Need help in writeing a Book.

Hydro 69.

Need help in getting a great story out of my head and into a book form. Im lookink for somone with a backround in english, either teaching or journalism. Has anyone got any ideas. Id greatly appreciate some direction.

abouttobebanned

Most writers like to write their own ideas. Have you thought about taking a course?

AnnyHallsal

What kind of help do you need? Do you want someone to transcribe it for you, to act as a ghost writer, to edit or just proofread? And how much are you willing to pay?

finisklin

I only came across this site and service recently and I think it might be right up your street.....see link below.

http://inspireonpurpose.com/

The only problem is that they are in the US. Great business idea and particularly in the whole area of content management/provision for web based business. Will still help you write the book.....

Hydro 69.

Iogged on to the site you recomended Finisklin. It looks and sounds good. I hadnt heard of this particular group before although iv looked at a number of these self publishing printers. They all have one thing in common their bottom line is that its a buisness for them, they dont realy care wheather anyone buys your book or not their goal is to help you get a number of copies in your hand, and you part with the Devils Candy [ cash ]. Self publishing was always frowned upon and for quiet a while was known as vanity press. Where one paid to have their own book published and ended up with two hundred copies wedged under the bed never to see the light of day. Sounds a lot like the plight of the unfortunate that tried their hand at network marketing.
However times have changed and you now print on demand and a lot of these offer the service of your book being available through amazone and such services. They are definatly an option, thanks for the help.

Denerick

abouttobebanned wrote: »

Most writers like to write their own ideas. Have you thought about taking a course?

I wish there was a facepalm smiley.

Joyce did not need a 'course'. Kafka did not need a course. Dickens did not need a course. These creative writing courses are chock full of mediocre minds being pandered to by mediocre writers in the hope that they can some day write a mediocre book.

AnnyHallsal

Denerick wrote: »

I wish there was a facepalm smiley.

Joyce did not need a 'course'. Kafka did not need a course. Dickens did not need a course. These creative writing courses are chock full of mediocre minds being pandered to by mediocre writers in the hope that they can some day write a mediocre book.

It was suggested on Books and Authors on BBC Radio 4 last week that most agents and publishers won't even consider a debut work by someone who doesn't have an MA in Creative Writing these days. Unspeakably lazy and misguided thinking.

Denerick

AnnyHallsal wrote: »

It was suggested on Books and Authors on BBC Radio 4 last week that most agents and publishers won't even consider a debut work by someone who doesn't have an MA in Creative Writing these days. Unspeakably lazy and misguided thinking.

I know, its utter BS, isn't it? It leads me to think that the mediocre minds have taken over the publishing industry as well.

krd

AnnyHallsal wrote: »

It was suggested on Books and Authors on BBC Radio 4 last week that most agents and publishers won't even consider a debut work by someone who doesn't have an MA in Creative Writing these days. Unspeakably lazy and misguided thinking.

That's just to discourage people from writing. You'd be hard pressed to find successful authors with MAs in creative writing.

I've heard the argument, from people involved in publishing, that these courses are wrecking literature. They can help you get published, in that they'll help you prepare a manuscript that will be acceptable to a publisher. But it could be absolute dreck. Publishers publish a lot of crap. A badly written yarn is far more compelling than a well polished but stillborn turkey. Some of these books are marvelous in the sense when you're reading it, you're thinking, who the hell thought this was a good idea.

I read about one or two books a week. A lot of stuff is just not that good, often poorly edited (like, did anyone bother to read it before printing).

It's the same with journalism. There better known journalists in Ireland, possible the best, never took a journalism course.

A journalism course or a creative writing course can give you a little more credibility. But it's the on the job stuff is the real proof.

Denerick

krd wrote: »

That's just to discourage people from writing. You'd be hard pressed to find successful authors with MAs in creative writing.

