iUniverse gets you to your First Draft – Part 1

In this the first article of a two part series, iUniverse gets you to your First Draft, we look at what is critical in your journey to how, when and what you should be doing to get to the end of your first draft smoothly and with less hassle.
With all new endeavors we all have a tendency to jump in head first with only a small thought of the consequences further along the line. Writing and publishing is no different than any other. Insufficient planning the first time you put your foot into the publishing pool can give you a big headache.

iUniverse Publishing understands that each book has its own intricacies. If you are writing fiction for children you might have to involve an illustrator for the drawings. Deciding to write a non-fiction book on birds may mean having a photographer aboard. In both cases, the illustrator and photographer need to be paid and credited, unless you are in collaboration which in many cases makes life a lot easier in the long term.

Make sure the funds you have put aside for writing and publishing are used wisely because you certainly don’t want to miss a potential writers’ conference or large book fair due to you not following a planned schedule.

All writers from Dickens through to Agatha Christie surely had a plan. Each wrote so well and in Christie’s case, so many. So we have outlined a few suggestions to keep you focused on the job at hand:

The Title

When you decide to put pen to paper, consider a “working title”, a few words which will be changed as many times as your socks. Make it descriptive, catchy and short. If needed a longer subtitle can always help to give the reader an idea of what the book is about before going to the back cover.

Authors change the title of their book constantly over the period of writing and even on the presses. For example Dickens’ David Copperfield was at one period called “The Copperfield Survey of the World as it Rolled” and the Margaret Mitchell epic Gone with the Wind was previously titled “Ba! Ba! Black Sheep”.

Choosing the correct title and subtitle is the one most important piece of written copy used in your book. Having a boring title will certainly lose you readers. Emphasis is always put on the cover design but remember the buyer will normally see the title on the spine first before he picks it off the shelf. The title is the perfect selling tool and hook to get the reader more interested in buying it.

iUniverse advises organize each chapter or section into something usable.

Penning your book

The first chapter of your book should introduce your readers to an idea which will evolve. But how can you write this important introduction if you really don’t have a clue where you will go with your book. So forget about chapter one for the moment. You can come back to it later when you know more about what you have written.

Having done your research make sure to put this into an order which is workable. One way of course is to pile each chapter folder in order. Non-fiction is slightly easier to deal with as commonly you have a certain criteria or time period for each chapter. Your research can be placed in any order without a given chapter number, allowing you to write by jumping back and forth around the piles. To get you into your stride try and start with the shortest section or the one which gives you the greatest pleasure writing about.

iUniverse hopes you enjoyed the first article in our two part series, iUniverse gets you to your First Draft – Part 1. In the second editorial we look at laying out your manuscript, writing or using a keyboard and living with your book.

To learn more about the role of iUniverse in the successful book publishing revolution. Click Here