If you want to write a book and have it published by a reputable traditional publisher, then you need to demonstrate to an agent and publisher that your book will sell, and there is one very specific piece of information that you need to share in order to help prove your worth in terms of generating revenue. That one thing is different for nonfiction authors than it is for fiction authors, and of course, there are a lot of other aspects of your writing and experience that play into an agent or publisher’s decision to offer you a contract or [Read more…]
Book Writing and Publishing FAQ – What Should the Title of My Book Be?
October 18, 2010. 1 Comment
You have an idea for a great book or you’ve already written your manuscript and need to create the perfect title. That title needs to appropriately convey the tone of your book but also catch the attention of a literary agent, publisher and readers. That’s a tall order! My best advice when it comes to choosing a title for your book is this — don’t let it stress you out completely. The reason is simple — no matter what you name your book in your manuscript, the publisher has the last word on what the title will be, and that [Read more…]
Book Writing and Publishing FAQ – How Long Should My Fiction Book Be?
October 14, 2010. 1 Comment
Last week, I wrote about how long nonfiction books should be in the Book Writing and Publishing FAQ series. Today, I’m going to tackle fiction. Before I dive in, I want to remind you that there are exceptions to every rule and the word counts provided here are simply suggested guidelines. In order to offer word count targets for your fiction book, you need to consider two things: your book’s genre and the current market trends. In other words, there are acceptable word count targets for young adult fiction that are not the same as the word count targets for [Read more…]
Book Writing and Publishing FAQ – How Long Should My Nonfiction Book Be?
October 7, 2010. 4 Comments
A very common question among aspiring writers is related to how much they actually need to write before their nonfiction manuscript can be considered complete. In other words, how long should a nonfiction book be? Unfortunately, there is not a simple answer to that question. However, the reason is simple — the publisher usually determines the word count that they want for a nonfiction book. The publisher determines this number by weighing production costs against projected sales numbers. The publisher also reviews the competitive market to see what else is already available and how those books are selling. In other [Read more…]
Book Writing and Publishing FAQ – What Types of Publishing Options Are Available to Me?
September 28, 2010. Leave a Comment
After reading Robin’s great post last week about writing ebooks and publishing my comparison of traditional vs. self-publishing, I wanted to take a step back to further explain the types of publishers that are available to aspiring book writers. Bottom-line, I don’t want anyone to be confused about the options available to them to get their manuscripts turned into books. There are three primary types of book publishing — commercial publishers, vanity publishers, and self publishing. Each type is described in more detail below. Keep in mind, the descriptions below are generalized, and of course, there are exceptions to every [Read more…]
Pricing Book Writing Services
September 23, 2010. 2 Comments
I received a question via the Freelance Writing Jobs contact form today that is probably fairly common among freelance writers. A seasoned journalist sent me the following note: “An opportunity has been presented to me to write a book. The problem is I have no idea how to price such a venture.” How much should writers charge to write a book for a client? There are a few things to consider in order to know what the going rate is to write a book. First, you need to know who is publishing the book. If a major publisher asks you [Read more…]
Book Writing and Publishing FAQ – Do I Need a Literary Agent?
September 21, 2010. 2 Comments
Many aspiring authors are confused about whether or not they need a literary agent in order to get their books published. The short answer to this question is no, you don’t have to have a literary agent to get a publishing contract. However, it’s not necessarily that simple. This post helps you understand the pros and cons of having a literary agent, so you can determine whether or not you want to try to secure an agent before you try to sell your book to a publisher. The Pros of Having a Literary Agent There are two primary benefits to [Read more…]
Book Writing and Publishing FAQ – Should I Self-publish or Go with a Traditional Publisher?
September 14, 2010. 4 Comments
Many aspiring authors who have not published books yet spend a lot of time thinking about how they can get their books published. It’s difficult to get a large, traditional publishing house to put up the necessary money to print, market, and distribute a new author’s book. Self-publishing is much easier, and rather than waiting months, perhaps years, for a traditional publisher to accept your book, you could have already offered it through a self-publishing, print-on-demand website like Lulu.com. So which choice is better — self-publishing or traditional publishing? The answer depends on your goals as an author. Following are [Read more…]
Backspace Agent-Author Seminar Coming in November
September 10, 2010. Leave a Comment
Writing conferences and seminars are a great way to hone your writing skills, run ideas by your peers, and sometimes get in front of seasoned experts who can help you take the next step in your writing career. The upcoming Backspace Agent-Author Seminar that is being held on November 11th and 12th in New York City is one of those conferences. The Backspace Agent-Author Seminar will include panel discussions, small group query letter workshop critiques, and opening pages workshop critiques with over 20 literary agents in attendance (including someone from the literary agency that represents my books, although not my [Read more…]
5 Literary Agent Blogs Aspiring Writers Should Read
August 31, 2010. 3 Comments
There are a number of interesting and useful blogs written by literary agents that can help aspiring writers learn the process of querying agents, writing and formatting manuscripts, publishing, and more. However, there are five blogs written by agents that are absolute must-reads for any writer that has goals to publish a book through a well-known publisher one day. A few of these blogs helped me immensely as I taught myself how to get a literary agent and publisher for my first book. If you want to get published, start reading the following literary agent blogs today: 1. Nathan Bransford [Read more…]
Book Writing and Editing FAQ – How Do I Format My Manuscript?
