So You Want to Write a Book?
Do you think that you have what it takes to become an author? Writing a book takes a lot of time and dedication, which is why there are so few writers out there. The rest of us may have an idea or a half-finished novel, but we don't have the time to finish it. Until you are published there is no way of know whether you can support yourself with your writing, so in the meantime you plug away at your day job and madly type up a page or too of your soon-to-be bestseller before going to bed.
When our masterpiece is completed, we dutifully read through it time and time again to make sure it is perfect. This is mind-numbing, tedious work that seems to take forever. Rewriting the book to get rid of errors is not as fun as writing the book itself. It would sure be nice to have and editor to do this for us, but alas we are still an undiscovered talent.
If you think you want to write a book, take a good look at your motivation. If you have never enjoyed writing, but think you want to do this, ask yourself why. Even those who have loved writing their whole lives cannot muster what it takes to write a book and finish it. If your heart isn't in it, it's never going to get done.
After the best book you ever wrote is completed and edited, you still have to get it published. This task in itself can take many years. Basically you need to print a thousand copies of your book and mail it to every publisher you have ever heard of. They will send you back a lot of rejection slips, but on occasion one intelligent publisher may agree to print it.
In the event that there are no intelligent publishers out there to print your book, you can consider self-publishing. This involves taking care of, and paying for printing, marketing and distributing the book. Again this is going to take more work on your part as well as a lot of your money. The bonus is that no one else gets a cut when your book starts flying off the shelves.
