Writing A Book About My Journey/Disability

Roxy07

How do I go about writing a book about my journey/struggles with my disability and the highs/lows?

Who do I go to try to get it published, edited etc?

I'm not doing it for profit.. all the money made from it will go to charity. But I think it might help/inspire other people who have been in my situations..

SailorSam

You're best doing an ebook. Check out Anazon, i'm not sure but that way it doesn't cost you anything. Although you may need to pay for help designing the cover etc.

http://kindle-book-publishing.co.uk/

vlad

A friend of ours wrote a series of 6 books,they were IMHO better than harry potter but it took him years to get them all published and he's yet to make a profit.
On the other hand a member of a forum I use for epilepsy got members to write down their experiences then she put it together and sold 100 copies at £5 each for the charity,all that cost was her time,lots of paper and printer ink

SailorSam

I suppose like everyone else i once read up on what you're asking now. And a lot of authors of ebooks started by not wanting to make money but just for the pleasure, They gave their books away for free on Kindle, but then some of them had written a second and third book. By at first giving them away they managed to get their name out there and a following who were willing to pay. Once they started to charge they thought selling for 99p was better. It's easier to get 10 people splash out a pound than to get one person to pay £10.
But then once you get good at it, charge what your time is worth. Don't under charge yourself.

tiger_eyes

To sell a non-fiction book to a trade publisher you need "platform" - that's an industry term for being famous within your specific field (the subject of the book). So if you're a world-renowned disability advocate and you can sell a thousand copies of your book via your next speaking tour, get in touch with a trade publisher.

If you don't have platform, you'll most likely need to self-publish. Self-publishing is basically starting your own bookselling business, so it requires a lot of specific business skills and if you don't have them personally, you'll need to hire subcontractors (eg a cover artist). I suggest you take all questions to the Kboards, where you'll get a wealth of advice from experienced self-publishers.

Never pay a publisher upfront. Any publisher who asks you for money is a scammer.

teddysmum

Would your disability's charity be interested in publishing, in which case they could also deal with sales via their website/magazine?

Justiceforme

Sorry, I don't know anything about your disability and the book you want to compose. I have found that most people have no interest yours or my struggle with any disability unless we have achieved a Gold medal. After suffering for over 30 years of highs and lows and more lows I feel like giving up. Unless you are very lucky nobody will look after you. Sorry to sound so negative