What's involved in writing a book?

Question

Does anybody know what's involved in writing a book?

Answer 1

Do not listen to the first answerer. That's terrible advice.

1. Having a degree will not change whether or not you are worthy to get published, as most publishers won't know this based on your manuscript. It's helpful for agents, but they are scum, never take an agent. The only thing colleges do is teach you more about the language, writing requires natural talent that is not taught in schools. My knowledge of english is self-taught, it doesn't take much reading to figure out what to do.
2. Agents waste time and money, they are no helps. You don't want to get into the best publishing company as a first time author, go for the smaller companies, they are more eager for talent and will not require Agents, some even frown upon their usage.
3. Read a lot, honestly, at least 4 hours a day. Even while you write, you must read read read.
4. Be original, make sure what you are doing is new and most importantly, make sure people would like to read it.
5. Have your friends read it before submitting it to publishers, they'll know if you've made mistakes or if it's just plain lousy.
6. Find a publisher that takes full manuscripts by mail, meet their guidelines, send in your manuscript. If they reject you, don't worry, you can rework your story and send it back, or you can just move on to another company.

Answer 2

Sit down and write. Don't worry about sounding dorky at first, the entire point behind first drafts (or second and third drafts) is to iron out your plot and all the stuff that may not work. Don't think anything is set in stone, if you're not happy with something or you have an idea that might work better, play around with it. Get your story critiqued by as many different people as possible. Communities like Elfwood http://www.elfwood.com are great for getting peer reviews.

Answer 3

The writing is a joy if you have a descent outline. The edit for grammar, spelling, and just plain idiocies is murderous and sometimes takes nearly as long as the writing. Nevertheless, it must be done or you will never get further than a reader's trash can when you send it to a publisher.

Answer 4

Lots of research and reading.

And this is *before* you start writing. (It's okay to dabble to experiment tho'.)