Got hold of a good story? Book it!

Craig Pittman shares tips on turning a beat into a book. Photo by Robin J. Phillips

Craig Pittman from the St. Petersburg Times came back for the final presentation during lunch.  Pittman is the author of two books, Paving Paradise and Manatee Insanity. Both books originated from a story that he was working on, making him an ideal person to help teach how to turn story ideas in to a book!

This presentation was full of tips and suggestions on how the creation of a book generally works, from start to finish.  Needless to say it is not the easiest thing to do, as about 190,000 books are published every year in the United States.  However, Pittman was sure to encourage everyone as there are millions of readers waiting, and just one reader’s praise can make it worthwhile.  Below is a summary of his notes and tips for everyone who is interested!

Based on a true story:

1. Be sure to save all of your notes.
2. Include all the details you had to leave out of your story.
3. Build a timeline.
4. Look for “scenes” as you gather your notes.

New tools for research:

1. In the old days research was limited to microfilm and library stacks.
2. Today Google News Archive and Google Books are two great places to start.

Tackling a big job:

1. Break it in to smaller jobs.
2. Outline the book in to jobs, then outline each chapter.
3. Think of each chapter as  story and start plugging away.

Sweat the details:

1. When writing non-fiction this is particularly important.
2. Proof your text, preferably with more than one set of eyes.
3. Footnotes – remember there are a number of different styles.
4. Remember you have to do the index.
5. Be sure to get permission for any photos, maps, song lyrics, etc.

Marketing (or what Pittman called “the necessary evil”)

1. Don’t count on newspaper reviews.
2. Look to TV and radio who are looking for guests.
3. Contact book stores, libraries, book clubs, etc.
4. Make use of the internet (create a website, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon)

Obviously each author will run in to issues of their own along the way, but these tips are a great start for anyone who is looking to turn a headline in to a story book ending.