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Getting Your Book Published - Where And How

Discussion in 'Copywriting' started by zac439, Aug 11, 2008.

  1. #1
    Hi everyone. I'm trying to find a press or a literary agent that could help me publish a couple of books on computer science-related topics.

    I actually had a great list and some good leads on a couple of publishers who agreed to sign me on, but my old computer crashed and I lost all of my contacts and data.

    Now I'm back to square one and need to know the best way to get a book published in major stores- both online and offline.
     
    zac439, Aug 11, 2008 IP
  2. KeywordsandCopy

    KeywordsandCopy Peon

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    #2
    zac439 - This is a long, difficult process in most cases. If you had offers from publishers in the past you should do whatever it takes to locate them once again! Check out Writer's Market for a start...
     
    KeywordsandCopy, Aug 11, 2008 IP
    zac439 likes this.
  3. zac439

    zac439 Notable Member

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    #3
    I'm well aware of the process, and sadly, I can't for the life of me remember who contacted me. It was around 4 months ago, and all I can remember is that they had "press" in their name.

    Obviously, this doesn't narrow down the choices.

    I'm not looking for POD services or Amazon-targeted services such as CreateSpace.com - I'm looking for leads to actual publishers or literary agents in the computer science field.

    (Thanks for the input!)
     
    zac439, Aug 11, 2008 IP
  4. deepower

    deepower Well-Known Member

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    #4
    Go to http://www.publishersmarketplace.com and join. It's about $20 or $25 a month. The site has a database of book deals that's searchable by genre or nonfiction category. The book deal will tell you the title of the book, what's it's about in about 2 sentences, the publisher, the editor at the publishing house who bought it and the agent who sold it. Then in the contact database on the site look up the names of the editor and agents and you'll find postal addresses and in many cases email addresses.

    You can find out more at my site http://www.brianhillanddeepower.com I'm the author of three commercially published books.

    Dee
     
    deepower, Aug 11, 2008 IP
  5. zac439

    zac439 Notable Member

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    #5
    And . . . BINGO!

    Many thanks. If possible, can you PM me the books you wrote, the agents you used, and the publishers who signed you?

    I'd much appreciate it :D

    Many, many, many thanks!
     
    zac439, Aug 11, 2008 IP
  6. Michelle Michan

    Michelle Michan Banned

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    #6
    Oh, it's too late.

    I was waiting for a friend to come online since he is the other side of the ocean, but graduate from a Computer Science College, who provided me with this link despite now I know it's not the own you wanted elsevier.com/wps/find/P12.cws_home/getpublished/main
     
    Michelle Michan, Aug 11, 2008 IP
  7. zac439

    zac439 Notable Member

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    #7
    Physics isn't my specialty :)

    I appreciate the gesture though. Thankfully I got in touch with someone at Peachpit Press, and they look like they have an opening for my niche.

    http://www.peachpit.com :D
     
    zac439, Aug 11, 2008 IP
  8. SalviaCrazy

    SalviaCrazy Banned

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    #8
    I was about to say email as many smaller publishers as you can but it looks like you may have someone already.

    Congrats :)
     
    SalviaCrazy, Aug 11, 2008 IP
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  9. tankard

    tankard Well-Known Member

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    #9
    I was about to suggest you buy "Writers Market" book from Amazon - it is a must for anyone who wants to get published in USA. But as you have found someone... Will you keep us posted? It is interesting to know how you're getting on!
     
    tankard, Aug 12, 2008 IP
  10. zac439

    zac439 Notable Member

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    #10
    Will do! I don't have any plans to take this anywhere for another month or two though, so hope you'll stick around DP for a while :)
     
    zac439, Aug 12, 2008 IP
  11. vgal

    vgal Active Member

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    #11
    The writers market online only costs about $30 for an entire year. I'd definitely consider joining.
     
    vgal, Aug 12, 2008 IP
  12. tankard

    tankard Well-Known Member

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    #12
    Sure! Me + DP = long term relationship :D
    Good luck!
     
    tankard, Aug 12, 2008 IP
  13. Internet Solutions

    Internet Solutions Banned

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    #13
    Good luck with your book. Keep us updated on how it goes down.
     
    Internet Solutions, Aug 23, 2008 IP
  14. doridori

    doridori Banned

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    #14
    is there a way to write a book, and just sell it by yourself? like i just wrote a quick novel, and i thought i'd make it as a present to friends and families.
     
    doridori, Aug 24, 2008 IP
  15. zac439

    zac439 Notable Member

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    #15
    Yep- it's called PoD- or "Print on Demand." You should Google it and read up on it. Costs will vary depending on which press you want to go for. Read the fine print before consenting :)
     
    zac439, Aug 24, 2008 IP
  16. elfsites

    elfsites Peon

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    #16
    I've tried ebook and print on demand self publishing but the big problem is you have to do the marketing. That's the hard part which the big publishers can do.
     
    elfsites, Aug 25, 2008 IP
  17. zac439

    zac439 Notable Member

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    #17
    You're right. But if you go to the Barnes & Noble websites and read their rules for submitting book pitches, you'll have a good start. Amazon.com is a bit more lenient on the matter- so you'll definitely get published there if you know what you're doing.

    Overall I wouldn't go with a self published title for my first try. I'd rather get a success and then really work for my next one. Getting your name out there because of the big publisher you used the first time is invaluable.

    Plus, some publishers give bonuses for return work (assuming your book sells)- so you might not even want to self-publish in the first place.
     
    zac439, Aug 25, 2008 IP
  18. jhmattern

    jhmattern Illustrious Member

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    #18
    It's actually a common misconception that getting picked up by a publisher (even a big one) means they'll do the marketing work. In most cases, the author still handles the bulk of the marketing / PR / publicity for the book.

    Publishers only really sink budgets and manpower into much promotion if they think the book is going to bring in huge profits or only after the author's promotion starts to make the book really successful (most published books don't get to this point). So if that's your only reason for wanting to go through a big publisher, might want to re-think that. ;)

    And keep in mind, you still have to do aggressive marketing of your book idea in those cases, which self-publishing lets you avoid (that's exactly what a book proposal and your pitch to publishers is - marketing).
     
    jhmattern, Aug 26, 2008 IP
  19. elfsites

    elfsites Peon

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    #19
    Having your book appear in a thousand book stores is a big deal.

    Although for an unknown author, I'm sure the big companies, even if they agree to get him on board, would not do such marketing.
     
    elfsites, Aug 27, 2008 IP
  20. jhmattern

    jhmattern Illustrious Member

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    #20
    It's not nearly as big of a deal as it used to be (and it's not so much about how many stores it's in as how many copies are out there being sold). Even self-published authors can get the exposure to sell thousands of copies - it's more valuable these days to be found simply on Amazon (and any self-published author can do this) than to be in tons of small brick and mortar stores (and those stores also pick up independent titles, so it's not as though self-publishing stops you from achieving that) - I'm not saying everyone should self-publish my all means, but that you need to really think through your reasons for wanting to go one way or the other, and make sure they're not just common misconceptions (or you'll end up sorely disappointed, like in the case of realizing most publishers are going to expect you to very aggressively promote your own book).
     
    jhmattern, Aug 27, 2008 IP