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MV64 · 02-19-2010, 10:31 AM

My motivations for writing this book are several, but financial reasons are at the bottom of my list of priorities. I know it's nearly impossible to live off of writing, and despite the popularity of local history books in my area I can't imagine most of them selling more than a couple hundred copies (the popular ones). So getting rich is not in the cards.

My main motivation is two-fold. There hasn't been a true history book written on my area since the '70s, and the book has many flaws (I am reading it for research right now). I think I could really approach the history from a fresh angle. Most of the books published on my area are pictorial books, not text-based histories.

Also, I recently graduated with a BS in History and Political Science, and will (hopefully) be starting grad school in the fall. I have set this personal goal for myself because I never finish any of my writing projects and I feel that this is a project that presents the best opportunity of completing. And what's more, I feel that I could write a much more readable and interesting history than has been published before (to my knowledge, I'm still in the early stages of research).

I have connections at local history societies, my main concern would be getting the book into truck stops, various stores, etc. to be sold. My area has a lot of public events and attractions where I'm sure I could sell my book during touristy months, but the stores are a concern of mine if I self-publish.

I'm willing to devote as much time as it takes, but I hope to have much of it done before fall. I'm only working part-time and since this is something I've been wanting to do, I'm willing to devote a lot of effort to finish this project. I figure that with the time I have to devote to it, my skills as a researcher and writer, and my access to many research materials, 6 months is a reasonable timeframe to complete research and make serious progress on the book, if I don't finish it completely.

As far as money goes, I haven't looked into how much I would have to dish out to self-publish at this point.

So in short, my ultimate goal is to personally achieve something significant to my community, provide a service (I love bringing history to the public, and I happen to live in a town that has had quite a colorful past) and have a published book under my belt.

02-19-2010, 10:31 AM	#4
MV64 Addict Posts: 271 Karma: 2000000 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Sony PRS-505	My motivations for writing this book are several, but financial reasons are at the bottom of my list of priorities. I know it's nearly impossible to live off of writing, and despite the popularity of local history books in my area I can't imagine most of them selling more than a couple hundred copies (the popular ones). So getting rich is not in the cards. My main motivation is two-fold. There hasn't been a true history book written on my area since the '70s, and the book has many flaws (I am reading it for research right now). I think I could really approach the history from a fresh angle. Most of the books published on my area are pictorial books, not text-based histories. Also, I recently graduated with a BS in History and Political Science, and will (hopefully) be starting grad school in the fall. I have set this personal goal for myself because I never finish any of my writing projects and I feel that this is a project that presents the best opportunity of completing. And what's more, I feel that I could write a much more readable and interesting history than has been published before (to my knowledge, I'm still in the early stages of research). I have connections at local history societies, my main concern would be getting the book into truck stops, various stores, etc. to be sold. My area has a lot of public events and attractions where I'm sure I could sell my book during touristy months, but the stores are a concern of mine if I self-publish. I'm willing to devote as much time as it takes, but I hope to have much of it done before fall. I'm only working part-time and since this is something I've been wanting to do, I'm willing to devote a lot of effort to finish this project. I figure that with the time I have to devote to it, my skills as a researcher and writer, and my access to many research materials, 6 months is a reasonable timeframe to complete research and make serious progress on the book, if I don't finish it completely. As far as money goes, I haven't looked into how much I would have to dish out to self-publish at this point. So in short, my ultimate goal is to personally achieve something significant to my community, provide a service (I love bringing history to the public, and I happen to live in a town that has had quite a colorful past) and have a published book under my belt.