So far most of the content on this site and most other sites is aimed at those who have actually completed a book or are in the process of writing one.

But what about those beginners?  Those who are itching to write but as soon as they sit down to write just can’t seem to get started.  Or those who can’t even seem to find anything to write about, what about them?

While I understand that you want to write a bestseller and go on to fame and fortune you need to realise that those goals might be a bit more elusive than you realise.

All is not lost though.  It depends a little on what you are really looking for with your writing.  Fame and fortune don’t always go hand in hand.  There are many writiers on the Internet who have found fortune, well a good living, but no fame and there are probably more writers who have found fame but no fortune.

Surprisingly to some fortune is a lot easier to get than fame.  They both take work, which will stop some people right there, and they often take longer than you would like but the end result is achievable for most.

If only we knew what we wanted it would be so much easier.

That’s your first challenge then, to determine what it is that you do want from your writing.  Take your time, the answer really is important.

I want to make a living from my writing and this website is part of the plan.  I don’t care too much for fame and I really don’t want infamy.  If you have a look over this site you’ll quickly see that I write a lot.  This isn’t the only website I have built or maintain.  I don’t know how many words I have written on-line but I suspect that I could have written a couple of books.

In fact I have, they are for sale at other places on the Internet.  I have never submitted a book for publication anywhere but on-line.

But this isn’t about me, it’s about how do you get started.  If you are after fame all you have to do is write your book and then publicise it everywhere.  Put out press releases, create blog posts anywhere you can, join in all the forums and start threads, add comments to threads.  Send your book to anyone and everyone, except David Beckham, and then tell everyone on yor blog posts and forum comments who is reading it now.

Fame will be yours, you will sell some books and you will make the media notice you.  You may not make any money off your book sales but you’ll possible start getting appearance money to talk about it.

If, on the other hand, you want to make a living with the possibility of making a fortune then you need to start from a different position.  Look at the types of books which sell well on-line.  Try to find a group of people who are avid readers of anything related to their interests and/or hobbies.

Have a look in your local newsagent at the topics covered by the magazines.  Have a look inside them for what is selling in those magazines.  Talk to the newsagent about which of their magazines sells the best.  These magazine topics are the ones you could be targeting.  You can write a couple of articles for them, if they accept them you will be paid and published in a matter of months.

Now write enough articles about different aspects of the magazine topic, bundle them together as a series of chapters and you have a book for sale.  You can honestly say that some of these articles could be seen in the magazine, or that you have been published (call yourself a guest writer) in that magazine.

That sort of stuff on a web page gives you instant credibility and celebrity wich helps you to sell more copies of your book.

There are hundreds of magazines to choose from, there are literally thousands of different approaches to cover a similar subject and even more ways to write from a different angle.

If nothing else this will enable you to hone your skills in a much smaller way than attempting to write the 20,000 word novel.  Articles can be anything from 400 words to 2,000 words but I personally think 400-700 is the best bet.

By the way, if the magazine rejects your article just add it to your book and send them another one.  Keep writing, it’ll improve your ability and it helps grow your book.  Don’t worry about writing too many, if that seems to become a problem just ask me what to do with the surplus.

Remember Bearly Books accepts all articles, short reports, how to books, novels and anything else you’ve written as long as it fits the criteria on the ICRA website.

Get into it, start writing, you’ll never regret it.