Basically I need a bit of advice and information on how I should go about doing this, or if I should be even bothering. Basically, I want to start writing books for Kindle users, because they don't seem as difficult to write for. Trouble is, I know little to nothing about general novel writing. I read a book once on Play Books (Android book market) called "The Giantess of Shima 4" and it about 350 pages and costed less than £5, and I thought, I could do this. If the general E-Book reader is like me and appreciates stories like that, then I should be safe. But as I said, I've never taken any courses in creative writing, never studied how to declare copyright and all the fine print nobody ever looks at when they buy a book. I don't know if it would be good for earning money, and I don't know if I'm being too ambitious. Because I've hit page two of my story and I'm instantly at a writer's block, and I'm panicking because I don't know how to detail out a good story structure ("start, middle and an end" is too simple for me). The strategy I have at the moment is to list all the chapters, and put notes at the end of each chapter. But I feel like I'm just making up filler for each page, and I feel like I could do much better than this. Any help would be amazing, I'm very new with this.
I think you need to determine why you want to write. If you really want to write, then work first on writing stories and learn to improve your writing through practice and through reading and critique. After you've written a novel that you feel is ready to publish, then worry about how to go about getting it onto kindle, and/or smashwords or other outlets for selling your work. If, however, you're just looking to do this to make money, then don't bother. You'd be better off getting a part time job at a store. There are quite a few writers who make a nice income stream through selling kindle books. But those folks are dedicated to writing.
Yeah I see what you mean. I mean, it's fun to be creative, but it's like in an academic report when you begin thinking "How the hell am I going to write about this subject for that many pages?" Same thing with story writing, I have things I wan to happen in the story which I've defined, but I don't know how detailed I have to go until I don't have to worry about just making filler text..
It sounds like you're starting from the wrong premise. Write because you love to. Not because it's an easy way to make money... because, from everything I read it's not. Lots of people write. Very few in comparison make a living at it. If you still want to learn to write well start with short stories. Take sections of your writing and post it here for critique. This will help you improve. Actually, go read the Welcome to New Members section here... https://www.writingforums.org/showthread.php?t=47991 if you haven't already. It will tell you everything you need to know and get you well on your way to becoming a better writer.
I tend to have the opposite problem -- how am I going to say everything I want to say in only this many pages? Don't ever write "filler text." No one will want to read it. Get as detailed as you possibly can. Better to create too much description, which you can pare down later. Details are what make the story. Otherwise, stories could be a page long. Gatsby could be: Spoiler A man was born. He met a woman who he loved. Then he went off to fight in World War I. He returned to find the woman, but she had married another man and moved to New York. Gatsby acquired a great deal of money and bought a house near her's. Then he met up with her again, but she accidentally killed her lover's mistress. Then she and her husband moved away. The End. But what we love about the book are all the details -- the fabulous parties, the hints at how he got his money, the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby and Daisy and Tom. The drives in the car. The heartbreak when Daisy again chooses Tom, despite Tom's affair. Develop the characters and see what motivates them and why they do certain things. You have to love to do this. Otherwise, why would you write?
You might have put spoiler tags on that.... *Puts The Great Gatsby on the bottom of the to-read list.*
Sorry about that. I thought most here were familiar with the story. But more happens than even that. And something else does happen to Gatsby at the end beyond that that I didn't mention. I still think it'd be worth the read for you. And it's a quick read, too.
Your premise is wrong in another way - you're talking about what audience to write for, not format. Write for a dumb audience and you'll probably fail whether your book ends up as print or ebook. Respect your audience and format won't matter either - you'll just have a better chance of success.
No, you shouldn't be bothered. They are just as difficult to write because they are exactly the same. The only difference between ebooks and printed books are the delivery mechanism. Many ebooks are ALSO print books. The problem with ebooks is there are so many bad ones, simply because people think they're a breeze to knock out because so many have been published. So unless you want to put in some real effort, don't bother.
Ah, just to make that bit clearer, I don't mean the audience, I mean the practical method of reading. No printing off materials, etc, unless published otherwise. Not the audience, I hope nobody thought I was saying that Kindle readers are stupider than book readers, lol that's not what I was saying at all
I agree with everyone's replies - find your love for writing before thinking of how you can make money. I started by writing short stories and showing them to my brother. If you need some kind of direction, try and write a short story (with the length all up to you) with a beginning, middle, and end. If you enjoyed it, then write another story The more you do it, the more you'll get a feel for it. Also, read a lot of ebooks out there that are relevant to your interests and goals. If you want to write an eBook purely for the income, another alternative is to use an ebook to supplement your business, if you have one. For example, if you're a dentist and you have a website, you can sell an ebook on your site on a topic such as "How to keep your teeth clean" (boring example, but I'm sure you can think of a good one). With this kind of stuff, you don't even need to write it yourself - you can even outsource someone to write the work for you. There are lots of tutorials online on how to go about doing this. Good luck!
I agree with everyone's replies - find your love for writing before thinking of how you can make money. I started by writing short stories and showing them to my brother. If you need some kind of direction, try and write a short story (with the length all up to you) with a beginning, middle, and end. If you enjoyed it, then write another story The more you do it, the more you'll get a feel for it. Also, read a lot of ebooks out there that are relevant to your interests and goals. If you want to write an eBook purely for the income, another alternative is to use an ebook to supplement your business, if you have one. For example, if you're a dentist and you have a website, you can sell an ebook on your site on a topic such as "How to keep your teeth clean" (boring example, but I'm sure you can think of a good one). With this kind of stuff, you don't even need to write it yourself - you can even outsource someone to write the work for you. There are lots of tutorials online on how to go about doing this. Good luck!
I know what you guys are saying, it's a bad idea to start off with money in mind and I do see that. Personally I see people as trying to make a quick buck as not very genuine, like people who sell software for their own secret agenda, like people who make gambling systems, sell them as E-Books and put affiliate links at the end so they get money whenever someone puts money into their account intending to use their 'fool-proof' system. So yeah I think I might be more respectable to honesty do it to hone my own writing skills. Thanks for the input all.
