What kind of writing do you all do? I'm interested in writing also. It's not my day job though. More of an interest or passion. I'm into non-fiction writing regarding philosophy and such. Working on some books right now. Haven't published anything yet, no articles or anything at all. Little time in a day to work on it. Hoping maybe can get something done if I go to BA. Do you guys have any advice, like how to do it, including publisher, agent, etc.? If it's good will it get published? Or are there huge challenges? Was thinking maybe to hook up with some established writers in my topic and maybe pay them as consultants, and if the books are good maybe even they'll be coauthor. Mostly want to make sure if I wrote something good that it gets attention and doesn't get lost. Not necessarily in it for the money. Also, as someone who is an aspiring writer I hate reading. Doesn't seem like an ideal format for learning. For example, I recently watched a couple of documentaries about Napoleno's Russia war and learned a lot, with map animations, showing historical clothing, guns, etc., and interviews by various experts, and it was fun to watch, with music and scene recreations, all in a matter of several hours. I don't see how a book could beat that. I imagine experts or enthusiasts of a particular subject may find reading books useful as additional sources of info, but for the average person I don't see much benefit. Maybe I missed something. What are your thoughts?
There's a lot here I will try to work through. It seems you have a misconception about what the writing gig is. For the most part, if you want to make money writing then it will be by applying for jobs and taking on clients. What I mean is, your passion for philosophy is probably going to be meaningless unless you get very lucky with a client who wants something on philosophy. Of course, you can pitch directly to magazines and publications that focus on this subject, but you are entering an ultra-competitve space and are unlikely to make enough for it to be your main job.
I will try to work through your specific questions:
How to do it, inlcuding publisher, agent, etc? Switch the agent and publisher around. The agent comes first and you will need one if you want to go down the publishing/book writing route. However, non-fiction book writing is next to impossible to break into unless you are very qualified. Fiction is also very hard to break into, but getting an agent is a good start. I am not sure if you know, but you don't choose your agent... they choose you.
If it's good will it get published? No, not really. I mean it can be good and get published and can be bad an get published. Just being good is not enough and in fact, agents and publishers look for what will sell not what is "good".
Are there huge challenges? Yes and no. The biggest challenge is getting an agent to believe in your work and be willing to represent it. Most people pitch endlessly without success and some pitch endlessly before an agent takes them on. That said, in theory there's nothing stopping the first manuscript you send being accepted by the first agent you send to.
The problem is here you seem to be talking about writing books. If that's all you want to do, I suppose you could go the self-publishing route. Personally, I would never do this unless the work really was something I though was special. Remember, agents and publishers work towards what sells, not what is good. However, I firmly believe self-publishing should be a last resort and only for a project you are truly passionate about. I am talking about fiction, non-fiction is slightly different because you could be an expert in a niche looking to directly tap into their cosnumer base.
When I say I am a writer and I make a living, it is not through publishing a novel every year. I am a for-hire writer that does written content both online and offline for clients. You seem to be more interested in becoming an author, which is fine, but on the acceptance that you probably won't make any money from it, even if you get published. I too write fiction and pitch my work, although 10 years of writing largley for clients has certainly done a lot to hamper my creativity.
If you are in any way interested in the professional writing scener, I can drop some advice with the caution that it is a long process to reach real success.
By the way, if I was you and had a major interest in doing some writing, I would find a way to like reading. Reading other authors, especially in the areas you are interested in, is perhaps the best learning material you have. That documentary taught you about the subject, but not about how to write, how to frame the subject in a digestible way, and so on.
