Now there are a lot of tools out there which can help- I know virtually nothing about many of them but plan to investigate.  Nowadays with self-publishing and hybrid publishing and in conjunction with the internet help is a click away.  The help likely comes with a price tag though. Another tool or skill I would say you need is to be a good typist(keyboarding for you youngsters).  You likely will be typing the story or novel and emailing it somewhere.  Proficiency with doing this from a laptop or desktop as well as from cell phone will help as well.  Now AI might be able to help out as well.  Editors and ghost writers might also be a source of aid.  No doubt as a software engineer(old text based code) and writing papers in college my typing teacher deserves an A+ for preparing me the most for life after high school.   Expect a roller coaster ride.  Sometimes you are up.  Sometimes you are down.  If you can persevere the end finally comes into sight.

In the next segment I will discuss need for a story.  The more you have read the better your story will likely be. 

Jan 23 2024

I have written and self-published two books. The first “Glory Daze” was a nonfiction work focused on growing up in a small town which was fortunate enough to have little league baseball. Before the little league games started the diamonds were host to dozens of neighborhood kids from ages ranging from 6 to 17. In this case the story was lived day to day for 7 or 8 years.

The second book “Intervention:Book one of the Adamic Chronicles Trilogy” the story draws upon personal experiences and those of friends and even family to weave a different sort of sci-fi tale. I felt like more older and different types of heroes were necessary. In this book, grandparents, pets, a homeless man combine with a not so fallen angel and Martian warrior to save a child as well as the earth. Much of the story comes from the title. It is Intervention and foresight by an alien being as well as by ancient aliens that thwart the efforts of an evil alien segment. But there is no honor amongst thieves as you will see at the books end.

Feb 7, 2024

So, let’s say you can type and have a story in mind. The integral part may be the most important. By that I mean your audience. Oh..you don’t have an audience…you say. First you might be surprised. Regardless your tale will fall into some existing genre. Each genre has thousands of readers. Two of the most popular are romance and science fiction. However, their popularity aspect may be a double-edged sword. There may be much for competition in those genres than others. Don’t let that scare you too much. It is true though that avid readers find favorite authors and focus on their books. With the advent of Amazon Prime, Netflix and other streaming services I think the door is opening for many others. If they like your story and think viewers will like it can turn into an advertising homerun for the author. Next time we will discuss actually putting your nose to the grindstone and starting.