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Getting Published Now!
Coronado Adult Education
Spring 2015
Non-Fiction: The Hungry Market
January 27, 2015
“Being a comparatively successful writer is a good life.You don’t have to work at it all the time and you carryyour office around in your head. And you are far moreaware of the world around you. Writing makes youmore alive to your surroundings and, since the mainingredient of living, though you might not think so tolook at most human beings, is to be alive, this is quite aworthwhile by-product, even if you only write thrillers.”
Ian FlemingHow to Write a Thriller
Recap of What We Covered Last Week
First - and Essential - Steps
• Creating content and placing it to win:
– Content-hungry media
– Recycling and building content
– Building relationships with editors – a win-win for both parties (An Example!!)
– Solo or with a wingman? The pros and cons of collaboration
• Ensuring what you produce is embraced & accepted:
– Avoiding the slush pile – tilting the board in your favor
– Getting paid and getting invitations to reduce speculation
This Week:Non-Fiction - The Hungry Market
“It’s none of their business that you have to learn towrite. Let them think you were born that way.”
Ernest Hemingway
Non-Fiction - The Hungry Market
• Being - or becoming - the expert?
• Pursuing a subject - or letting life happen?
• Scratching itches - or entertaining?
• How much to tell and what’s next?
These two quotes might make your head explode…so let’s deconstruct them….
“Now, if you’re getting all fired up and ready to pound thekeys, I might inject a word of caution. Actually, this wordcomes from my wife. For most of us, writing is not a teamsport. An article for a trade journal or a short story is no bigdeal, but if you find yourself writing a long piece or a book,you probably ought to have a chat with your spouse. Formost of us, writing means closing off the other people inyour life for several hours a day and it’s something youmay want to talk about before you begin.”
Dick Couch(Fifteen books – and counting)Shipmate, April 1993
“If you have other things in your life—family, friends,good productive day work—these can interact withyour writing and the sum will be all the richer.”
David Brin
Why Non-Fiction?
• It is a hungry market
• Relatively easy to enter
• Lower risk – sell then write
• Can be steady money
• Can query without an agent more easily
• Vastly more nonfiction published than fiction
“It ain’t whatcha write, it’s the way atcha write it.”Jack Kerouac
Being – Or Becoming - the Expert
• Some essential “first order” questions:– Is this something you’re passionate about?
– Do you have enough “street creds” that you’re an expert?
– If not, is there a way you can acquire those street creds?
– Do you really want to spend several years doing this?
• If the answer is yes, then it’s all about the packaging:– First stop – solo or with a collaborator?
– Next stop – the library and the internet – due diligence
– Is it a book – or an article?
– If it’s a book – packaging – query letters and proposals
So What Should You Write About?
• Whatever you are passionate about
• Recall our “You’re in a bar with your friends” story
• What my first agent always asked:– What are you really passionate about?
– What do I wish I had more time for?
– How would I spend year as a “professional dilettante?”
– What do I think about when I’m alone?
– What do I worry about and what issues concern me most?
– What have I done that people seem curious about?
– Is there a topic where friend turn to me for advice?
Pursuing a Subject-or Letting Life Happen?
• Beyond the Law of the Sea
• Leave No Man Behind
• The Kissing Sailor
• A Doolittle Raiders book
Scratching Itches-Or entertaining?
• Beyond the Law of the Sea:– We had a mission
– We had a message
– We wanted people to do something
– It gave us a platform
• The Kissing Sailor– We had a mission
– We were on a “Mission from God”
– In some ways, the day the book was published–we’re done
– And…the book “percolated” into downstream goodness
• Leave No Man Behind – “the blend”
“Creating a book takes more than a good idea and solidwriting. Beyond the preparation of the text, the bookmust be produced, then promoted.”
Gordon BurgettBefore You Write Your First Book
How Much to Tell and What’s Next?
• Getting past: “It’s an article, not a book”
• Recall last week: Article to book ratio
• One book – or a series
• Above all else – the purpose of the book (LNMB)
• At the end of the day – you decide, not the editor
• If you didn’t write articles – now you should!
A Strategic Pause…
You’re in the Starting Blocks!
