Last year, I met an author who had written her entire book without feedback from anyone in the industry. When she finally presented it to a professional, they broke it to her that her book’s structure wasn’t working. They sent her to me for help, but she was disheartened to discover she needed to rewrite so much.
An author contacted me recently, thinking he just needed me to edit his book, which he would then submit to publishers. I had to break it to him that this is not how the industry works for books that teach (aka self-help books or prescriptive nonfiction).
Another author worked for three years on her book and figured it would be easy to find a traditional publisher even though she had no social media pages and had never done an interview. In short, she had no built-in audience.
Yet another author began submitting her proposal in the hopes of releasing it in time for a speaking engagement that was happening six months later. Unfortunately, her expectations were out of synch with the industry.
In my work as a book coach, ghostwriter, and editor, my heart is repeatedly broken by aspiring authors who write their books without first learning how the publishing industry works. Then, it becomes my awful job to break their hearts with a reality check.
So before you sit down to write your book, please pay heed to these harsh truths:
- When you’re writing a book that teaches readers something, publishers don’t want to see your full manuscript. They want what’s called a “book proposal,” which is like a business plan for your book. These usually run 50–75 pages, and only 20 pages of that is from your actual manuscript. The rest involves trying to convince a publisher to accept your book idea, and if they do accept it, they may ask you to make changes. That’s one of the main reasons people don’t usually write their book in full before submitting their proposal. (Note that fiction is entirely different, in which case you do submit your entire manuscript to an agent or publisher. The same holds true for memoirs in most cases, although some people manage to sell their memoir to a publisher based solely on a proposal.)
- Most publishers won’t take your book proposal directly from you (although a few small publishing houses will). To get a traditional publisher, you must first get a literary agent to represent you and your proposal. This isn’t easily done, so I advise authors to submit their proposal to at least 50 agents. (Bear in mind that no reputable agent will ask you for money up front. If they sell your book to a publisher, they generally take 15% of what the publisher pays you, which is called an advance against royalties.)
- Speaking of the advance, most people don’t realize that they make no royalties on sales of their book until the publisher earns back their advance. So if your publisher gives you a $10,000 advance, you will earn no royalties until their profits from your book surpass $10,000. The majority of books never earn back their advance.
- If you don’t have a significant following on social media or a large email list of 50,000 people or more, it can be difficult to land a traditional publisher. They need to know your book will sell. If you don’t have a following, your only option may be self-publishing, but there’s no shame in that!
- I highly recommend working with an experienced nonfiction book coach while you write your book to ensure that its structure works. While you can divert slightly from industry norms, those common structures are in place for nonfiction because readers respond to them. Plus, your book needs to fit firmly into specific categories on Amazon so that readers can find it. Sometimes, all you need is an hour with a coach to make sure you’re on the right track. Of course, it’s better to use their expertise further if you can afford it.
- The traditional publishing world is slow. It can take months to land an agent and then more time for that agent to land a publisher for you. Once your proposal is sold to a publisher, it’s usually another one to two years before your book comes out. Unless your book is truly about a topical issue that needs immediate release, publishers aren’t inclined to rush a title to print.
- Traditional publishers expect you to do most of the marketing for your book. Unless you’re a big name, they will put little effort into publicity. Sigh — I know that’s a blow. In fact, one of the sections of a proposal is all about how you plan to market your book.
- Hybrid publishers are not the same as traditional publishers. If you’re paying a publisher and not the other way around, it’s self-publishing — even if the publisher had a choice to accept your book or not. Again, there’s no shame in self-publishing, but understand the difference.
Now that you’re armed with this important information, you’re in much better shape to work on your book or book proposal. Whatever you do, don’t let the harsh realities of the publishing industry discourage you from completing and releasing your book. It’s still an enormously rewarding thing to do.