I've heard the argument, from people involved in publishing, that these courses are wrecking literature. They can help you get published, in that they'll help you prepare a manuscript that will be acceptable to a publisher. But it could be absolute dreck. Publishers publish a lot of crap. A badly written yarn is far more compelling than a well polished but stillborn turkey. Some of these books are marvelous in the sense when you're reading it, you're thinking, who the hell thought this was a good idea.

I read about one or two books a week. A lot of stuff is just not that good, often poorly edited (like, did anyone bother to read it before printing).

It's the same with journalism. There better known journalists in Ireland, possible the best, never took a journalism course.

A journalism course or a creative writing course can give you a little more credibility. But it's the on the job stuff is the real proof.

We think alike.

My favourite example is the London Independent's Robert Fisk. Fisk is probably one of the most authoritative voices on Middle Eastern affairs anywhere in the world. He has a BA in linguistics. About as unrelated as you can get to middle eastern politics and culture.

I believe there is a real conspiracy of the mediocre in so called 'creative industries' that has picked up speed over the last 10 years. You can't get your foot in the door without a scrap of paper, or 'work experience' (In the vein of unpaid internship - which is essentially job protection for the middle classes as plebs can't afford to work without money) There is a postgraduate fetish, or something weird going on. So few great writers need these courses its beyond humour. The most important things in life never appear in exams anyway, the whole thing is such a load of tosh.

Hydro 69.

AnnyHallsal wrote: »

It was suggested on Books and Authors on BBC Radio 4 last week that most agents and publishers won't even consider a debut work by someone who doesn't have an MA in Creative Writing these days. Unspeakably lazy and misguided thinking.

Does this mean then that the only option to most first time authors is the self publishing route and is this the road to nowhere ?

Denerick

Hydro 69. wrote: »

Does this mean then that the only option to most first time authors is the self publishing route and is this the road to nowhere ?

NO.

J.K. Rowling was rejected many, many times before she got published. Now the Harry Potter series is one of the most widely sold series of books ever written. She wrote it when she was living in a council flat, barely able to feed her son, and going to local coffee shops during school hours in order to avoid paying for the heating!

A more tragic example is John Fintan O'Toole, author of A Confederacy of Dunces who was rejected countless of times by publishers before he committed suicide in 1969. In 1980, with the persistance of his mother, the book was eventually published. O'Toole posthumously won the pultizer prize in 1981. A Confederacy of Dunces is now a staple of American Literature.

Don't listen to these people telling you that you need some scrap of paper or other to prove you are a genius. The only person who will ever know that is you. if you write a good enough book, it will be published and it will be read. It may just take a long time.

An MA in creative writing... The more I think of it the more it makes my head hurt. The idea of Charles Dickens, or Patrick Kavanagh, or James Joyce sitting in a roomful of wishful thinking, naive youngsters.... Honestly, I sometimes think the age of high culture is dead and the mediocre reign supreme. Talent isn't recognised anymore. Expertise is mocked. Everyone is expected to be the same. Rigid uniformity is the prevailing ideology. The wondrous diversity of life, the old characters wandering the Dublin canals, smoking their pipe, dreaming of better worlds... All gone.

P.S- You may need to learn how to spell writing before a publisher takes you seriously

AnnyHallsal

Hydro 69. wrote: »

Does this mean then that the only option to most first time authors is the self publishing route and is this the road to nowhere ?

Honestly, getting a book published at the moment is immensely difficult. You do need some kind of introduction to someone in the business. It's highly unlikely that an anonymous book will be plucked from the slush pile of unsolicited submissions and published. Most agents/houses don't even read them.

Self-publishing is not as risky as it once was. I've heard of success stories of people who have uploaded an electronic version of their book on to amazon. And with printing on demand technology due any day now you will be able to print copies as required.

If I was in your position I'd write the book I wanted to regardless. Even if it is not published it will be an immense personal achievement and who knows what could happen.

In terms of guidance, I think you should begin with a book on writing - there are tonnes available - my favourite being Stephen King's On Writing. It may help you to formalise and structure your ideas, which I think would be most beneficial to you at the moment.