Putting Your Passion Into Print

Get Your Book Published Successfully!

By Arielle Eckstut and David Sterry

448 pages
Paperback (also available in Hardback)
ISBN: 0761131221
ISBN13: 9780761131229

$14.95(US) $19.95(CAN)

Buy this book from an online retailer or a local bookstore.

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Table Of Contents

INTRODUCTION: 1

PART 1: SETTING UP SHOP

Writing the Right Idea: 19
To Write or Not to Write: 19
What Should You Write?: 22
Assembling Ideas: 24
Writers in Search of Ideas: 35
The Perfect Package: 37
Selecting Your Dream Team: 37
Models for Success: 43
Perfecting Your Pitch: 45
Getting Titular: Titles and Subtitles: 47
The Facts About Fiction: 48
The Nonfiction Proposal: 49
The Value of Good Readers: 74
Prepare Your Package for Liftoff: 75
Locating, Luring and Landing the Right Agent: 76
Do You Really Have to Have an Agent?: 77
Locating an Agent: 79
Luring the Agent: 86
Landing the Big Kahuna: 95
John Hancocking: Signing an Agency Contract: 99
Demystifying Submission: 103
Agent Relations: Snarling Snafus and Scary Silences: 103
Sending Your Brave Little Book Out into the World: 110
The Agony and Ecstasy of “Interest”: 113
Sending Your Book Directly to Publishers: 120
Rejection Section: 131
Rejection Rules: 132
To Learn or Not to Learn: 134
Taking Action: 140
PART 1I: TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
Let’s Make a Deal!: 143
The Selling of Your Book: 143
Sifting Wheat from Chaff: The Right Publisher for You: 146
Finding a Cowriter or Dumping the One You Have: 152
Negotiating Nuggets for Agentless Authors: 152
Get It in Writing: The Deal Memo: 154
Contract Facts: 156
An Askance Glance at Your Advance: 156
The Reality of the Royalty: 160
Delivery: The First Step Toward Acceptance: 163
Copyright or Copywrong?: 167
The Many Faces of Subsidiary Rights: 167
Warranties and Indemnities: 171
Author Copies: “You Mean I Have to Buy My Own Books?”: 172
Covering Your Cover: 173
Options for Your Option: 173
The Rules of Accounting: 174
Sign Here, Please: 174
Write Away!: 176
Same-Paging: Getting Simpatico with Your Editor: 176
Getting Your Ducks in a Row So You Can Start Quacking: 178
Getting Started: 190
More Readers: 195
More on Outside Help: 198
Don’t Let Running Out of Time Drive You Out of Your Mind: 199
Postpartum Depression: 200
One Last Thing Before You Turn It In: 201
Working with Your Publisher: 202
Editor 101: 203
The Mother of All Meetings: The Launching of Your Book: 217
Preparing Your Book for Cataloging: 222
Six Months to Go!: 233
The Sales Conference: 236
Making a Stink: When to Get Mad and When to Shut Up: 238
Enjoying the Ride: 240
Prepub Publicity and Marketing: 241
Selling Yourself: 241
Working with Your Publicist: 249
The Beauty and Power of Networks: 264
To Tour or Not to Tour: 271
Preparing for Your First Interview: 284
Building Buzz: 287
PART III: GETTING THE WORD OUT
Launching Your Book and Keeping It Alive: 293
Local Love: 294
Bookstore Love: 295
Making an Eventful Event: 300
A Tour of Your Book Tour: 312
The Skinny on Local and National Media: 316
Giving Away Books: Yes, That’s Right, Giving Them Away: 326
E-Marketing Redux: 327
Book Club Heaven: 328
Awards as Buzz: 329
Keeping Your Book Ball Rolling: 329
The Fine Art of Selling: 334
“How Many Copies Did You Say?”: 334
Back to the Bookstore: 336
Selling Books in Unexpected Places: 342
The World Wide Web: 344
Lovely, Luscious Libraries: 346
Back to School: 346
Rotten Returns: 347
The Last Word on Royalties: 348
Keep the Sales Train Rolling: 350
Publish Yourself: 351
It’s Up to You: 351
The Many Faces of Self-Publishing: 353
Becoming Your Own Publisher: 357
The Bottom Line: 385
Okay, What’s Next?: 387
Don’t Make the Same Mistake Twice: 388
Look at the Numbers: 389
Have the Next Idea Ready: 390
When to Send: 392
Th-Th-Th-That’s All, Folks!: 393
APPENDICES: 395
Appendix I: Resources: 397
Appendix II: Selected Publishers: 403
Appendix III: Standard Permission Form: 409
Appendix IV: Our Proposal for This Book: 410
Acknowledgments: 429
Index: 431