Writing Books for Fun and Profit.

Yeah, that's not gonna happen.

If your thinking of writing a book to make a lot of money, you're in the wrong business. Writing a book is a lot of work, and the pay at the beginning is terrible. For every Steven King, there are a hundred Haruki Murakami's who you have never heard about.

But if you really want to walk down the path I am on, let me show you what your in for.

1. You're final draft isn't going to look anything like your first draft. Night and day would best way to explain it. Your going to write, then re-write, then re-write again, and then again. I had to completely rewrite my whole book twice before I was satisfied, and then I still had to edit it again.

2. You're going to need help. Writing the book is a solo effort, but making a book requires at least two people; one to write, and one to edit. There are a lot of professional editing services out there, get to know them. If you can't afford one of those, get some friends to look it over. When it comes time to get the book out the door, get your friends and family to pass it around.

3. You've got to leave your ego behind. Your writing may be great in your eyes, but you don't write a book just for you. Until your a household name, be ready to remove or change stuff that the powers that be need changed. If someone tells you it needs to be dropped, drop it unless you have an ironclad reason to keep it.

4. You're job isn't done when the book is done. Expect to spend a lot of time shamelessly self-promoting yourself and the book, spamming social networking sites, sending emails, and visiting coffee shops/bookstores. So warn your friends about that (and if any of my friends/family are reading this, you've been warned).

5. Don't expect to make a living on this. I am a travel agent. Unless I am fortunate enough to make a ton of money, I am going to stay a travel agent. Don't quit your day job until your making more money by writing then working.

If all this sounds good to you, then welcome to the club. But if you prefer something less stressful, may I suggest a life of crime? I hear drug dealers make a lot of money.

Just let me give another shout out here, Writer's Market contains the answer to Life, Universe, and Everything (book related). Check it out!

If you want to laugh your ass off, check out Cracked.com. It's not book related, but if your aren't laughing within thirty minutes your doing it wrong.