Tips for Writing Your Own Book

My one piece of advice is this:

Just picture the finished book in your mind. Imagine its cover, how good it looks, and how valuable and comprehensive it is.

Once you have that goal, then you have something to head towards.

 

Yikes. I hope my advice on where to seek guidance has not totally demoralised Uncle Target. If so, my sincere apologies. That said, publishing is a selling business just like any other and unless a publisher thinks your book is going to sell and turn a profit then he/she is unlikely to show interest. It doesn't matter how well-written it is or how interesting the subject matter, the bottom line rules. Sad but true.

 

I think it depends upon what you are motivated by, really. Not everybody is motivated by prestige or financial reward, by any means. I think you just have to gauge your choice of publishing route by what you want to accomplish. If you want sales and attention, then pick a commercially viable subject and go to an established publisher. If you want to get specialised information out to a potentially limited audience, then go the self-publishing route.

Ultimately, writing a book is not about entering a grid with a limited set of outcomes, it is more like a very sedate adventure, with a greater array of outcomes than you can possibly envisage. This is why I kept my advice simple - imagine what you want to create, and if this enthuses you enough, then there is a high chance that you will find whatever you need inside yourself to fulfil it. Most people have more skill and determination than they suspect of themselves.

If your goal is to produce a book on a subject that is dear to you, then I think this is within the ambit of the majority of people to achieve. If your goal is to produce a book in order to earn a living or enhance your social status, then that is a much more difficult proposition.

 

I am definitely not demoralised I am simply re evaluating my approach to publishing a book. I have for some time felt that I need to diversify my story and make maximum use of the incredibly rich original material at hand. Which emanates from a number of extremely talented letter writers who, had they survived, could in my estimates, have written quality stories of their exploits.
I have inherited some of my material and have contact with the families of others with original documents and photographs.
I am not giving up but seeking to up my game over the winter months and have in fact just made a start by planning the contents in the way that a script writer might for a film or play.
In the past I have produced complete paperback books so that I could see how they looked and read. They were very well received by family and friends. I submitted them to potential publishers but have become very aware that they only want to see samples of ones work as they have licenced software with which to manufacture the book. They are not prepared to take time to read it in length and the layout is not to their taste.
My next step is to produce a rough manuscript from which to refine the storyline before making a sample submission.
Thank you for your interest. It might take some time to prepare then there will be the submission procedures to find a publisher which it seems in most cases will take time followed by substantial heartache and frustration.
Why am I bothering? Because I believe their stories deserve to be told.
If I had the cash it would be done sooner than later, one way or another.

 

I think you're overthinking the publishing bit. If you're happy to format the book and cover yourself, you can get it in print the way you want via KDP (Amazon) or Lulu, for example. Total investment need only be the cost of proofs and the ISBN (and even that's optional with Lulu). You don't have to let the professionals anywhere near it.

 

Not much cash required with the company I mentioned earlier: GBP 150.- or purchase of 35 copies of your own book (at a reduced price). After publishing, books then get sold through all channels also used by regular publishers (including Amazon, if that's relevant to know). So, if you want to be done sooner than later, I'd advise you to take a look at their website: Self-Publishing Services - Fair and Transparent at tredition . P.S.: I have got no links with the company, apart from the book I published through them.

 

Total cost is about £0 if you do it right.

One assumes you'll be using limited pictures, not the 100 odd I use per book.

With my publisher (Pen & Sword) they'll give you a £1,000 advance (£500 on signing the contract, £500 on day of publication). Apart from the time to write and do the work the only cost to the author is the graphical elements, ie Maps and Image licences. No clue on maps as I don't use them. But images are relatively easy, especially as WWII is almost always within the Public Domain. Everything else is done by the publisher at a cost to them.
I normally write my manuscripts first, or get it within a few months of finishing so I can meet the deadline. Then do the synopsis, then approach the company. Negotiate word count, image count and dead lines (pick a realistic deadline BTW). Then get my £500. Which I use to pay for the Image licences.

I would tell any company that requires and upfront payment to sod off.

 

Hi Andy,
upfront, you need to decide, will you base your book on historical facts only, or mix the facts with a story around one soldier/officer and/or local fictive person. And raise slowly raise the tension from page 1 to 100.
This will make the reader want to carry on fast till page 100.
Stefan.

 

What's your take on the IWM images that are on, say Wikimedia Commons, Listy?

The IWM state that they are for non-commercial uise only, but from what I can tell they Crown Copyright expired and Public Domain.

 

I'm not sure you would, after having been turned down by some 10 publishers (including Pen & Sword), because of (in their view) insufficient interest in this particular autobiography. From a commercial point of view they may well have been right, but over 400 copies have been sold so far, so I'm quite happy I used the private publishing route. No early retirement, but at least the story is being read!

 

Copyright law is a horrific minefield. Good luck!

Aye. I had a choice, money (through Amazon) or Fame (through a publisher). I went with the second figuring once you had a name the cash would come later. But charging people (whom you will be paying anyhow?) money smacks of being in the same vein as charging people to process their job application.

 

Andy,
do you want to write a purely historical book? Publishers typical are looking for something different.
If not historical only, we could talk about my book
Please send me a PM
Stefan.

 

Created by lawyers, for the benefit of lawyers.

 

I am torn on it.

On one hand, I'm an author who gets stung every time I do a book, and encounter things like the IWM saying 'That'll be £800 for 11 images please.'*
On the other do the owners not deserve payment for looking after and making the documents accessible?



*I didn't pay that, I went elsewhere. Plus that's the most egregious number I've been quoted. Most smaller archives are much more pleasant.

 

Someone really needs to light a fire under their arse and make them fulfil their responsibilities. They've had a hundred years to catalogue and preserve stuff yet their online facilities are worse than they were nearly 20 years ago. You don't promote remembrance by making stuff unfindable, unavailable and unaffordable. Or maybe I'm not smart enough to realise that you do...

I suppose it's like the old tax argument: the simpler the system and the cheaper the rates, the more money comes in because it's not worth the effort or cost of trying to dodge it.

 

I think copyright law in images basically functions as a tax on conscientiousness. i.e. those who don't feel that feint pang of being in the wrong will find a way round the system, or simply ignore it and front it out (e.g. the old "author's collection" ruse).

 

Just seen that Helion & Co offer a self-publishing service. Details here: Self Publishing | Helion & Company