The idea of writing and publishing your own book is fascinating to a number of people. Because I’ve written and have had published eleven books to date, people ask me to help them get their book out. I appreciate the confidence they seem to have in me. However, I’m not the professional in the details of writing and publishing books. I actually have an agent who works for me to get my books published. However, I can give you some suggestions and things I’ve learned over the past twelve years. These are my opinions and cannot be used as set in concrete or for every situation. Accept what you need and overlook what you don’t.

If you are serious about writing a book, write about something you know about and in which you would consider yourself an expert. I write about my life experiences or about those experiences of people who give me permission to write about them. Even if you write about things or people you are familiar with, always remember to do your research, get the facts, be sure to be accurate, and get your statistics correct. Before you began to write or certainly before you complete your work, get written permission from those you wish to write about. If you must write about them and they do not give permission, write in third person or change the names and the environments where the circumstances where they might have occurred.

I suggest that you research books or articles about how to write and how to write book proposals. Take a writing course or workshop to help you with the dynamics of writing readable material. You can also follow the pattern of the Reader’s Digest to get the reading age and style that is most favorable to the reading public. Determine if writing is really what you want to do yourself. Maybe you need someone to write a book for you if you don’t feel competent in writing it. That’s what I did with one of my books. There’s nothing wrong with getting help if your information is essential enough to write about. You can find writers in your area on the internet or by word of mouth.

When you begin to write, don’t worry about sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, etc. If you have spell-check on your computer, it will help you to get it right as you use this feature. I only write when I have the inspiration from the Holy Spirit to write. I can’t expect the power of the Spirit to just fall on me; I have to invoke the Holy Spirit’s anointing on what I write before I sit down to write and while I’m writing. Once you get that inspiration, sit down and begin to write. It will amaze you what God will do in your mind that will land on that paper and cause people to love your words.

Please understand that a publisher has their own requirements for the works they accept. Before you send a proposal to a publisher, do your homework. Find out what a certain publisher is interested, what kind of books do they publish, how many books they publish per year and determine how you could fit in to what they want. Are they heavy in fiction, devotionals, biographies, children’s work, etc? Do not just blanket sent out proposals. You’re wasting your time and putting your feeling on the line. Even if you do get refused, don’t feel that your work is not good. It may mean that your work is not what they’re looking for this publishing season.

Self-publishing may be the way to go for your first book. Yes, its costs to self-publish, but that may be your alternative to getting your book published. There are some great self-publishing companies in America. Research them, talk to the principles of the companies, and see what they can offer you during the process of writing and what their plan includes for helping you market your work when it’s complete. I know many great writers who have a warehouse of splendid books that nobody knows about because marketing is not only expensive, but it is time-consuming and energy draining.

Prior to completing your written work, please find a competent editor to fine-tune it. I don’t know of any writer who does not need the expertise of an editor to make sure it’s written journalistically and at the grade level where people can read and comprehend it.

Things I’m not comfortable suggesting:

A publisher
A literary agent
An editor
Fee ranges for publishing
Fees for printing your own work
Cost of advertising
Places to market your work

They can be suggested by friends, family members, the Internet, books, library lists and other resources. There are the professionals.