3. Mood: What's going on in your head? Did you just get off phone with your ex-lover who ruined your day and sank you into depths of depression? Write about it. Did you manage to pull off some wondrous passive-aggressive revenge against said ex-lover? Write about that too and how it made you feel.

4. Events: Here's where things get a bit complicated - for some. You have to do your homework. Watch television, read newspaper and write a few lines about what's going on in your city, state, country or world in general.

5. Freewrite: Here's your chance to shine. Since we're all writers, we should leave a section for freewriting. Allow yourself some space to simply write aimlessly without direction. But, here's challenge - try to limit yourself to a certain number of lines.

When you keep these entries for a week, two weeks or a longer period of time, it can be extremely beneficial. Comparing and contrasting Mondays or Tuesdays could be a surprising learning experience.

Many times I've written stories and wanted to "know" what 78 degrees felt like, so I went to my journal and found an entry, read my mood descriptions and weather descriptions and was easily informed from my own documentation.

Keep in mind, a good writer documents everything - whether it be on paper or just in mind's filing cabinet. But, to keep things in order, try to keep your documentation on paper - or at least saved to disk.

The title of a book can be very important. A broad-based, general purpose book might be called XYZ Handbook, XYZ Guidebook, or Survival Guide to XYZ. The title can also identify audience: XYZ for Novice, Advanced XYZ, or Mastering XYZ. Don't restrict book by naming it Understanding XYZ Version 3.2.1.

Timing is very important in technology subjects. The demand for information on a new product is very strong immediately after it is announced or shipped. If you write about a "hot" topic, it's important that you and your publisher move quickly to meet that demand.

Outline, outline, outline

The effort spent on your book outline is a good investment of time. Generally, effort expended in creating, modifying, and remodifying an outline at beginning of a writing project will save time later on. Use an outline program or your favorite text editor or word processor. The format isn't important, but content is. List major topics you plan to cover, then sub-topics, and so on. Add notes and comments that will help your publisher understand where you are going. Don't hesitate to move topics around to better organize your book -- better now than after you start writing.

Read competing and related books to make sure you aren't missing any important topics. How are they organized? Visit online Internet discussion forums to see what people are saying on this subject. What are most frequently asked questions? Each time you discover a new topic or sub-topic, add it to your outline.

Should you self-publish?

Every first time author considers self-publishing their book. It certainly sounds a lot simpler than finding a publisher. Also, your profit from each copy sold might be higher. And, there are many companies who will offer to publish your book -- if you are willing to pay for cost and distribute book yourself. Is this a good idea?

Many first time authors have self-published their books and ended up with a garage full of books and no way to sell them. Bookstores prefer to deal with established publishers and book distributors, not individuals. If you can find a publisher who believes there is a strong market for your book and is willing to promote it, you are probably much better off, especially if you are a new author.

Should you use a literary agent?

An agent will shop your book among several publishers and keep a portion of your royalties (usually around 10 - 15 percent). If you find that you have little success finding a willing publisher, you may want to consider using an agent.

Choosing a publisher

Now that you've done your homework, it's time to find a publisher for your book. Visit local bookstores. Contact several publishers who have books in your area of speciality (they should be easy to find on Web). Which ones advertise most or have most books on best-seller lists?

A publisher's acquisitions editor will provide their guidelines for submitting a proposal, which will include your chapter outline and market information. If this is your first effort, they'll want to see examples of your writing style and subject matter knowledge. A sample chapter is a good idea.

Once you have narrowed down your selection, agree on a submission date and length and format of manuscript. Artwork is important, and you should determine if publisher will create figures from your sketches or if final camera-ready quality is expected. Most publishers will provide technical and grammatical reviewers for your manuscript, but it's a good idea to name some of your own.

Read contract proposal carefully. It covers things like ownership and copyrights, royalties, certification of originality, promotional (free) copies, and schedule. Publishers are understanding if you have to slip your schedule, but you should try to establish and meet a reasonable deadline for submission of manuscript.

Finally -- writing book!

The duration of a writing project depends on two important aspects: how much of your personal time (evenings, weekends, vacation days) you choose to devote to it, and manuscript submission date you agreed to. A book of 300 pages could take anywhere from a few months to a year to finish, depending on amount of time you spend each week.

Since you will probably use your personal computer to create manuscript, your publisher will expect machine-readable format as input to their system. Discuss their preferred file formats and styles. Some accept a straight text format, which is "lowest common denominator" for file exchange between computers. Others may ask for formatted output from a word processor. Some may accept camera-ready pages -- if you have a system that can create them -- and compensate you for extra work.

Keep a list of company and product names you reference in your work. Make sure you distinguish registered trademark names from simple trademarks.

Don't insert artwork directly into your text, unless you are producing camera-ready pages. Keep a folder of sketches, screen shots and other illustrations referenced in manuscript. If you have a graphics program (and talent to use it) or a screen capture program, send some sample files to your publisher. The captions for each figure should be stored in a separate file.

You can excerpt some material from other publications (such as an appendix from a technical manual) if you get permission of original publisher.

The final stages

Deadlines are a drag, but they are very important. A publisher must schedule expensive printing resources. Often a book has been announced well in advance, or committed for a yearly trade show. Give your reviewers enough time without impacting your schedule. Good reviewers add to accuracy and quality of a book, so you should encourage and work closely with them.

Your publisher will probably ask you to create book's index. When you receive final page proofs, create a spreadsheet listing important topics in one column, with corresponding page numbers in another. Then sort topics in alphabetical order. Edit list so that all referenced page numbers follow each topic name.