How to get a book published seems daunting. Yet when you actually think of your very own book on the shelves of Barnes & Noble, Amazon and other leading book stores a feeling of pride and accomplishment overwhelms you.

You may wonder how it will ever materialize when you have not written a single book or over five pages or more when you were in school.

The trick to overcoming this is to sit back and ask yourself what you could share with humanity. In other words, what legacy you could leave behind for your children, their children and down the family line. There is always something.

As a beginner, you could focus on your struggles. Many people actually write about themselves but they conceal this by changing all the names. This is done deliberately to protect their privacy as well as the privacy of other family members. If for example you write about your family without changing the names it will be very offensive to the other members of the family.

So you could bear this in mind - unless you are out to avenge someone. However, it is not advisable to do this because you could find yourself in court.

There are many biographies that I have read that have really impressed me because there is always an element of struggle. Examples are how one author dropped out of school but made it big because he managed to set up a successful business. Another biography was about a middle-aged lady who was stricken with a bad malady in her tender years but achieved financial freedom and a university degree after going through much rejection, prejudice and deprivation.

Such stories are always an interesting read because we tend to stand in awe of such people - how they overcame such odds to achieve greatness.

However, not all of us can write so naturally. Sometimes because our lives have been so tumultuous, we just do not know where to begin. It is precisely for this reason that you should engage a mentor. You could also engage a ghost writer. But a ghost writer will not convey the emotions that you would personally like to convey.

So it is good to undertake a short writing course or a mentor who could give you all the tips and guidance so that you book will indeed get published. Apart from getting your manuscript written, you also need to get it out there. If you have never been in the writing business you could find yourself getting one rejection after another. Some mentors even use their influence to see to it that your book gets published.

So getting a mentor or undergoing a short course is indeed worthwhile.