Any writers and authors on here?

I have sent you a PM.

Thank you everyone for all the great advice.
Great to know there are so many writers and authors here, and lovely to meet all of you.

Catterygirl, NanKate and Beswitched - thank you for your kind condolences.

Witzend

I have sent you a PM.

I have replied just now, Witzend - thanks.

The way to write a book is to... write A daily practice, preferably, even if it's just 15 mins on a hectic day.
And to know that the first draft is just the raw clay; it's supposed to be rough and unsatisfactory, half the art in writing is in the editing, to turn the dross into the book you meant to write.
Great advice on Stephen King's book on writing, and self-publishing; this might help too, to set out some structure.
storyfix.com/easy-approach-story-building-bedtime-story-model
You will also need to do some marketing, but not for a while - write the book first - and it needn't be onerous. I have 2 historical fiction novels and a book of children's short stories published, and make a small income each month simply on Amazon ads.

I have self published
five children’s books but donated most of them. It is really hard to get a publisher and book shops do not want to know. Yet two schools are using them .

I agree with Antonia unless you are well known or have contacts it costs a lot of money for very little return. I believe it’s a case of getting lucky. So good luck

Yes I wrote a book about my father. I used the script he had started before suffering with dementia. Its called The Pilot in the Poster as he featured on a well know recruitment poster for the RAF. There are many Battle of Britain enthusiasts who enjoyed it and one prolific author referred me to his publisher (after I had self-published). So if it has a specific audience you need to find out who specialises in that kind of literature. A personal contact always helps!

I’ve had one novel published and quite a few short stories and poems in anthologies. For some reason I’ve lost the impetus to write the last few years. I did start a second novel a few years ago, but last year decided I didn’t like the story, so gave up on it. I’ve had what I think is a good idea for my next novel and have written a bit but can’t seem to make myself sit and write. Weird really as I always loved writing.

I agree. Its hard if you're just not in the mood. If I have a story I usually sketch it out then fill in the details and characters but sometimes I get going going and write it all at once. I write for a specific readership and each story is usually around 3000 words.

the traditional way is to get a publisher or agent but this is so difficult these days so many of us self publish our books and this is not 2nd best, JKRowling self published her book before it was read and snapped up by a publisher. The self publishing community is great, joining the Alliance of Independent Authors leads you to a goldmine of information and the most helpful Facebook group on the planet, joining them is the best self publishing thing I've ever done and now I get a useful stream of income from my 2 books, pop on over!!

Like Chicklette I have had one novel published and one available on Kindle (Publisher went of business - hopefully not because of my book). Am half way through a third but finding it very hard to get motivated. Keep thinking I might try to go on a tutored writers retreat next year. Arvon www.arvon.org - run some really good ones and are worth it to get you started/motivated.

Please don't expect too much of yourself while you are in the early stages of such a devastating grief. I send you my love and condolences.
Yes, I have self-published four books (Publish Nation) and I will never forget the thrill of holding my first book in my hands. It was like something I've never experienced before, so it might be a good first route for you to get your confidence up.

(Oh, and paying to have your book edited is always a good idea. It costs, but it's worth it, I promise you).

I had a short children's story included in a children's anthology a few years ago and have written a few full length children's books, mainly for children aged 7 - 9. Two agents requested the full mss of one of the books, requested some changes and then declined to take them on. At that point I felt very disheartened and didn't write much after that. Over the past couple of weeks I have begun to revise a book for 5 - 7 year olds (the only benefit I can see for Long Covid) and am enjoying it.

Callistemon As I managed to get a long way back on my family history I have self published a book I wrote just for my family, there are lots of self publishers out there who will print as little as one book if that is all you want (I Googled). I ordered 7 for immediate family.

Oh and I have let others read it and they loved it.

This is not the case. Maybe for big publishing houses. There are so many smaller houses that you can go to. Bloodhound books is one despite the name they are not purely crime. Book Outre is another. If you research on line you will find companies like this. You need to see if they are accepting manuscripts and has been said before, follow the format don't go off piste. Some of these authors make a very good living.

