The Beginner's Guide to Publishing a Nonfiction Book

You've written a nonfiction book. Now what? If you want to publish your book, you have some decisions to make. Publishing may seem daunting, but with the right help, it's easier than you think. If you're looking for some direction, take a look at some of the steps involved in publishing a book:

Publishing with a Publisher

What to Do First

Once you have a manuscript, ask for a Manuscript Analysis. The analysis will let you know where your manuscript may need to be strengthened, and how much work needs to be done before you look for a publisher. Publishers and literary agents get thousands of submissions, and you only have one shot to wow them. That means your manuscript needs to be polished to perfection before you put it out there. 

Once your book has been analyzed, you can get a bid for editing. Editing is strongly recommended, considering how much competition your manuscript will face for a publisher's attention. 

Picking a Publisher

Research, research, research. You'll need to research the publishing marketplace before you decide which publishers to approach. A good Book Coach will know which publishers take which subjects. 

Do You Need an Agent?

There are pros and cons to having an agent, and there are also unscrupulous agents who take advantage of eager writers. (I would never call myself a literary agent because I do not negotiate contracts once I’ve secured a literary agent or a publisher for an author. When I find a publisher for an author, I call in an agent or literary attorney to review that contract and protect your literary rights.)

As a Book Coach, I can help you decide if you need an agent. In many cases, I can get your work in front of a publisher without an agent's help. I’ve helped a lot of authors get book deals this way.

Writing a Proposal

A book proposal is required by literary agents and publishers for all nonfiction books, including: business, memoir, self-help, personal growth, mind-body-spirit, how-to, and more. The book proposal isn't just a quick note to the publisher about your book. The proposal is a pubilsher’s version of a business plan, and it should essentially tell the publisher how much money they'll make off of your book by “proving the sale” of your book in various categories. Publishers want to know a book will sell before they invest time and money in it, and your book proposal is the chance to prove that to them. Don't skimp on your book proposal. You should put as much care and research into the book proposal as you did when you were writing your book. If you don't know where to start, consider copying the format for this very successful book proposal that got an agent to offer a contract in 1 day and a publisher to buy the book in 6 days. You can use this book proposal as a model for your book proposal. My company, Author One Stop, can review and polish your book proposal draft for you, too. The book proposal will make or break your book, so it's worth the investment – especially considering the affordable price.

Self-Publishing

Many people have the erroneous idea that if they self-publish a book, a publisher will pick it up once it’s out there and selling. The truth is that once a book is self -published it is much more difficult to get a publisher to buy your book. Publishers want to see a track record of 10,000 books sold in order to offer you a publishing deal We can help you decide if self-publishing or finding a traditional publisher is right for you.

You've written your book because you're an expert in something. At Author One Stop, we're experts in books. This is an overview of how to get a book published, but there are a lot of nuances. Your publication strategy should be based on your book's topic, and on your goal for your work. You should consider expert help to figure everything out. To learn more about how we can help, contact us.