How to people become authors

Basics every aspiring author should know
How do people become authors?
What, or how should I write?
How do I get myself published?
How do I get paid as an author?
Who owns the copyright to the book?

How to write a book?
How to write a fiction novel?
How to write non-fiction?
How to write a children’s book?
How to write an auto-biography?
How to write science fiction?
How to write a romance novel?
How to write a short novel?

How to get published?
What is the difference between a Publisher & Literary Agent?
How to find a Publisher/Literary agent?
How to publish a poem?

How to self-publish & sell your books?
How to decide whether to self-publish?
How to self publish a book?
How to self-publish without spending a cent!
How to market a book?
How to get an ISBN and barcode?

Useful Resources and Links
Warning on scams for aspiring authors
List of Literary Agents' Websites
Facebook Poets & Writers Registry
Literary magazines directory

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How do people become authors?

In the world of publishing, especially for fiction, authors usually start off in the business by writing a manuscript. They then send it out to potential literary agents or publishers unsolicited and hope for a positive reply. Rejections will be the norm. Most of the rich and famous authors went through a lot of rejections too when they first started out. It could be because your writing isn’t good enough yet, or the agent/publisher isn’t interested in your type of book for the moment. Hardly anyone in the business will even consider your work until you have completed the manuscript, although sometimes famous personalities, academics and journalists will be approached to write a book by agents/publishers because they are confident their fame or credentials alone will sell the book.

What, or how should I write?

There is no such thing as one way to write, or restrictions on what to write about. In the literary world, there are all sorts of subject matters and stories being told in all types of genres, written in all manners of writing styles, and delivered across as scripts, novels, short stories, poetry etc. Even blogs and forum threads have been turned very successfully into books.

There are however, two things to keep in mind when you write. One, you HAVE to be proficient in the language you are writing in. Don’t expect to become a writer without good language skills unless you intend to pay someone else to write for you (which do happen for a lot of celebrities and famous personalities. They hire “ghost writers”). Two, you have to cater your language style according to the type of readers you are targeting. For example, simple English for children’s books and American English for a story set in that country or to be published in the U.S.
If you are writing fiction, you will usually need to finish your manuscript before you try to get it published. It will also help you get that first book published if you’ve spent some time to build up some credentials writing freelance, winning competitions, and getting published in literary magazines.
If you are writing non-fiction, sometimes if you carry strong credentials on the subject you are writing about an agent or publisher will take you on even without a completed manuscript. All you have to do send in a query letter with a book proposal and perhaps some sample writing.
Do some research and attend courses or seminars if you are not sure. We have some brief guidelines in the “How to write a book?” section.