Check out Miss Snark's blog. She was a literary agent who posted all about getting published. She stopped posting a year ago, but left her site up-- the archives have real answers to just about any publishing questions you have. To sum it up: finish your book, get an agent, and your agent will try to sell it to a publisher. MUCH more difficult than it sounds, though. http://misssnark.blogspot.com/ I miss Miss Snark... -Karen
Are you talking about fiction or non-fiction? You'll find different resources covering each of them - everything from writing the book proposal to whether or not you need an agent to how to negotiate contracts. A reader on my freelance writing blog recently told me to check out Damn! Why Didn't I Write That? - I got it the other day, read through it, and really thought he did a great job going into the issue of getting your non-fiction books published. I thought the author did a particularly good job of going into the negotiation and contracts issues. If you think you're ready to start on a proposal, you may want to look at The Everything Guide to Writing a Book Proposal (or something like that). I know Barb Doyen is one of the authors. It's not bad - I picked that one up because I know a few authors that have worked with her in getting their books published (she's an agent), so I figured she must know what she's talking about.
Ooh, that's right. Fiction AND Non-Fiction, Karen-- there are TWO types of books! I have fiction on the brain and just assumed that's what you were writing. JHMattern is right... the process for non-fiction can be quite a bit different. Miss Snark is/was a blogger about publishing literary fiction... I don't think her blog would be much help for those writing boring... I mean, um, non-fiction books. -Karen
Boring? Hey now! lol I'm actually writing both at the moment - have to admit the fiction's fun (get to escape into my head a bit), but I'm so passionate about the nonfiction project that it's far more exciting for me when I have time to work on it. Don't know what type of book the OP's writing Karen, but if I decide to eventually pitch the fiction I'm working on, I'll be sure to check out that blog.
LOL... I know, I'm terribly biased. Maybe I shouldn't admit this on the same forum where I look for non-fiction writing work, but... most non-fiction bores me silly. Writing for me IS fiction. The rest just pays the bills. I wish I could get as excited about the non-fiction stuff as you do! If you do decide to market a novel, definitely bookmark that blog. It gives you some very real, very useful (but very b*tchy) insight into the publishing process. I was lucky enough to be a reader when Miss Snark was posting-- now we just have archives. I've gotta go back and re-read a lot of it when it comes time to sell my novel. Which will be sometime 100,000 years from now. I hope the Internet still works by then... -Karen
Well my non-fiction project involves interviewing a lot of musicians and people behind the scenes in the music biz, which is a big passion of mine (as well as a part of my work, so I already know and love a lot of the folks I'm working with). When I have to do non-fiction work on a topic I don't enjoy, it does bore me to tears, so I understand. Oh, I love other bitchy bloggers, so I'm sure I'll like the blog. lol It sounds really familiar though - not sure if it's something I read quite a while back or what.
It is actually a book of poetry and images, so I guess that would fall under fiction. I checked out the blog that was suggested and it is a great resource, thanks a bunch. I am blown away how the writer just sort of stopped. I mean there are folks here on this forum who would love to have that sort of volume. At least it was not due to health issues or anything along those lines.
It would also be very smart to buy a copy of the 2008 Writer's Market book. It's considered "the Bible" in terms of knowing which publishers are seeking certain types of manuscripts and all the nit-picky ways that want you to approach them. Viqi
I believe poetry would be a bit different from both fiction and nonfiction publishing. In that case, you should pick up the writer's market book specifically devoted to poetry markets (I'm almost positive they have one).
You could always look into self-publishing, though that's not always the cheapest option. What it can do, though, is print up a few books for yourself, your friends and your contacts, so they can see what the book will look like, proof it, offer advice, etc. Especially if the book you're looking at would be, as you said, image intensive.
If you would rather someone else do it for you or someone who knows what they're doing, then contact the people on this site: http://www.mkmbookservices.com/
Are you going the electronic route or the hard copy bookstore route because they yield different (greatly different) returns. Electronic versions trump hard copy books in terms of ability to charge and ease and speed of publishing. A guy called "the Niche Prof", Ron is his real name, produced a great personal story on how he got his book published and made available on Amazon. I had a copy and will see if I can locate it for you. If not, search for the niche prof online and you'll find his "how-To" guides on book publishing.
Lulu.com lets you publish and sell print-on-demand books and e-books, online music and images, custom calendars and books. Free self-publishing. Lulu gains material to publish when authors upload files through Lulu's web site. While the focus tends to be on novels, works of non-fiction, calendars and other print publications, this isn't necessarily the case, as Lulu also accepts digital media such as music CDs, videos and ringtones. The author then selects from a series of options corresponding to the media type - for example, an author uploading a novel would select binding, layout style and cover art - and sets the amount of profit they wish to earn on each copy. If the document is not already in PDF format, Lulu converts it to a PDF file, which can be downloaded by the author and reviewed. A price is determined based on factors such as the page count, type of binding, and the user's choice of margin. From the margin set on each copy, 80% goes to the author and 20% to Lulu, although Lulu doesn't claim a commission if the work is offered free of royalty. Copyright typically remains with the author, but this varies depending on the distribution model. Lulu provides technical support via online forums and live chat features. When an order is placed by a customer, a copy of the work is printed on demand by several third-party companies, including Colorcentric in the United States, Publidisa in Spain, and Antony Rowe in the United Kingdom. In addition to offering a number of book sizes, Lulu also offers black and white and color printing, photo books, CDs and DVDs, calendars, and hardcover books with or without dust jackets. http://www.lulu.com/uk/ While Lulu doesn't charge authors to upload their material, they do offer a number of services for a fee, including ISBN assignment, cover design, marketing, and making the publications available through Amazon and other online retailers. They also maintain their own online store, Lulu Marketplace, offering the publications for sale on their website (at no up-front charge to the author), collecting payments and tracking royalties. Lulu offers three different levels of distribution services, called "Lulu Marketplace", "Published By You", and "Published By Lulu" (formerly known as Global Distribution). Books shipped to retailers under these Published By plans are printed by Lightning Source. Depending on the level of distribution, Lulu may or may not require exclusive rights.
I am very much in this business. You might just want to check out my blog. I am building a complete guide to getting published. The full articles you need, also my blog has everything related to writing, grammar, blogging, and publishing. Here is the guide: Guide to getting published
trunion, I am happy to hear that people still write poetry. There is a "must have" book you can obtain from Amazon or your local bookshop. It is called "2008 Poet's Market", it is published by Writers Digest Books (the same company behind the Writer's Market). By the way, I have already seen the Writer's Market edition of 2009. Not specifically my basket (I am British) but it is a GREAT book for American market. Then, I would like to advise that you keep away from those "publish it yourself" companies. It is too costly to get them producing a book and 90% of those companies don't have any connections with large booksellers and distributors. This deal will leave you sittin' on a pile of boxes trying to sell your poetry on a corner. If you have extra dough, you can publish it yourself, thus cutting out the middle man. I have produced a book for my pal and it has gone quite well. It only required a good concept, a girl who knew QuarkXpress, a cheap local printer and an online facility to market and sell the book. Forget about big booksellers if you don't have the right connections, though. And then, this is Britain, things are always different here. To add to your "2008 Poet's Market", which I'm sure you already have on your wish list, there is a blog Guide To Literary Agents. I hope this helps. Best of luck!
You can try and do it through a publishing company, but i think more and more people and publishing their works themselves. Many book printing companies offer services in getting an ISBN and getting your work in the shops!