An overview of the experience in writing a book and finally publishing it.
All the steps and learning the MANY “how-to’s” of self-publishing a book.
While writing my memoirs started about 40 years ago, it was only recently that I really focused on trying to get the stories and observations down. Partly motivated by leaving a legacy of memories of my parents and the events that happened in my childhood on the “old farm.
Writing progressed as one would expect, using a typical word processing package on my laptop. By the time I had created about ten short stories that covered several “memories”, it was quickly obvious that writing in MS Word, had a lot of limitations. That, combined with my lack of knowledge of how a book is structured, began to impact the writing experience. As a programmer, I realised I needed a structure and tools to get the job done.
For those who Don’t want to read all the tedious “how-to’s”, here is a bullet list of what you need and should take into account if you want to write a book. The same applies if it is an ebook, paperback or Hardcover.
- Use a Writing Package that will allow you to structure, Edit, Move, Write and brainstorm.
I recommend SCRIVENER. It was a godsend. It allowed me to write, overview and structure the book, and finally compile it into a “whole” in several formats. While it is simple, it has more than enough power to satisfy the most demanding writer. - If you are preparing an ebook. Try Calibre as a Free tool to convert, edit and do all sorts of things to create, and export in many formats, material for publishing or proof.
- Be prepared to at times to use MS Word, or a similar package. Not to write, but possibly make small formatting changes. Certain Image handling by some writing and formatting software does not play well. There are Word workarounds.
- Grammar. Use the “Freemium” tools such as Grammarly, and Wordtune. Quillbot is also a useful tool.