Craig's bookshelf: read

The Old Man and the Sea
The Power That Preserves
The One Tree
The Wounded Land
The Darkslayer - Fantasy/Adventure
Conan
The Halfling's Gem
Streams of Silver
Billy Budd, Sailor
The Legacy
Watchmen
Dragons of Autumn Twilight
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Ender's Game
A Gathering of Heroes
Lord Foul's Bane
Dragons of Spring Dawning
Dragons of Winter Night
Time of the Twins
Forgotten Realms: Homeland


Craig's favorite books »
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Jan 20, 2012

SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A BOOK ...WHY?

Writing a book isn't easy. It's work that takes endless hours and demands your attention to a thousand details. I wish I knew all of this before I started. I flew into it blind. I had no clue about the brutality of the publishing word.

So, here are some things to consider before you even start ...

1. Why are you doing it? If it isn't to make money then you are making a big mistake. I'm strictly speaking from a publishing standpoint, not that you are doing something special for you kids. No, the best way to be successful is to think about the money. Do your homework. How much does it really pay to get published or how much does it really cost to publish yourself. I'm not going to help you with this There are oodles of articles on this. I will tell you what to look for though.  However, if you are looking to self publish, read J.A. Konrath's' blog.

2. How many books are you willing to write? Uh, if you are only planning on ONE, you will fail. You need to find your genre and plan on doing as many as you possibly can. That way, if you get rejected by agents and publishing houses, you have something to build off by self publishing on your own. Publishers are looking for a running series as well. Success with self publishing comes from many, many books. Readers want to see that you have many books before they even try. Many super successful authors are doing great because their stories were rejected over and over. But when it came time to self publish they already were established in there work. You can be as well.

3. Read books on how to write a book. YES! There are dozens of details you have never considered. Books are not like movies and television shows. They are an art unto themselves. You might as well do some reading up before an editor or agent tells you that you need to re-write the entire story. I did that with my first two Darkslayer books. It was brutal, but man, I learned alot. I recommend Immediate Fiction and Self-Editing for fiction writers. They opened my eyes to an entire new world.

4. I am stopping now. This is just the beginning. I like to feed bits at time. It's easier to swallow that way. The truth is, there are volumes you really need to read to be successful. I just hope I can help many of you save some time and money. It's not an endeavor you should take on without all the help you can get.

REMEMBER, THE DARKSLAYER VOLUME ONE EBOOK IS FREE!!!