• You know what you’re going to write about
• You know why you’re going to write about it
• You know who is going to write it (solo….or….)
• You know roughly when you’ll write
• You already have the where figured out:
– Solo
– With collaborator (the “how” question)
• Now all you have to do is get someone interested in publishing the book!
Now It’s Time For…
Due Diligence – With a Vengeance!
• Once you get past the “It’s an article, not a book” roadblock, the next one is…
• “It’s already been done before”
• You have to convince yourself it hasn’t and then you have to convince an agent or editor
• So how to you do that? (Your “Mission from God”)
Due Diligence – With a Vengeance!
• Meet Your Two Best Friends:– The library– The internet
• The library– Books– Journals and magazines
• The internet– Subject searches– Writer searches
• Other friends– Your colleagues and fellow travelers– Bookstores – large and small
So What the End Game – What Are You Looking For?
• Publishers who publish this kind of “stuff”
• Agents who agent this kind of “stuff”
• Once you know that, it’s all about the query
• Persistence on steroids!
“The toughest hurdle you must scale is getting apublisher to agree to handle your book. You are a newname, a new risk to them. They will judge you on whatyou send, the thought behind it, the obviousprofessionalism, how it reaches them, sometimes yourexpertise or previous writing output, and always onhow your book will increase their profit line.”
Gordon BurgettBefore You Write Your First Book
The Query Letter
• There is a cottage industry of courses on how to write a query letter
• There is a cottage industry of books on how to write a query letter
• There is a cottage industry of experts on how to write a query letter
• There is a massive amount of information on the internet on how to write a query letter
• One source:– Google: http://www.agentquery.com/writer_hq.aspx
– But this is only one, there is a universe of them out there
The Query LetterThe “Bell Shaped Curve” For Most
• The hook
• Mini synopsis
• Your bio
• Your closing – “where’s the beef?”– High Concept
– Outline
– Table of Contents
– Sample Chapters
• “Bound the problem” for how much time you’re going to spend on getting an “A” in query letters
The Magic Words….
…Yes, I’d be interested in reading it
How long will the editor have to wait to see your proposal?…
“Interest” has a half life….
Before You Write the Proposal
• Come up with a “purpose statement” for your book and write it down in one sentence
• Then put this into a working question: This book is the answer to….
• Two sources (there are a multitude of them in print):
– John Boswell – The Awful Truth About Publishing
– Jeff Herman – Write the Perfect Book Proposal
The Proposal – The 100,000-Foot View
• Who would read your book?
• Why would they buy it?
• Where would they use it?
• What else is available like your book?
• How does your book differ?
Think about your competition today – not just books, but the internet? Is your book better than Wikipedia?
“A blank piece of paper is God’s way of telling us howhard it is to be God.”
Sidney Sheldon
The Proposal
• This is not the time for humility
• Think back to when you wrote your first resume
• Advice from John Boswell: The Awful Truth About Publishing
– Define the book’s audience
– Describe the book generally and specifically
– Show that your book fills a need for your audience
– Show that you are uniquely qualified to write this book
Today – You Are the Publisher’s Marketing Department
• Part of your proposal must include how you are going to do their work for them!
• What is your platform?
– Media of all kinds (talks, interviews, print, et al)
– Internet presence• Facebook
• And more….
So let’s look at two examples….
Leave No Man Behind
• The “Hook” – Rescue Story (Clyde Lassen – MOH)
• About the book
• Table of Contents
• Chapter Summaries
• The Market
• The Authors
• Promotion
• Length and Delivery
The Kissing Sailor
• Cover• Quote• Table of Contents• Concept (Why this book?)• Competition (Surely this story has been told before?)• Timing (Why are we doing this book at this time?)• Methodology (How are we going to pull this off?)• About the authors• Chapter summary• The Market• Promotion• Length and Delivery
“I do not over-intellectualize the production process. Itry to keep it simple: Tell the damned story.”
Tom Clancy
Next Week
“The Great American Novel”
• Great or not-so-great? What you need to know getting started
• Mainstream or genre? Which way should you go?
• Defining your audience and picking a “voice” and point of view
• Getting the sale
