The greatest loss we feel today is over something that is not even commonly recognized as lost. It's the untold stories. Stories tell of how we used to raise children, how we looked at adults who were not conforming to societal standards, how we took care of and felt about aging. Mostly, stories bring in a bit of whimsy and ignite the embers of each individual's imagination.
Stories we share within families are rarely written down. Each story is a one-off and it alters a little with each telling, as aural story telling is like to do. Aural story telling is where it begins, but what if the Brothers Grimm stopped there! Oh, how much more dull the world would be if Beatrix Potter hadn't the courage to share her stories!
Prior to the internet, it was tough to get published. Many of the tales, even the great ones that no one ever laid eyes upon, are lost to us now. There are a few left, but wouldn't it be a wonderfully colorful world if each family had their own story book? How much more we would be able to accomplish if we each knew our roots.
With a communication tool such as the internet, it is likely that those story books will still remain unseen for much of the population. Odds are, it won't become a best seller. However, it may become a favorite in each family! Getting a good book published isn't really that hard and involves just four steps:
1. Write the Story
When writing a story, careful consideration should be given to the language used to make the listeners laugh. If Jack's Giant had said, “Hey. What's that smell?” instead of the famed, “Fe-fi-fo-fum. I smell the blood of an Englishman!” would the tale still have that magic spark that enthralls listeners today? Write out an initial story, then read it aloud to your family members or friends. Watch their expression and see what really makes the story come to life for them, or if it the story stays gray to their imagination. The best way to do write an interesting story is to test it out after you've written it; then watch and learn. Watch the body language, watch for a far-away twinkle in their eyes. When you find that, you know you've got the right words.
2. Release the Story
After you've shared your story before people who can see you, it's time to share the story with those who can not see you. YOU are a part of this story at this point, and you instinctively use your own body to convey unspoken nuances of the story to your listeners. So the answer you will find with this step is if your writing can stand on it's own. Without your eyes to create suspense, is there suspense? Without your arms showing just how big that giant is, does your reader know? This, really, is the easiest step of them all. First, create an account at writing.com, then upload your first story. Share the story with everyone you know, asking for feedback in the writing.com environment so you can keep track better. Choose someone out there, with writing you admire, and not only review their story, but email them and request a review of your own!
3. Publish the Story
That sounds so easy, doesn't it? It's this point, however, that stop most writers. This single point becomes an enormous monster with moldy looking green hair and rotten teeth ready to gobble you up! But, in reality, this step is like a lot of monsters. When you really look at it, it's simply not there.
Create an account at
lulu.com. Upload your story. Tell lulu.com how the book should be published and what it should look like in the end. Lulu.com can help you locate an artist for your book cover and any illustrations you'd like inside. The best part about lulu.com is that they don't charge you to publish a book, until you sell a book. The illustrator/artist will probably charge a small fee, but lulu.com doesn't charge you a penny to upload your book and offer it as a salable item in their online store.
4. Share Your Book
Now, you are a published author, with your tales secure for the future. If your objective now includes monetizing your book (making money from selling it), you should first get some marketing training. The best is, of course, hands on. Dave Ledoux, of didyousmellthat.com offers a 90 day internship to teach you how to market a product. Ledoux teaches how to use social networking, blogging, and article writing to help your product get more attention. The more attention it gets, the more likely you are to sell it!
Joe Vitale, of mrfire.com, is also an expert marketer and has many books, DVD's, CD's, classes, even one on one consultation and training about “hypnotic” selling, marketing, blogging, and anything else that gets the word out about a product. However, when you go to his site, be prepared, at every step, for him to try to sell you something. Look for the deals and the things that you find valid to your process, but leave the rest.
Once you get past the step of publishing the story, the rest is just fun. You get to talk to all sorts of people about a topic you are most passionate about - your stories! Something fun you might consider is purchasing your own books (10 or so) and join bookcrossing.com. Then release your books at local coffee shops, the courthouse and other places where people are just sitting about. After you've released your book “into the wild,” you can watch it go around the whole world!
