BellaOnline Forums Career Nonfiction Writing What are your main writing questions?

I've had several people asking by email how to start the process in writing for publication. I would also like to know what interests, questions, or concerns you the most about writing for publication. This includes both nonfiction article and book writing.

I am posting at least one article per week (and maybe more) and would like to meet the most needs in these articles to help get people past writing hurdles.

If you could post your questions or concerns about writing, I'll see which ones to address first. Thanks. Glenda

Hey Glenda,

This isn't necessarily a question. But I wonder if sometime you might do an article about query letters, what types of information is the most important to put in, what to leave out and that sort of thing. I have been sending queries out for sometime to magazines and have had some limited sucess with them. I would just like to know how to query better, so to speak.

Thank you...

Hi Glenda:

Like Debbie I'm also starting to send out queries, my first ever. I usually pitch to publications I know already, then I write the whole article and hand in. Now I'd like to pitch to national women's magazines, but have yet to get started. I have notes on an idea but it seems too broad.

Any information you can provide on thinking up and structuring ideas would be helpful.

thanks

Leah

To Debbie and Leah,

I think an article about writing query letters is a great idea. Look for it very soon. As I'm sure you already know, they are the best way to open the door for an editor to want to see your work.

Thank Glenda. I look forward to reading the article. I put some notes together for a query letter and posted to a writers group, so I feel better now that I've taken the first step.

Hi Glenda,
I'm looking forward to query letters too.

I'm mostly interested in how to get started once you know what you want to write about.

I am looking to publish a nonfiction book for my first time but I do not know if its better to go through an agent or go right to the publisher. I assume that there is more then me out there with the same questions about it, would you be able to write an article on this? Im wondering if going in a crtain direction is better for getting pubished the first time. Also maybe pros and cons or a comparision of the two(kind of a agent vs. publisher)would be good ideas for an article

Hi CulturalCanuck. This is teddyeno (Ian). How are you? Go right to the publisher; don't go through an agent because that gets too expensive. By the way, what non-fiction book have you written? Do you like to do any sort of creative, non-fiction writing? Would you like to know about my writing project?

Thanks for the tip teddy
I was told that its best to wait to write non-ficition until after you find a publisher (and the opposite for fiction) I dont know if this is true but I was going by that. I have a tonnnnn of notes and little bits started already but was waiting to put it all together. My first book was going to be about opening a dayhome in Canada. I have worked in the childcare field for 9 years and the hardest part was when I opened my own dayhome. It cost me a ton and I was kind of at a loss of what to do. Since the economy slowed down more and more people are opening dayhomes and I thought it would be a great time to share what I learned. I could not find anything to help me out when I starte d so I want to provide a kind of survival guide for getting through the first year alive and not farther in debt then when you began.

I love writing creative non-ficition, writting even essays in school have always been kind of fun for me, even if I dont know much about the subject and research is required.

I would love to hear about your writing project!

Cavelle, if you have a really interesting self-help business story its sometimes OK to just approach the publisher with a proposal and one chapter!

If they like you and feel your success story is warming and could help enough other people they will commission you!