Hi all,
I'm new to the site but I have been working on a Non-Fiction book about working in a benefits office. I have about 20,000 words completed so far.
Just wondering if anybody has any advice as to what to do next?
I think it is the perfect time to get this book out there, with a mix of funny and sad REAL stories, rather than the stories we see in the press and on channel 5!
Any advice would be gratefully received, what agents you would recommend, editors, how many words I should send, ANY advice!
Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you :-)
Em
Thanks Jimmy,
I've been working on it for almost a year :-/
I have had some non-pro and semi-pro feedback on it, but I will absolutely be posting it onto here to see what others think!
And I love your optimism (LMAO)
;-)
Hi, Emma, and welcome!
You write "I have been working on a Non-Fiction book about working in a benefits office. I have about 20,000 words completed so far."
How many words are you planning this book to have? How quickly do you write? Are you (professionally / vocationally) new to writing, or just new to this site?
Although everything that I write is perfect from the word go and needs no improvement (LMAO), the general consensus among writers is that you will need to go over your piece again and again, polishing it up, tightening it here and there, throwing out unnecessary padding, and occasionally adding bits to make it more comprehensible. (Not everybody has worked in a benefits office and there may be procedure that you take for granted, but that we wonder "what's THAT all about???")
Once you've checked for typos and feel that your work is RELATIVELY in good shape, it's always a good idea to get a 2nd, 3rd, 4th... opinion. One of the good things about this site is that you can bung bits of your book into "shared work" and get feedback from other writers. I have no wish to be disloyal, but there are other sites where you can do this, as well, such as authonomy.com
Using this feedback, you can further improve its quality,,, until it's so good that agents will be eager to sign you on. (again LMAO, but you'll find out all about THAT...)
I'm looking forward to reading samples of your book.