How to Publish a Book: Approaching Publishers
Don't write the book yet. If you don't find a taker, you don't want to have wasted your time writing an unsaleable book. And if a publisher does express an interest, he might want to make suggestions about the way you write the book - perhaps a different kind of treatment from the one you originally envisaged, or a format to fit an existing list. If you'd already written the whole book, you would have to do an extensive rewrite.
Preparing a Proposal
Make an outline of the whole book.
- Set down your title. The publisher might want to change it, but for the purposes of the proposal you need a working title. Make it as snappy as you can. Raising Funds for Charity is more effective than Organising Successful Events to Raise Money for Charitable Projects. It would fit the spine of the book better, too.
- Write down the first chapter heading, and set out underneath it, briefly, all the points you'll deal with in that chapter.
- List all your chapters in this way, then juggle them into a logical sequence. This will give you the skeleton of your book, the bones on which you'll build the meat.
- Type the outline neatly in single spacing, like a letter - this is a document, not a working typescript. Indicate the proposed overall length of the book (its 'extent'). If illustrations are appropriate, say whether or not you can supply them. The publisher will advise you if he prefers to make arrangements for illustrations himself.
On a separate sheet of paper, type out:
- A short, concise explanation of the book's proposed purpose and area of interest.
- Why you believe there's a need for it.
- What market you see for it.
- What competition there is.
- Why you believe your book will be better.
Approaching a Publisher
Look through the publishers listed in the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook and The Writer'sHandbook and list those who specify an interest in the kind of book you plan.
Next, check with Booktrust to see what other books on your topic are currently on the market, and if any are due to be published in the near future.
Decide which publisher looks like the best prospect. Find out the name of the editor responsible for the type of book you want to offer, either by looking on their website or by ringing the switchboard. If the operator doesn't know, ask to be put through to the editorial department for non-fiction books. Ask there for the appropriate name, and check the spelling. Don't try to discuss the book on the phone unless you are specifically asked to do so - all you want is the right name so your proposal will reach the right person.
