Thinking about writing a funny book on the first year of being a nurse...

earthcrosser · Apr 15, 2011

It's a cute idea. There is usually a small market for funny anecdotes and tips on things.

I had a bit of difficulty with the entry, as it did not flow smoothly and had some grammatical issues, but it has potential. Thought needs to be more clearly defined - punctuation is lacking for some things, so it gets a bit awkward to read it.

Maybe you ought to take a class on writing if you are serious on taking on this project? This will help you to be able to produce better quality writing and understand more of the corrections others suggest to you. A morificecript is a big undertaking, starting with outlines, notes, and the like...knowing how to go about it correctly can be a lifesaver!

Getting published can be quite difficult, especially if you've never written a book before. There are vanity publishing companies, but you have to do your homework and figure out how much of your own money you are willing to invest if you go the self-publishing route. Vanity presses are much easier to get books in (but this still won't mean that you will sell any), however, some can be less than reputable - ask around the writing community. It can be hard to get an agent if you go the non-self-published way, so you will need to research agencies and learn what they want before attempting to obtain one.

Legally, you need to figure out what to do about other contributers - do they get a cut of the profits (if so, how much?) or is it a free thing? Critique is also important - you need honest people who can help you by telling you when things are dull/don't make sense/poorly written. Relying on allnurses to proofread is probably not the best idea, but you may find a few nurses willing to help with your book on here.

This is not meant to dissuade you from writing a book - but it is important if you are serious about doing it to understand that it is very difficult and frustrating to write a book, but can be ultimately rewarding.

I would suggest joining some online writing communities for more help.

noyesno, MSN, APRN, NP · Apr 16, 2011

Hi everyone,

A couple nights ago I was up at night attempting to read this book I bought, "Your first year as a Nurse: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional." And I thought to myself this is so boring and I am not even sure if this is helpful. Then I started thinking about my experiences in my first year in nursing. I take my job very seriously because I work in oncology, but in between the times of being serious and sad for my patients some funny things have happened to me. I thought to myself why not try to write a funny book on how to survive your first year of nursing. I am definitely not a writer, but I was thinking with some help from this site and my nursing friends I can really create something here.

I quickly thought of one chapter that I believe is funny and every nurse can relate to. What do you think?

"The Poop Massacre"

It was 7:27am and received my first official report as a RN. My preceptor and I agreed on my first day lets take it slow and take on one patient. My patient was an elderly woman who we will call Barbara. She was at the hospital status post chemo and had cdiff with history of lung cancer and dementia. I looked up at the door before entering seeing the sign "Contact Isolation- Must Wear Gown And Gloves". So I gowned up, put my gloves, took a deep breath, and entered the room. I walked into Barbara was yelling, " Help I have to go to the bathroom now I don't think I can hold it much longer!" I ran over to her, quickly helped her out of bed, and got her to the commode. Ahh sigh relief we made to the commode safely. Then Barbara said, "Lady I need to wipe myself!" Great I thought to myself searching the unfamiliar room where is the toilet paper and why isn't near the commode. I really don't want to de-gown, leave her on the commode, and search for my preceptor within the first 10 minutes of being on the floor to ask where toilet paper is. Instead I frantically searched every corner of the room. Success! I finally found roll of toilet paper thrown on one of the tables in the room. She swipes the toilet paper from me, but then she looks down at the ground. I ask, "Barbara did you go?' and she said, "I did, but I think some fell out." I ask, "Fell out? Huh?" Then I look down and see my imprint of my sneaker in poop on the ground. Then I look over in at the rest of the room to witness the "poop massacre".

I'd read your book! LOVE IT! :)

justus501 · Apr 18, 2011

Start making a journal of daily events as they happen. Then a year or two down the road you will have pleanty to work with. I love this idea!! I wish I would have written down my first year experiences in psychiatric nursing-whew- what a hoot!! I had been a nurse for 10 years, but had encountered many "firsts".

Perhaps as you go, you could submit your stories from time to time in nursing magazines in the comic relief section.

The key is to write down every detail daily....time causes you to lose much information.

Good luck on your journey!!