Do you think that you have what it takes to become an author? Writing a book takes a lot of time and dedication, which is why there are so few writers out there. The rest of us may have an idea or a half-finished novel, but we don't have the time to finish it. Until you are published there is no way of know whether you can support yourself with your writing, so in the meantime you plug away at your day job and madly type up a page or too of your soon-to-be bestseller before going to bed.

Of course, just finishing the book is not enough. Now you have to proofread it a hundred times to make sure there are no errors or spelling mistakes. Each time you find an error you need to rewrite the page and reprint it, and then proofread it again. This doesn't sound too promising does it?

Before embarking on the journey to becoming a writer, consider the work involved. Unless you are extremely dedicated to putting out a well written and polished product it is likely you will not succeed. Make sure that you have what it takes to follow the project through from start to finish.

After the best book you ever wrote is completed and edited, you still have to get it published. This task in itself can take many years. Basically you need to print a thousand copies of your book and mail it to every publisher you have ever heard of. They will send you back a lot of rejection slips, but on occasion one intelligent publisher may agree to print it.

Some writers out there who believe that they have a good product but cannot get a publisher will choose the option of self-publishing. The downside to this is that you are still doing all the work yourself and you need to pay all the costs to produce the book, market it to booksellers, and get the product into their hands. You may be able to find companies that can handle all or part of these tasks, but ensure they are reputable before you commit to anything.