Getting A Book Published
Consultation
Getting a book published takes an investment of time and energy. There
are several questions to answer: Will this interest a commercial publisher?
Small or large? How do I find them? Do I need an agent? Am I likely to
get one? Is self-publishing a good option? I can guide you through this
process.
Queries
and Book Proposals
Publishers don’t have time to read manuscripts; they want an author
to have researched the market and competition for a book and to convince
them that both book and author are a good investment. This is accomplished
through a book proposal, which is now the primary means of getting a contract
for nonfiction work. It is therefore critical that the proposal be as
polished and as powerful as possible. I can help with this, crafting sections
for you or editing work you provide.
Here are 3 tips.
- Think
of a book proposal like a business plan that you are taking to an investor.
You are asking someone to invest $25,000 in your book. Others are competing
for this same money, and you must convince them that your book has top
earning potential. Keep in mind that most books are not earning money
for publishers, and publishers are cautious people.
- Your
proposal needs to be well-researched, well-conceived, and well-written.
Weaknesses in any of these will decrease your chances immeasurably.
Editors may get 25-100 proposals for every title they take on.
- Find a good book on writing book proposals to use it as a reference (there are several in print plus materials available on the web). Give yourself permission to vary from this model somewhat, e.g. the order of sections presented, titles of segments, or perhaps creating subsections. Following any of these guidelines to the letter is not going to guarantee a book sale, and there are varying opinions out there. Some suggestions will seem impossibly difficult. If you can’t find a way to supply some hard-to-find statistic, move on anyway, saying whatever you can that will make a strong case.
Qualifications:
- helped authors both with self-publishing and finding commercial publishers
- sold 3 of my books to commercial publishers on my own
- had 3 literary agents
- self-published 3 books
- teach a course called Getting Your Nonfiction Book Published
©2008 Jasmin Cori. All rights reserved. |