you may want a cover artist. That'll also be around a couple hundred or so.

The internet, as in so many things, is your single best resource. Writer's groups are everywhere, editors and artists, good ones, have their own sites and fb pages, etc.

And this is just scratching the surface.

My opinion: go for it, buddy!

james, you are awesome buddy. Gave me a great idea!

I think once I am finished, I will definitely get an editor and come up with a solid cover for it.

I am currently at 10k words and I foresee writing another 10k words and that’s about it. What are your thoughts on a book that has 20k words? Is that too short? I feel like i should beef it up a bit to 30k words, that should get me over 100 pages of solid content with liberal margins, and formatting .

 

[ViciousJay]

I think it a horror story about a guy that wraps a McLaren in rainbow colors.

 

[jpro]

I thought about writing a self-help book about how to get started writing a book. But I just didn’t know where to start.


Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com

 

[Silverstrike]

james, you are awesome buddy. Gave me a great idea!

I think once I am finished, I will definitely get an editor and come up with a solid cover for it.

I am currently at 10k words and I foresee writing another 10k words and that’s about it. What are your thoughts on a book that has 20k words? Is that too short? I feel like i should beef it up a bit to 30k words, that should get me over 100 pages of solid content with liberal margins, and formatting .

Why not just write out War and Peace and be done with it LOL.

But yes a few people wanted me to try and get a few things that I have to be put down in book format. But I also just don't think that much intrest would be shown for such stuff.

 

[GOTSVT?]

My dad wrote a fiction crime/thriller a few years ago. Was actually really good, and we have all been pressing to write another one!

 

[GOTSVT?]

My dad wrote a fiction crime/thriller a few years ago. Was actually really good, and we have all been pressing to write another one!

 

[Junior00]

@KingBlack

He should be able to get you through the first 17 pages at least.

 

[musclefan21]

Why not just write out War and Peace and be done with it LOL.

But yes a few people wanted me to try and get a few things that I have to be put down in book format. But I also just don't think that much intrest would be shown for such stuff.

I know right? Ha!

I checked and looks like an average editing job would be like 1500 bucks and that is not even fully comprehensive..

 

[Morgan]

Why not just write out War and Peace and be done with it LOL.

But yes a few people wanted me to try and get a few things that I have to be put down in book format. But I also just don't think that much intrest would be shown for such stuff.

Well, you’re great with writing mysteries.

 

[James Snover]

james, you are awesome buddy. Gave me a great idea!

I think once I am finished, I will definitely get an editor and come up with a solid cover for it.

I am currently at 10k words and I foresee writing another 10k words and that’s about it. What are your thoughts on a book that has 20k words? Is that too short? I feel like i should beef it up a bit to 30k words, that should get me over 100 pages of solid content with liberal margins, and formatting .

As far as expanding the word count goes, whether fiction or non-fiction, let this be your guide: you need as many words as it takes to tell the story. Because all writing, except scientific, is basically story telling. Do not add one word more than it takes to tell the story, don't omit anything that makes the story more clear.

The word count doesn't matter so much, with self-publishing via electronic media. If it's good, and priced right, it'll sell. Generally, for up 15K words, stick to .99 cents. Up to 75K words, $2.99. Up to 150K words, $5.99. These are just the most general guidelines, you can set the price anywhere you want.

If you do get an editor and a cover artist, be sure to give them credit in the cover page.

 

[KingBlack]

Seriously? Some people here can't even write their own names.

Anyways, good luck with your project.

 

[BigPoppa]

I've got a colleague that writes erotica with her husband.