Any Writers Out There? Question About a Book - Writing...

We had s local building (landmark) demolished here, and s friend did a book of a collection of personal memories of the place. He had a FB group directing submissions to an email (probably with a release attached). Then the accounts were assembled into a book.
It's a "collection," a "memorial," a "round up" so to speak.
It called "remembering xyz: a collection of memories..."

I've written a book, but don't know the answer to your question. Writer's Digest is a great resource for authors. If you join (it's free), there is a community forum where you can ask questions. The members are friendly and extremely helpful. Here's the link. :)

http://www.writersdigest.com/forum/

My husband is a published writer, and has done a number of things, from writers' workshops (with authors like Kurt Vonnegut and Jill McCorkle) to Writers' Digest, to working with literary agents. It's a long and frustrating process, so do your homework up front.

You don't start with a title - you start with an idea, you write a proposal, and you shop it to literary agents. That means really identifying what "educational" focus or direction you envision. You also must must MUST research what else has been done in this area. There is nothing more frustrating than working hard on something and finding out "It's been done dozens of times before" from agents and publishers. Also, the book industry is very much depressed at this time - publishers are looking for guaranteed best sellers. You could look into small independent publishers - the Independent Publishers have an association that includes university presses and others. But start with a few large bookstores and look through the section where your book will be - self-help or inspiration, whatever it is. Then really look at what's already there, and what "hole" remains.

You ask about the best way to attribute to the contributers? What do you mean? Do you mean how to find them and request permission to use their work? Or do you mean how to thank/highlight them once you get permission? You do realize, don't you, that writers retain the copyrights to their work and you cannot use it at all, in part or in whole, without their permission and (probably) compensating them? This is their creative work product, they own it, and you are in violation of the law if you use anything of theirs. You can't make money of their work and expect them to make nothing. They will not allow you to use anything unless and until you have a precise outline, a direction, a theme, etc.

Once you get all that done, and start choosing and compiling an anthology, an overall philosophy or purpose will emerge. The title will come from that. One of the first mistakes many writers make is they choose a title and then try to fit the content into that. It's actually backwards - you start with an idea, a concept. Always. You may also find that a prospective publisher will suggest a new title - so you don't want to be locked into the title but to the book itself. Also, you absolutely have to research potential titles to see if they've been used before. Same copyright problem as mentioned above, plus complete confusion among the buying public.

Hope this helps.

well, without knowing what the educational focus is, it's hard to come up with a title.
i've got pieces in a bunch of anthologies. i'm not quite sure what you mean by 'attribute.' in each anthology the authors submit a small bio that either accompanies the pieces or are listed at the back.
they're all published by small independent houses.
khairete
S.

You mean like this? http://www.amazon.com/Families-Adults-Autism-Stories-Gene...

Books such as you describe are generally called a collection of stories or collection of memoirs and are considered to be "creative nonfiction".

My titles always come to me after I've finished my second to last draft. Titles usually grow organically from the material.

I have work in collections. I got a free copy,I also received an "about the author" blurb at the end of the work.

ETA: she originally asked for a title name.

I have a travel essay that was published in a book. The book is simply a collection or anthology of many travel essays. At the end of the book there is a short paragraph about each of the contributing authors. I'm picturing your book as something similar to that or to the Chicken Soup books.

I see you aren't asking for a title, but the genre.

The genre really depends upon your goal for the book and the audience.

What is it that you want the book to do for people? Is it for inspiration? To teach? Who will it teach or inspire? Parents and grandparents? Professionals in the field? Teachers and paraprofessionals?

Whatever you do as a writer, you have to narrow your focus. I think when you answer the above questions, you'll find your genre.

As for author recognition, I would put their name under the title of their short story, like a byline, and do an "About the Author" at the end of each. Almost as if each chapter were a stand-alone book.

Just write the book, don't worry about genre'. Look on meetup.com to see if there is a writers group in your area. You could also look to see if there is class you could take at a local college.

When you have the chance to talk to other writers you will get tons of info and help to write your book.