Getting a book published?

Question

I have what I believe is a good idea for a non-fiction "season in the life" type sports book. The story will be more compelling a year from now and I am wondering how to go about seeing if any publishers may have interest.

Can anyone with experience tell me how to get started? Anything from who I would contact at the various publishers to see who to send my submission to and what to include in my proposal. Any type of protocol really.

Clearly I have very little experience in this realm, any further advice would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Non fiction works differently than fiction.

With non-fiction, generally you do not write first. You produce a "book proposal" and shop it around. With fiction, you do the book proposal after you write the book.

The book proposal is your most important selling tool. It is a very specific document that must contain very specific items. I just finished doing one. It took me several days - close to a week actually. There are many good books on the market you can get that teach you how to write one. Do not underestimate its importance. It sells your book. So go to a bookstore and start reading through some of the books they have on the subject. The one I used is called How To Write A Winning Book Proposal.

From there, you go to Writers Market and start searching for agents or small publishers who produce books in that genre. You will not get through to major publishers without an agent.

I have experience in the field of sports related books - I ghostwrite for a major sports personality. Be very precise with your proposal. Make sure it is absolutely letter perfect and as detailed as you can make it.

Also I will tell yoiu that when producing a non-fiction book, you will have to keep copious notes. You will need releases from everyone you speak to. Every photo must be documented and releases signed. You have to keep logs of where information came from - how you obtained it. You will end up having 5 or 6 large spiral notebooks filled with information when you are through. It is a very difficult and tedious process - which is why non-fiction writing is not for everyone.

I do not write non-fiction myself but this past summer I took a Master Course with an author who was kind enough to show us the notes on his latest book. It was overwhelming the amount of material he had for one book that was 330 pages long.

Good luck.
----
They're, Their, There - Three Different Words.

Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.

Pax - C

Answer 2

Persiphone has some good advice there. Also, I'd like to throw in my two cents and give you the speech I give everyone who asks about publishing. Now unless you're truly ready to do what you are about to read, don't bother.

Writing a book takes more than just sitting down and putting your idea into words. There are a lot of things that you have to consider.

You need a good grasp of the English language. Spelling and Grammar. You will also need to check and recheck your work. Editors are very expensive these days.

You need to know how to write an effective ‘query letter’ to a literary agent.

Can you write a synopsis that will hold the interest of the agent, and want to make him or her ask for the first three chapters of your work?

Do you know how to outline?

You’ll need to know how to format your manuscript. This includes the fonts that
most agents, editors, and publishers want.

Do you know what Point of View is? (POV) Do you know how to write in First Person Point of View? The can’s and can not’s?

Do you know how to write dialogue? How to format dialogue?

It’s a good idea to know some of the publishing laws. The use of names and places.

These include
o Delivery Of Satisfactory Copy
o Permission for Copyrighted Material
o Grant Of Rights
o Proofreading and Author's Corrections
o Advances and Royalties
o Author's Warranties and Indemnities
o Copies to Author
o Option Clause
Do you know how to get a ‘word count?

Do you know what a prologue is? An epilogue? Do you know how both of them are used and why?

Do you know what the word ‘genre’ means?

You’ll need to know how to use the proper ‘page set up’ for your work. Margins, indents, paragraphs.

Are you prepared to do a lot of ‘research’ involving your work? Many professionals such as, doctors, lawyers, nurses, public accountants, judges, architects, bricklayers, engineers, and police officers read, too.

Do you know what a plot is? A sub-plot?

Can you take rejection and constructive criticism? If you’re easily hurt in the feelings department, then this hobby is not meant for you. Critics will tear you apart or build you up. The best writers in the world “King, Patterson, Koontz, J.K. Rowling, and many others” have been torn up one side and down the other. You can’t please everyone.

If you decide to hire an editor, remember: Your manuscript will be double spaced, which means there will be twice as many pages. A 600 page novel could cost you around $1800.00, some even more depending on what the editor charges a page.

These are the things you must know to work at your craft. But don’t let these things deter you from writing. There are books in libraries and bookstores that can teach you all of these things. Buying these books (if you want to be a serious writer) is the best thing to do. Why? Well, because you can use a yellow marker to highlight all the points of interest. Then you can use the front of the book to make page references to those markings in order to check back on them at a later date, when you need to.

You’ll need to get a copy of Writer’s Market for the current year. This has literary agents whom you can send out query letters to. Some of them allow email queries.

I wish you the best of luck!