August 25, 2010. 1 Comment
Ask writers in a community or forum how to format your manuscript for submission to publishers and literary agents and you’re likely to get a variety of answers: Typeface: You must use Courier font! vs. You have to use Times New Roman. Margins: 1″ margins are required! vs. 1 1/2″ margins are what publishers want. Line Spacing: Double space! vs. Single space. File Format: Use Word! vs. Save it in .txt format. Which answers are correct? What do publishers and agents really want in terms of formatting when it comes to manuscript submissions? The real answer is that it doesn’t [Read more…]
Penguin Books Accepting Unsolicited Submissions Through October 2010
August 12, 2010. 12 Comments
Penguin Books is a well-known and highly respected publisher that doesn’t typically accept unsolicited submissions directly from writers. However, for three months only, Penguin Books is accepting unsolicited submissions from aspiring writers! Submissions should be emailed to [email protected] before the end of October 2010. Don’t worry if you’re not in the United Kingdom where this division of Penguin is located. For example, I live in the United States and two of my books are published by the division of Macmillan Publishing in the United Kingdom (Palgrave Macmillan). If a publisher likes your book, it doesn’t matter where you or the [Read more…]
Book Writing and Publishing FAQ – Do I Need to Write My Book Before I Try to Get an Agent or Publisher?
July 29, 2010. 7 Comments
While I certainly don’t claim to be an expert about book writing and publishing, I have had 6 books published by major publishers, and I’m writing my 7th. Therefore, I feel like I can answer at least some questions about book writing and publishing. Keep in mind, if you ask 20 authors, agents, or publishers the same question, you’re likely to get a wide variety of answers. With that in mind, my answers to the questions in the new Freelance Writing Jobs Book Writing and Publishing FAQ Series are my opinion and based on my own research and experiences. Different [Read more…]
Query Letter Writing for Book Authors
July 8, 2010. 3 Comments
So, as I’ve mentioned, I still feel like I’m a newbie writer. I’m also a newbie published author – my Historic Walking Guide to Edinburgh was picked up after I responded to a publisher looking for writers. But what if you are an author looking to get your book published? That, my dear readers, is not a fun place to be in – I know several friends who are in that position (Hi!), and it is a competitive place to be. I happened upon this fantastic book author query letter over at a site dedicated to Science Fiction and Fantasy [Read more…]
How to Write a Book Proposal: Part 3 in our Series on Writing a Book
April 3, 2010. 5 Comments
The book proposal is the part of writing and publishing a book that scares me the most. I can pen the most intriguing, well-written book in the world, but if the proposal sucks, no one will ever see it. I can’t put it off any longer, either. I want to shop the book around as I write and I need a killer proposal in order to pique the interest of an agent. I pitched the book to a publishing company rep a few weeks ago. However, I’m still looking for an agent because I want to be sure I get [Read more…]
How to Write a Book: Editing, Criticism and Agents
March 28, 2010. 8 Comments
Thank you to all for your encouragement as I write my first book. I know I talk often about my overloaded inbox, but the amount of emails I have received offering support and encouragement is staggering. Thank you, FWJ community. Many of you are finding my blogging the book process to be helpful for your own book aspirations, which is why I’m doing this. Welcome to part two of my series. So let me tell you where I am now. Writing a book is both easier and harder than I thought. I know what I want to say and where [Read more…]
Writing a Book: The Beginnings
March 18, 2010. 10 Comments
As mentioned in other posts, I’m writing my first book. This has always been my dream, but I’ve never actually taken the steps to write a book because I find the process so intimidating. I decided however, that this would be the year. I also decided that I would blog the book process so that those of you who wish to experience this will know what to expect. If I make mistakes, perhaps you can learn by them. If something I do works, perhaps that will work for you as well. Book Writing So Far I already have my outline [Read more…]
