Book Writing and Publishing FAQ – What Should the Title of My Book Be?

The Real Deal about Book Titles

harry-potter-and-the-philosophers-stone

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?

Word Counts by Genre

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 – What Types of Publishing Options Are Available to Me?

Comparing Commercial, Vanity and Self Publishing

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…]

Book Writing and Publishing FAQ – Do I Need a Literary Agent?

The Pros and Cons of Having a Literary Agent Represent You to Publishers

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?

The Pros and Cons of Publishing Alone or with a Publishing House

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…]

Book Writing and Publishing FAQ – Do I Need to Write My Book Before I Try to Get an Agent or Publisher?

book_writing_chapter_1

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…]

How to Write a Book Proposal: Part 3 in our Series on Writing a Book

old typewriter

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…]

Marye Audet: From Food Blogger to Cookbook Author

Marye Audet

by Marye Audet When Deb asked me to write about how to write a cookbook I was hesitant. There is a reason I don’t usually write for friends. What if I mess up in a big way? But Deb is one of the people I would do anything (almost) for so I decided to try to collect my scattered thoughts into a cohesive mass and write. So, if you are thinking of writing a cookbook, or even writing a food blog, hopefully you can walk away with something. The cookbook gig landed squarely and literally in my lap. Julie Fletcher [Read more…]

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