Purposely Said – Dr. Linda F. Beed

Writing the Book

How often have you contemplated writing the next bestselling masterpiece?

Quite often the anxious desire to create a book overshadows the actual time and patience necessary to develop an impressionable product. Time is often elusive, yet without it and the application of patience during the process, writing a marketable book will never take place.

Writing is an entity unto itself. It cannot be allowed to run rampant without the appropriate measure of literary policing.

How you use time available to write is up to you. Fifteen minutes here or twenty minutes there can be as effective as two to three to four hour stretches. Again, it’s all in how you use the time.

Equally as important is the ability to exercise patience and accept sound advice throughout the developmental stage of writing the book. Steps include:

*The first draft
*Appropriate research
*Many revisions
*Submission to a critique group
*More revisions
*Proofing the work by you
*Proofing the work by someone else who is willing to provide honest feedback
*First final draft
*Selecting a professional content editor
*Note that every editor is not a fit for every project
*Several rounds of revisions with content editor
*Selecting a copy editor (same rules apply as with the content editor search)
*Several rounds of revisions
*Proofreading (by you and a professional)
*Final draft ready to be shopped to agent/editor who will represent you to publishing houses
OR
*Final draft ready for you to submit (check submission requirements)

This not a comprehensive checklist; however, what is listed gives you an idea of what is involved with writing a book. Each item on the list demands appropriate time and the exercising of extreme patience. Patience is the virtue you will need plenty of because there is much more to come in the journey to publication.

Your manuscript may journey through various publishing houses before you receive what you have been praying for—acceptance.

You are now on your way; emphasis on the word way. Someday, way down the road, your book will be published when your publishing house deems it appropriate for release.

It could be a year or more from signing to release. This is because the publisher has a process. That process varies from company to company, but usually includes another round of editing, development of a marketing strategy and waiting for your turn in the release rotation.

These words are not to discourage you. They are to encourage you toward your admirable goal. They are to enlighten you to the fact that whether traditionally or independently published, there are no short cuts to the goal line.

For those who believe that the suggested stages are too time-consuming, check out this visual assessment on the process of writing a book:
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/01/12/funny-contrafactual.html

Until next time, remember—Purposely Said words can destroy or create a life. Linda!

Dr. Linda Beed is an educator, speaker, children’s minister and author of Business Unusual. She co-moderators BWChristianLit, maintains its sister online blog and is the Review Editor for KDGospel Media Magazine.

You can find her on the web at:

lindabeed.com / MySpace / On Assignment Reviews / BWChristianLit