Hi gin98~
As the author of a dozen books, I can tell you that the first step to
take when writing a nonfiction book is not to write the manuscript,
but to court a contract with a publisher. With nonfiction, most often
the writer gets the contract and *then* writes the book. (As opposed
to fiction, where most often the writer writes the book and then gets
the contract.)
You don't necessarily need an agent; most publishing houses allow you
to contact them directly. Although being a novice writer can make it
more difficult to find an agent, an agent's hand is very helpful to
novice writers; an excellent source for finding agents is "The
Writer's Guide To Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents." This
book is available at most bookstores, but here is the Amazon listing:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0761537457/qid=1037473006/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-1431017-6710318?v=glance&s=books
To solicit an agent, simply write them a query letter.
A query letter is also the first thing the nonfiction writer sends to
a publisher, if they decide to storm ahead without an agent. A query
letter is simply a one-page letter that describes your idea for a
book, explains why you are the best writer for it, and gives your
background. (Your background may include writing experience, as well
as "real life" experience that relates to your topic.) I highly
recommend that you read and study Lisa Cool's book "How to Writer
Irresistable Query Letter." It's available at almost any bookstore,
but here is the Amazon listing:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1582971552/qid=1037472846/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-1431017-6710318?v=glance&s=books
This letter should be sent to publishers who release books similar to
what you are writing. The best way to find out WHO publishes books
like yours is to take a trip to a large bookstore (one that carries
new books). Find books similar to yours and makes notes about who
published them. Then consult "The Writer's Market" (
http://www.writersmarket.com/index_ns.asp ) and "The Writer's Guide To
Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents." Make sure that in both
cases you are using the most current edition (because contact
information charges frequently in publishing houses). If a publisher
isn't listed in either of these sources, it's for a good reason. They
are either out of business, not accepting new books, or have a bad
track record with writers. (Some regional publishers may also not be
listed.)
If you can provide clips (photocopies of magazine work) with your
query letter, so much the better. In fact, if you haven't been
published yet, it's a great idea to write a few articles on a subject
related to your book idea before you approach a book publisher. Clips
must be published pieces only. (Don't barrage a publisher with clips,
however. One or two are sufficient.)
While you're waiting to hear back on your query letters, you should
work hard on your book proposal. This is a report-like manuscript that
helps you sell your book to a publisher. It covers everything from
your qualifications to the audience size for your book. It is a
detailed and rather intricate manuscript, so work it over thoroughly
before sending it off to any publishers. It would take a book to tell
you *everything* that needed to be in your book proposal, so let me
recommend an excellent one that will help you tremendously: "The
Shortest Distance Between You And A Published Book." Again, it's
available from bookstores, but here is the Amazon listing:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553061771/qid%3D1037472735/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/104-1431017-6710318
The proposal will also include sample chapters of your book. The
number of sample chapters required varies from publisher to publisher,
so be sure to check out their listing in "Writer's Market" and
"Writer's Guide." If they don't ask for a specific number of chapters,
two is a good standard number.
Only send out the proposal if you are asked to. Typically, an editor
will call you up or send you a letter either rejecting your query or
asking for your proposal. Once the proposal is sent, there's nothing
left to do but wait. (Now would be a good time to finish writing your
book...although you may find that whatever publishing house you end up
with may want to implement changes to the structure and content.) It
may take some time for the proposal to be thoroughly reviewed, but if
the publishing house wants your book, they will send you a contract.
For additional information, Writer's Digest is an excellent source for
novice writers. Here's a link to their nonfiction book pages:
http://www.writersdigest.com/topics/nonfictionbooks.asp
I am not including keywords, etc. in this answer simply because there
is a great, great deal of bad information on the Internet about
getting published. Stick to the sites and books I have mentioned, and
you'll be well on your way to getting published!
Good luck!
kriswrite |
