On writing a book...

A book I wrote is being printed as I write this.

My book, "For Those In peril: Shipwrecks of Ottawa County Michigan," will be available at bookstores throughout West Michigan by March 1, 2010. While it's not exactly Pulitzer material, it took a lot of work and has been a tremendous learning experience. I thought I'd try to capture some of that experience here. Whether you are fortunate enough to find a publisher that will take all the risk (and most of the profit), you co-publish with a smaller publisher or self-publish, I hope these thoughts will help.

1. Even if you are not planning to write a book-perhaps just work on a web page or PowerPoint presentation-always record your sources. This obviously is advice for the non-fiction writer. It's a whole lot easier to do that "as you go" than to try to recreate things weeks or even years later. I know.

2. Decide up front what style you will be using, lest various editors make you change things back and forth later.  Whether you choose CMoS, the AP Stylebook, MLA or APA doesn't really matter, as long as you are consistent. Check with your publisher to see if they require one particular style.

3. If you are not a designer, hire one. Let a professional design your cover, format your pages and create a "look" for your book.

4. Don't bother formatting things as you write. Just write. I wasted a lot of time making it look "like a book." The publisher probably will just want you to send MS Word docs to them anyway.

5. Keep a style guide handy. Learn the basic rules of English grammar and apply them. Punctuation is all important. Know the rules.

6. Learn about active vs. passive voice. I was driven nuts by this. This drove me nuts at first, then later become second nature.

7. Depending on what you are writing, keep the style easy to read. I found it hard not to un-split my infinitives, but following that rule rule every time made the book a very stiff "read."

8. Get ready to be a marketing maven. Writing the book is only the first step. No one's really going to sell it unless you do. Contact libraries, bookstores and other appropriate venues. Schedule book signings in your area. Contact the local radio stations and newspapers.

9. Use new media and social networking to get the word out.  Your book (or you, or both...) should have a web page, a facebook "fan" page and a twitter presence at the very least. decide early if you are going to sell through Amazon.com and similar sites that will pay you only about 35% of your list price. Start creating the buzz before your book even is available (should I un-split that infinitive?)

10. You most likely will lose money your first year-especially if you paid for the printing yourself. If you break even, celebrate!

It's a rewarding experience.