Mortimer Should've Written Another Volume...

[valiant4truth]

He could have called it, "How To Write A Book."

I am in the process of getting some of my wild ideas off of my legal pads and onto my computer in the hope that some unsuspecting publisher might take them off of my hands. I haven't written anything of length since seminary. I have absolutely no experience "making books." Can any of you gracious gents (or ladies) give any helpful advice?

I use my MacBook for most projects currently. Is it possible to format my book in Pages? Should I worry about formatting or just throw words on the screen? How much attention should I give to layout at this juncture in the process? I figure that an editor with a keen eye and sharp knife will do a great deal of that down the road but I am really have no idea. Any help that you guys can give would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Hamalas]

What are you writing? Fiction? Non-fiction? Poetry? Prose? Theology? Or something else?

 

[reaganmarsh]

I'm not the author of any books, though I have written several pamphlets/booklets (which I self-published by clicking "print" and doing my own folding and stapling. How's that for prestige? Ha ha!)

The most important thing I've learned is to focus on my writing so that it is as concise, clear, and simple as I can make it. I worry about the distribution (print/publish/ebook/etc.) details afterward.

Hope this helps!

 

[NaphtaliPress]

Right now sounds like you just need to write. Complete the content and get it to presentable form. Once your text is ready then worry about how to make it into a book. You can look at several book lay out programs or have someone do it; or if you get a publisher interested they may take care of that end of it.

 

[timmopussycat]

From my limited experience with publishers, I found all of them were happy when I used Microsoft Word to submit the MS.

 

[valiant4truth]

Ben, the current project is theological in nature. I have several unfinished things lying around ranging from poetry to pastoral essays.

 

[Eoghan]

I wonder if sermons are a bridge to book writing? Expository sermons preached consecutively must be the base bones of a commentary surely? Even if you follow the current trend to expound isolated texts, as a thematic series would they not constitute the outline of a book?

I know that part of the decline in evangelical Presbyterianism has been attributed to preparing sermons for publication rather than the flock in the pews but can you really preach without the sort of structure and progression that written text requires?