How Do i Become an Author?

Question

i want to become an author, i am going though an illness and i am going to write journal though thr bad times and hopefully at the end how i came though.

how would i go about getting in published?

Answer 1

First, determine what is the purpose of your story? If your interest is to share your experiences with others, a blog or online journal may be of more value. Speaking from hard, cold realities of publishing, unless you are suffering from an "orphan disease" (A disease that affects only a tiny percentage of the population) or if there is somethign astounding about your situation (i.e. cured cancer using natural therapies instead of traditional medicine), your book would be a hard sell to publishers.

I would start with your blog first, and work on building an audience. Then when you have finished your treatment, you can revisit the idea of publishing the book. When (not if) you make your full recovery, and you have build an audience, then you could approach potential publishers with your idea.

DO NOT randomly start sending out manuscripts to every publisher! This is not how it is done. You have two options:

Most small presses do not require an agent. Send a query letter explaining your idea and request their submission guidelines. They will then inform you if they are even interested, and if so how to properly submit your work.

Large publishers require only agented submissions. If you send Random House or Bantam books an unsolicited manuscript, it will go in the trash unread. An agent will help you with the submission process. NOTE: Agents NEVER get paid unless they place your work. Any agent that asks for money up from or tries to sell you add-on services is a scam.

In either event, your manuscript will need to be well written. Poor grammar, punctuation, (lack of using capital letters...hint, hint) will get your submission rejected.

You'll need to research publishers to make sure you are submitting to the ones most likely to publish you. We publishs speculative fiction and RPGs, for example. Regardless of how good your story is, there would be no reason we would publish you because real-life stories are not a part of our business. Whereas a publisher who deals in a lot of teen literature might be very interested in an inspirational story about a teen going through a disease.

For now, work on honing your craft. Write, and write some more. READ! Too many writers don't read. It drives me nuts. If you are interested in writing an inspirational true story, you should read similar stories to see how they are done. This will help make your ow writing better.

Answer 2

Obi-San has given you a very good and thorough answer. I don't think you're going to get a better answer than that, but I'd like to add an observation or two. I'm an author. I also teach creative writing to graduate students part time. I can tell you that a life dedicated to writing can be wonderful, but it's also bound to be full of challenges and disappointments. The most successful writers are the ones who have a strong sense of what they want to achieve as writers. I don't think there is a wrong reason to want to be an author. But it is important to know what it is that YOU want from writing so that you don't end up chasing the wrong goals. It's hard to become rich and famous as an author, and not everyone who sets out with that as the goal succeeds. But if that's really what you want, you should know it. Or do you want to be an author because you love books and enjoy writing for its own sake? Do you have a particular story that you are burning to tell? Knowing what you want is an important first step, and it will also help you to realize that maybe you have succeeded even when you haven't had what looks like success to people who didn't know why you were becoming an author. I've written a book about meeting the psychological and practical challenges of being an author. It is called Word Work: Surviving and Thriving as a Writer. A lot of libraries have it. Word Work will give you an honest picture of some of the downsides and disappointments of being a writer. If you read Word Work, then I think you'll not only get some practical tips in how to be a writer, but you'll have a good understanding of the kinds of problems that writers face. Such a book might convince you that authorship is not what you thought it was and that it isn't for you. Then again, you may just be one of those special people who can't be happy in any other career, in which case I wish you patience, the will to work hard, and abundant good luck!

Answer 3

Writing the novel and getting it published are two entirely different tasks. I had a novel published (180 Days David C Garland)towards the close of 2005 after spending an entire two-year period writing the book. Getting it published was a case of persistence and the appointment of a good agent. Even then there are no guarantees. If you have a great deal of self belief then you are setting out on the right road. Buy a copy (or locate one at your local library) of Writers and Artists Year book. You will find agents listed there plus names of publishers listed under genre.

Answer 4

I think writing a journal is a great idea - I hope you will find that it helps you through your illness. You could try submitting sections to magazines or newspapers; try to find publishers who deal in personal stories & autobiography. Try to find a support group or writing group to encourage you. If I were you I would focus on writing your story first, then think about getting it published. I wish you a cpmplete recovery (& a best seller!) Good luck.

Answer 5

Don't worry about spellings etc on the first draft, just concern yourself with the story then get someone good to proof-read it - ex teacher etc who can point out any flaws and make constructive suggestions. next you need to get it corrected and typed up as the finished item - I think this needs to be single sided A4 with double line spacing. Then you need to write a synopsis of the book to send out as a taster ( instead of just throwing the whole thing at them) and wait to see what they send back - they will either send a no thanks or will be asking for more.
Good luck with the writing and get well soon ( even if it makes for a short book!)

Answer 6

Most publishers won't accept unsolicited manuscripts these days, so you have to get an agent interested enough in your book. They will then take your book and try to sell it to a publisher. Make sure you get a good agent and one that doesn't take a huge cut of your profit, they also need to have the 'we don't get paid unless you get paid' attitude. If your work is good enough then you shouldn't have to pay ANYTHING!!

Answer 7

with such a personal missison statement and situatiojn you would be best writing it first and then selecting publiswhers to send it too. look for people who specilaise in journalism ands biography as that will inevitably drive the marke4t for your work. depending on the kind of illness you have you may have organisations who can help promote and publicise your book to an audience who could nrelate to it.


I wish you the best with your health and endevaour

Answer 8

You can publish privately or start a blog and see if there is interest there i know people who have gotten book deals form there blogs. Write form you heart and people will always want to hear real tragedy. Good luck with your illness.

Answer 9

write a book or a poem or a book of poems or a song .let me start again .write something such as a book song letter play and sign your name at the end hence making u the author

Answer 10

check out pay per print publishing houses also. Another alternative to publishers waiting and rejections of ideas and books