Writing a book - where to start?

[zoogle]

I've got an idea for a book but I am by no means a writer. Are there publishers out there that I can discuss my idea with to see if it is even worthwhile? What is the monetary reward like? Any input or experiences would be appreciated.

[Becks]

Fiction or non-fiction?

Are u planning to write the book? Don't u need to write it first before u shop around for a publisher?

[DaVibe]

Mail Oprah. She makes dreams come true ;)

(Sorry I had to! Just consider this a friendly bump! :D)

[Steeve Urkel]

just write and publish your own book :)

I know a few people who did that and are doing quite well- one is being made into a movie series in vancouver right now even....

you can look up all that info online also

[green blue]

It was a dark (http://www.lulu.com/) and stormy (http://www.blurb.com/) nighht...

[victory01]

pitch the idea. ill write it for you.

[ill_mango]

It's not a good idea to jump right into a book, you should try wirting some short stories first.

But if your heart is set on it, I suggest you start by writing the most interesting chapters.

[Bortman]

I have the same idea as you. I have a few great book idea's. I wouldn't consider myself a "writer", but I do write music and short stories for my blog. The books I want to write are currently just idea's, they aren't on paper yet, and that is the first 1/2 of the battle. You have to write it before someone buys or publishes it.

Just do a google search for self publishing or book publishing. Getting in with a big book company can be tough, but you can get it done on a small scale for cheap with some online companies.

[sfu_engineer]

... at the beginning. And finish at the end?

But seriously why not just start writing and getting out all your ideas and when your creative juices stop pumping go back and read over everything and make changes/edits as appropriate?

[gflux]

You might want to research on how books are structured and then begin your outline. Then just start writing.

[zoogle]

It's not a story, more like a financial guide or explanation of how to accomplish early retirement. I just want to find out before I put in a lot of time into it whether or not it will payoff, which is why I wanted to get ahold of a publisher and discuss some numbers.

[DaVibe]

Hopefully you can get some ideas through some users here ...

I know one girl who the children in the family believe in early retirement very much ... to the point where they are working 3 jobs, 7 days a week of working until the age of 30-35 to then retire.
The one sister has already done this and is done working for the rest of her life apparently.

Interesting.

[victory01]

It's not a story, more like a financial guide or explanation of how to accomplish early retirement. I just want to find out before I put in a lot of time into it whether or not it will payoff, which is why I wanted to get ahold of a publisher and discuss some numbers.

i hope the guide isn't to just write a book and make a shitload of money off it.

if not ill be interested.

[TenzoR]

write it first then talk to publisher ....

[zoogle]

i hope the guide isn't to just write a book and make a shitload of money off it.

if not ill be interested.

No, that would not be the main purpose of writing this book. It would be to share my insights, experiences, and strategies. I'm sure you've heard of the saying "time is money", I'm trying to figure out if it is worthwhile to invest a large amount of time into this book, time that could be spent relaxing, or improving my investments. I saw on here someone posted a link to a book about the youngest Canadian to retire, from the looks of it this book was a great hit. After reading parts of it I realized that I can trump this guy left, right, and centre.