Where did your journey of Writing Started? And Where did you first publish your material?
It all started when I was in a 16 years old girl and I started reading novels and books. I cherished the place called "library" and I would visit it daily just to get another one of those full of adventure books! Reading was my passion but then I got this crazy feeling about writing.. I still don't know how I write but I try my best and Hubpages is my first attempt to show my writing skills to the world!
I began writing when shortly after my retirement in 2003 I volunteered at our local branch library and was asked by a group that had been meeting to compile a history of our community. The bulk of the book would be a thesis that had been written by a local resident who had just passed away. His thesis was fairly well complete and the committee wanted to update his information and included the history to our current time. We added that information and included a short piece that I had written.
The book was pure history with none of the local stories about the people and various events. I had never written anything before and I had just gotten my first computer. It would be a learning process and I lacked skills using Word but I sat down one day and began to write about our hometown, the people, and stories that were dear to my heart,
After several months, I had completed enough information that I felt should be published in a book. A friend who is a poet told me about Lulu Publishing and I began the process of submitted my drafts and published my first book. I also had discovered hubpages and began to write articles. In those first years I submitted many hubs and enjoyed the immediate feedback and follows of fellow hubbers.
Later, I wrote some more books, mostly memoirs and published them. Writing is so satisfying and I have never expected to write a best seller especially with the things that I write. Over time, I revised my books and published through Create Space. I sell a few every now and again and my reviews are minimal but the satisfaction can't be measured in monetary gains but in having someone read my work.
Wishing you the best as you continue to write.
Robert Elias Ballard Self Published Author on Amazon and Hub Pages.
Your answer is so full of energy and it gives me immense pleasure to state that you are a great motivation to newborn writers including me. I am so much impressed by you and I feel like i should continue with the same energy as you had!
I also started writing in high school. I had feelings I wanted to share, so I wrote poetry. I moved on the short stories, then studied news writing in college. I wrote my first novel at 37. I'm working on my fifth.
I first published through a company that no longer exists called Author House. What a waste of money. I moved on to Lulu that was only marginally better. About five years ago I discovered CreateSpace, and it is a joy to use. I highly recommend it for self-publishing.
The main thing I've learned in the process is that it is actually easier to write a book than to sell a book.
Good luck to other authors.
Thank you so much Kathleen for your answer! you suggestion of publishing can be of great help! HAve a nice weekend
I started writing here on the hubs in 2009 a short time before I retired the first time. I went back to work and didn't write much . I re-retired a year ago and plan to start writing again here shortly.
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