So
you want to write a book?
You need
curiosity, love of knowledge, know your subject and eager to write it down. Bring
readers in to propel them forward. Example: Freezing to death, or a fiery crash.
But this is
what I do know. What is it that motivates you?
Just understanding the type of books you enjoy reading could give an
indication as to the direction you would go to write a book. Lesson number one, “First you have to know who you are”.
If you
aren’t sure, you’ll make a mistake. But
we learn by them. Example, a close
family member wrote two completely different fictional books. One was only half-way good, the second a
complete failure. Lesson two, ”Write what you know.”
Every author
does research. No matter how much you know about a subject, there is always the
need to do research. Whether it is about
genealogy, history, children stories, romance, or any other topic. “Lesson three, Research is part of writing.”
There are
many writing veins. It could be a book,
but it also could be a blog, newspaper, magazines, or specialty quarterly journals.
And, we mustn’t leave out writing poetry. So lesson
number four, “It doesn’t have to be just books”.
For me, it
was biography/memoir, my book Forever Laced, A Journey Through Two Centuries, also writing for the Southern
Genealogy Exchange, a blog, and writing many short ancestor stories. Lesson five: “Editing is a writer’s worst enemy”.
Talk about main stream publishing. Getting an agent, also called mission impossible, vs. self-publishing, hard work, expensive and other pitfalls. Lesson six, “It is a lot of work, frustrating, but very rewarding, enjoy the process, have fun”.
