There’s More Than One Way to Write a Book!

As with many tasks in life, there is more than one way to achieve the goal of writing a book. But what if there are numerous contributors to the book; two, three, or even four people working on it at one time? These may include a couple different authors cooping, a person in charge of design, Introduction, Indexers, and even a different person who is not a writer, but came up with the original idea for the book. How do all these people successfully work together?

One of these instances is a new release titled, Gal Pal Poker. With a whopping 13 authors and contributors, it’s amazing this project could come together at all—and successfully!

Gal Pal Poker is a fun-filled book with unique poker games, poker trivia (you must read about Poker Alice, WOW!>>>>), and delicious food and drink recipes. And while there was only one primary “writer,” all 13 had a part to play in the composition of the book. In addition to the actual writer, there was an art contributor, a chef for recipes, and ten 60 and 70 something “mature” women adding their original home-made poker games to the mix.

A Bit of History…
Over a ten year period (and counting) the woman of the Gal Pal Poker group have been meeting twice monthly for a fun-filled night of laughter and camaraderie. Gal Pal Poker is an accumulation and explanation of standard poker games the woman have tweaked and re-created to add to their already good time.

So how did they get this project together with so many contributors?—it wasn’t easy! The “players” first began by writing out each of their “unique” games on scratch paper and handed them over to the primary writer. The “writer” edited the games and put them in order under in categories, i.e., games played with 3, 5, or 7 cards. Then they were laid out into Stud or Draw games. Once this process was done, recipes were created and added. The trivia was researched and added to fill in the gaps. Sound easy? Nope. When you’re working with so many contributors, things get added at last minute and other things need to be moved and rearranged like crazy! After each rearrangement was finished, the script then had to get into the hands of each of the contributors for approval; then came the editing. With each person having their own ideas and perspectives on how the book should be laid out and read, the changes and adjustments were tremendous. And with this one off visiting family this week, and that one on vacation next week, all in all, this process took nearly two years to complete. The Gals sadly even had one of their own die suddenly from a massive heart attack during the process.

The Gals suggest that if you are contemplating co-authoring a book with others, set a plan and designate each contributor to their own job—and stick to it! Make a schedule of when you will meet as a group and use that time to cover all the issues that arise with book production.

Since the Gal Pal women are mature and not necessarily in need of extra income, they decided as a group to donate proceeds from the sale of this book to The Women’s Safety and Resource Center in Coos Bay, Oregon. The Women’s Safety and Resource Center exists to contribute to a violence-free community by providing a safe haven and life-building empowerment for abused women and children and inspiring the community to new levels of cooperation, thoughtful effort, and action.

No money? So why did they write it? After speaking to each of the women, it seems they just wanted to share the enjoyment they’ve had for so many years and encourage other women to keep bonded and spend special time together. “Gals need to stay close to their Gal friends, especially after marriage.” The donation part was actually an afterthought.

Gal Pal Poker is available through all the normal sellers including Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Nook, and Kindle. Or simply ask your local book seller.

The Gal Pals do have a new website (still under construction) at www.galpalpoker.webs.com and even a gift shop at galpalpoker

This book would make a wonderful Christmas gift or “bachelorette” party gift! It’s a really nice book and I think I’ll order it and put together my own Gal Pal Poker night!!

Let’s help the Gal Pals get the word out about this great book and support this wonderful charity by posting this article to your Facebook page or Tweet about it! Thanks!