LaTrice Williams
Living With More
SO , You Want To Be An Author ?
Often people have asked me how do I become an author ? With all of the information floating around the internet , it can be a bit overwhelming . With that in mind , I want to share with you some of the pointers that I ’ ve learned on my journey over the last decade . Believe it or not , I published my first book in 2004 . It is entitled Life ’ s Experience . And oh boy – what an experience ! The process – I mean ! I didn ’ t publish the second book until 2014 . From that experience with International Best Selling Author , Suprina Frazier and Bridges and Channels Enterprises LLC , I can now share some of what I ’ ve learned that has helped to earn me two Best Selling books as well !
If the truth is told , becoming an author is not hard . It ’ s a matter of writing and publishing or having someone to publish your book . However , providing a quality product and honoring God with it is something totally different .
The first thing that I would urge you to do before and as you write is found in Proverbs 16:3 . It says “ Commit your actions to the Lord and your plans will succeed .” A successful book- notice I didn ’ t say best-selling , but a successful book always starts with committing your work to God and praying before and as you work through it . The thing that I love about my publisher , Ms . Frazier , is that she prays over every project that she ’ s a part of whether it ’ s hers or yours . I also love that she takes pride in producing an excellent product for God .
The second thing you should know is that there are no set timelines for writing a book especially when you are led by the Spirit of God . Don ’ t get trapped by these 30 and 90 day plans . These plans may be good and they may work for some people but don ’ t allow a timeframe to determine how you produce a product that could impact someone ’ s life for a very long time .
The next thing that I strongly urge you to do is to write with purpose .
Do you know why you ’ re writing your book ? That ’ s important . Knowing your purpose will help you to stay true to the vision of the book !
Regardless of what format you ’ re writing in , i . e ., expository , descriptive or narrative – write in a manner that your reading audience will have a takeaway . You should know what you are trying to accomplish when you ’ re writing your book .
The biggest lesson that I learned is — don ’ t be afraid of edits . Some things need to stay in the book and some need to go . We ’ ll talk more about that later .
Let ’ s talk about choosing a publisher if that ’ s the route that you decide to go . When choosing a publisher , here are some things to consider :
1 . Is it who God wants you connected to ?
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LaTrice Williams
2 . Will they help you to bring life to the vision God gave you for your book ?
3 . How will they help you ? Will you have to compromise your standards ? Will you have to deviate from something that God specifically told you to do ?
You are the owner of your material . You have the final say so of how everything concerning your book goes . Why ? Because it ’ s your vision . The publisher is there to
1 . advise you and to help you birth it .
2 . Try to connect with a publisher who is going to teach you the process . You need to know about writing styles and techniques , cover art , etc . Knowing these things will make your next writing experience a little easier . Now , let ’ s be clear – most publishers are not going to teach you everything but there is research that you can do own your own as well to ensure that your product is the best one that you can produce . Don ’ t just settle for what someone gives you if you know it ’ s not the best that it can be .
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E m p o w e r i n g , E n c ouraging & S trengthening