How to Write a Book
By D. A. Sharpe
There is not an absolute formula of
creating sections to publish a book, but certain ones are common and have
specific purposes. It is my advocacy
that an author address each of these parts, to give a full-orbed value to the
composition.
1. Title
- Give lots of thought about the attractiveness and understanding of what
people see in your title. Brevity
is better than length. Simple one,
two or three syllable words are best.
2. Foreword - This is a statement by someone other than the author, who commends
the reader that the work this author did to produce this book is of
value. Give serious thought to who you would ask. For his or her remarks to be commending
you, there should be no financial incentive for the Foreward. So, you need to fine a quality person
willing to volunteer a positive expression. Also, spell it correctly. It is NOT Forward!
3. Preface- You talk about WHY you are writing this book and what were some of
the motivations for you to do it.
4. Introduction - You summarize the arrangement of the elements of
the book, and what the reader should expedt. Occasionaly, an Introduction is in two parts. The first part tell about you are the author. The second part then would be about the organization of the book.
5. Acknowledgements - You should give laudable appreciation and credit to
the various sources of help and information you received. Usually it
mostly is a list of people, but you can cite some resources, such as Ancestry.com or various libraries from which you
found help, such as Library of Congress, or some state archives youÕve used. A special touch can be presented using
simple profile photographs of these people. Rather than attempting to list people in
order of their importance to you in this project, it would be better to state
that the list is in alphabetic order.
6. A Table of Contents - This is your planning guide of the Chapters you
intend to create. As you project progresses, you may add chapters or even
delete them. Some software programs usable for writing can help with
automatically managing the TOCÕs reference to page numbers. For example, MicrosoftÕs Word format,
that I have used, has that capability.
When I add or delete pages in the document, the
beginning page number of that chapter is automatically updated in the TOC
display!
7. Create beginning pages for each Chapter cited in the Table of Contents. This
enables you to jump ahead of your progress and insert material for later
chapters, before you forget some things. Doing it in Word allows an
automated form of TOC. You may need to get this done professionally, as I
did for $75, but itÕs worth it. In this way, every time you add more
pages of composition to a chapter, the page number in the TOC is updated automatically.
Also, when you browse the TOC, you may click on a Chapter line in the
TOC, and your curser takes you immediately to that Chapter in the book.
8. Photographs: Thus, you begin your writing. Make use of plenty
of photographs, if you can. Describe briefly the subject or situation of a
photograph.
9. Book Cover Testimonials. Have you noticed on the jackets (covers)
of hard copy books that several brief testimonials are cited by people of
recognizable name or reputation who say in 2 to 5 sentences something favorable
about you and the prospect that readers will enjoy whatÕs between the
covers! Since an e-book does not
have paper jacket covers, an alternative is to provide a chapter of Book Cover
Testimonials. You need to solicit these from among people youÕd be pleased to
have their testimonials. You may
need to solicit from 12 people to receive 3 or 4 testimonials, but I think itÕs
worth the effort.
10. Be alert to good grammar in your writing. Not using good grammar may not
distract some readers, but those who know better are often lost in recognizing
lazy grammar. You want to write in
a way that everyone will want to continue reading your composition.
There is a ÒSpeaking & Writing with EffectivenessÓ article composed for political
candidatesÕ guidance. However, it really is effective for anyone who speaks to
or verbally addresses any public augience. About grammar, read item #9
I have a developed
rule that is humorous, because citing it violates every rule it addresses!
Here is a five-in-one English grammar rule that can help us be read with
more integrity!
ÒWatch for four things in your writing:
(1) I think the pronoun, ÒIÓ should be used sparingly; (2) I think I should
always avoid splitting infinitives; (3) I think I should avoid using
prepositions to end a sentence with; (4) I hardly ever owed anything to anyone;
and (5) I think I should avoid run-on sentences, as they tend to lose the focus
I originally intended, and I think that the reader could become bored with the
writing I was offering!
As a sample, here is a writing plan underway for my autobiography
http://www.dasharpe.com/Autobiography.html
11. An INDEX alphabetically lists
important words individually, together with relevant groupings. Each entry is
given one or more page numbers. The
index is a relatively small part of the book and usually appears at the end.
12. A GLOSSARY
is usually prepared by a team of knowledgeable individuals
and is a whole reference book (or post) of terms used in a subject, eg real estate, droneology. It usually includes
definitions, descriptions, abbreviations, and directory type entries. It aims
to allow the reader to understand the meanings and nature of the terms used in
a subject.
It is hoped this was helpful to you as an aspiring author and writer!
805 Dering Road East
Aurora, TX 76078-3712
817-504-6508
