I even write down ideas in a spiral notebook. I am “old school” in that way. I also use index cards, and have, on occasion, written snippets and story lines on the backs of envelopes or any other scrap paper that I could find!
Whatever works for each individual best is truly the way to go! Please understand that different methods work for different indivudals. There is NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL in this endeavor!
When I say “Book” in the title, I refer to both eBooks and “print” books! Even “no content” and “low content” books fit in this category too!
As I have said in other posts, I truly believe that there is at least one book in everyone! Some will write a great many, and others might only write one. Sadly, some will never write a book, and those are truly lost treasures. Perhaps they never believed they could do it.
In this day and age, with all of the technology available to us, there is no excuse to not put a book out there. Of course, it can also be said that, perhaps, there are many people who don’t have the “writing bug”. That is okay too! I don’t mean to be discouraging.
Passion
I simply try to always be motivating whenever I tell members of Wealthy Affiliate, a learning and hosting platform that I belong to, that they should write that book. Of course, one of the first ingredients needed to do this would be Passion!
Action
Once you realize that you might have this “Passion Bug” about writing a book, the next step, of course, is ACTION! One must actually put a plan into motion to get that book written. There are many ways to do this, but each individual will develop their own way to accomplish this. There is no “one size fits all” method.
Editing & Proofreading
If you happen to be a blogger, or if you have already scribbled some notes down for a potential book, then you will already be well aware of the need to edit your work, and proofread it for spelling and syntax.
This is a process that can sometimes (in fact, quite often) be quite time-consuming. At some point; however, you will have to get the work ready for publishing. There is simply no such thing as a perfect work! (You can also explore hiring a Ghost writer, but that will be addressed in a future post)
I have often read professionally published works and stumbled onto at least one error! Self-publishing is no different. Admittedly, even after I received the Author copies (above) of my Bermuda’s Secret series–published after a great many edits–and have still discovered an error! Of course, these errors are more easily dealt with in eBook form.
Publishing
When you have the manuscript “ready to go”, then the decision whether to submit it to a publishing company for consideration or to “self publish” then comes to the fore. This is something that one needs to think about very hard.
I, myself, simply, after some serious research, decided to use Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform.
It seems to have worked very well for me, but please, do your own research. There are a great may self-publishing platforms out there to choose from. Due diligence is key here.
The Finished Product
Success, at last! It is a euphoric feeling, indeed. Pat yourselves on the back when you accomplish this. The major accomplishment is that you have now produced a literary work!
This endeavor, once accomplished, should fill one with even more motivation to get more books written.
I have found that the more works I create motivates me to create even more works.
Time can often be at a premium, but as an aspiring author, you must be willing to continue working on your book projects.
I have actually allowed my writing to take the place of other leisure activities, though not all, of course. That is where the true passion comes in once the writing bug has bitten you!
