I have a great (imo) idea for writing a non ficiton book. There are not any current books on my subject. My question is, do I do all the research, travel, interviewing on my own dime and hope to get published? I would be a 1st time author.

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well it depends dont copy other books and deffiently dont do research . writing is all about creativity so just fell it in your heart or soul

First time authors pretty much have to spend their own money to do research. If you are able to get a grant or such, then you might defray your initial costs.

Umm- if it's a nonfiction book, the only way you're going to get published is if it's well researched- so please don't' listen to that first answer. Non fiction has nothing to do with creativity- it's about having the skill to write objectively. Researching it is most certainly a requirement. As for whether or not you do it- I think you should ask yourself why you're doing it in the first place. Is your motivation simply to become published and make some money off it? Or do you just feel really passionate about the subject? If the answer is the latter, then yes, go for it- when you consider that, it being something you're fascinated by already, you'd probably take the time to research it for your own pleasure- I would say writing a book out of it would be a worthwhile endeavor. No one is going to pay an unpublished author's expenses, unless they had sought out a writer to do an assignment on a particular subject- which isn't the case here. But that doesn't mean it isn't worth doing. For one, interviewing someone, isn't going to cost you financially- it's a time issue. Same goes for research- the only expenses you really might incur are for travel. There's a great book called the Writer's Market- they publish it every year and it gives you a breakdown of every publishing house and magazine out there, who takes unsolicited submissions, what type of genre they accept, what the format is they accept, how much it generally pays, etc. A lot of places will unfortunately throw your manuscript in the trash if it's not submitted exactly to the format they specify- so before you submitt anything, you should look into that, so you don't get screwed on something as silly as not doule spacing. The book also has a lot of other information, about how to approach publishers, how to write a peice, how to edit and find an editor, what's an open market right now, and so on. You may find a slew of publishers you never knew existed that accept submissions on your genre, and with publishing, trust me, you want to send out as many as you can, b/c you will get turned down by many. That doesn't necessarily mean your work was substandard- they may just have met their quota for that subject, or have a maximum number of unpublished authors they'll print each year. The book is revised and reprinted every year, to keep things up to date. For the time being, you could probably get away with buying a used copy from a year or two ago, for a basic guidline, then when you're at the point of submitting, you can pony up for the most recent one. Abe Books, Amazon, are good places to find used copies. Lastly, don't let yourself get discouraged. if this is what you love, do it- if it never gets published, so be it- you still took the time to do something you loved. But you'll never know unless you give it a shot. Best of luck- PS- here's a link to the writer's market online companion site, so you can get an idea of what it's all about. Also, you can email me if you have a question about specific publishers or anything, I have a few copies, and I can just email you back the info. http://www.writersmarket.com/ the one below this is an article on the book and what it has to offer. http://www.writersdigest.com/hotmarkets/

Ignore the part about not doing research. We're talking about nonfiction, and yes there is room for creativity, but as I am sure you realize, you have to add creative flair to actual facts to in order to capture the reader's attention while maintaining the truth. There are a few ways to go about this. First, and most probable (since you are a first time author), you would have to fund this all yourself. I can honestly say that some of this can probably be done via Internet and library because, even if you believe otherwise, there isn't a subject out there on this planet that hasn't been covered by someone...and if there is, the reason would be that it wasn't a viable (or profitable) subject. Another way to go about this would be to discuss your undertaking with local businesses and see if you can get sponsored. But, this would be tricky, most likely impossible (especially with the economy in such a slump and you not being experienced), unless you can come up with a trade off that would be of value to them. Next would be a grant. It takes a LOT of research and hard work to get a grant. Not only do you have to find just the right grant fund, you also need to know how to write up the proposal, plan, and other details that you will need to get them to see the validity of this research. In other words, unlike a school grant which is simply a few page application, you would probably be better off taking a grant writing course and/or reading everything you can get your hands on. Finally, there may be some small chance of finding just the right publisher and discussing the idea with them to see if they might be willing to fund your research. This would be especially tricky since you have never written professionally before. But, if you set up your proposal and query letter just right, and can prove your talent for writing by submitting an original work or two, you might be able to find a publisher willing to take a chance on you. Hope this helps!