Just 5 poems published in various unremarkable publications.

I wrote a dozen historical romances for Harlequin when my husband was made redundant. The money came in very useful, as did the royalties which came twice a year, just in time for holidays and then Christmas for quite a few years after I'd stopped writing the books. I gave up when DH finally got another job and my young sons needed my time. People can be very superior about Mills and Boon, but we don't always fry the fish we want to fry in life - I wanted to read history at university but my parents weren't well off and I had to start work instead. But the things I'd learned to get a university place came in very useful when I needed them....

How very sad about your daughter - so devastating for you.

Writing novels has been my job for the past 30 years now. All 20 are published, all have sold very well.

While getting an agent is the go-to if you want to be traditionally published, there is now a massive number of books being successfully issued by independent authors. I don't know a lot about that aspect, but self-publishing is not longer the poor relation that is used to be. Be VERY wary though of ANY organisation that wants you to 'contribute' to publishing costs. Avoid like the proverbial.

Depending on your genre (if you fix on one) you can join various organisations such as the Romantic Novelists' Association (a much broader church than the name sounds) or the Crime Writers' Association. These groups have lots of advice and help. Good luck!

Hi , I'm Mary and I am a published writer of murder mysteries , writing under the name of Mary Grand. I don't often post but come on here every day. I find this group so supportive and often nod my head and identify with dilemmas people share. xx

Hello MaryGrand!
I've just snooped for you on Amazon!
I've downloaded The Houseparty and will also buy an Audiobook (I spend a fortune on Audible...)
You should definitely post more often! I look forward to reading your work

Yes. More than 120 published titles. I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. Unimaginable.

Artemis, I am so sorry for your loss.

I have written a finished book and a half finished one. I am a member of Jericho Writers and find them extremely helpful . They publish a lot of articles about writing and you can ask them questions about any problems you have. I actually got a phone call from their team the other day and told her about my finished book, and the problem that I had in stopping my repeated editing and adjusting... she said it is because I just want it to be perfect but I will never find it perfect... just get it published!

I can recommend joining JW. It costs about £30 a month if you pay monthly. All the best with your writing!

I have a friend who has self published 2 books of poetry and sells them on Amazon. She also sets up stalls at Craft fairs or similar and sells them there. She's as ancient as me, but has 100 times more energy and 'get up and go'!

I like writing too, and have been writing a column on the letters page of our local paper for the last 10 years. There are 9 of us who take turns so it's just once every 9 weeks, though originally it was once a month. These are mostly not creative pieces, but opinion based. I can offer whatever I like - from a rant about toiletries that are fruit based - who wants to smell like a strawberry or orange?- to local issues - to rants about anything that comes to mind, with the occasional poem/doggerel thrown in.
I'm just drafting my next one, entitled Roadworks Roulette, which happens to be piece of doggerel, as we have been enduring a horrendous building programme, plus endless road works which pop up all over the place and cause long queues at a time when the nearby motorway is being made into a so called smart one ( aka death trap) so shuts every weekend and sends all the traffic through where I live.

There are lots of magazines out there who might use a short story - or just an article about something that interests you. Why not try submitting something like that as a starter?

PS Valerie F, your granddaughter will go far!

Sincerest condolences Artemis.

My husband has written one book. We paid for it to be published but chap made off with money and we managed to get 50 copies from printer. Now he has it available on Amazon and much better. Only paid for copies get printed and there is a kindle version too so no set up expenses. It did take a bit of work to transfer to Amazon on the IT side.

Thank you so much FannyCornforth.I do hope you enjoy the story. I love audio books as well. The person who narrated The House Party is Karen Cass and she is so talented, she is going to narrate my next book as well- she is brilliant at doing accents so subtly that you hardly notice but are also so rich. I loved audio I listened to of Rebecca read by Jenny Agutter, it was just wonderful xx

Any more lyricists here?