Invaluable to writers of all kinds Mark Le Fanu, The Society of Authors Written emphatically from the author's point of view, this is an expert guide to the process of getting published, from submitting your work and finding an agent, to working with a publishing house and understanding the book trade. Together with interviews from authors, agents and publishers (including the CEO of Harper Studio, and the Editorial Director of Macmillan New Writing) as well as buyers from Waterstones and Asda, it offers advice on: * finding an agent or publisher * successful approaches for covering letters and synopses * understanding contractual terms * working with publishers and the editorial process * your role in helping to publicise your work The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook Guide to Getting Published will enable you to market your work more professionally, understand the relationship you will have with both agent and publisher and offers a contemporary inside view of the publishing industry. Along with the essential contacts in the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook, this is a professional tool you will not want to be without.
Part One - Charting Strategy 1.Motives and expectations 2. Is the novel ready to go? 3. Plotting strategy Part Two - Planet Agent 4. Getting ready to approach agents 5. First contact with Planet Agent (rejection letters, invitations to send full MS) 6. Close contact with Planet Agent (what to expect if the agent likes you) 7. Landing on Planet Agent (offers to represent, agent contracts). Part Three - Securing your book deal 8. Hooking the deal (re-writes) 9. Problems with agents (how to tell if an agent is working hard for you) 10. Getting your book deal (meting the publisher, negotiating a deal, why it takes an age to get a contract) 11. What you contract means (an explanation of major clauses) 12 Dancing with the independents (dealing direct with niche publishers) Part Four - A word about the book trade 13. Grim realities, harsh results (why few books earn out, who's eaten the marketing budget, why titles disappear fast from the shops, how to build a lasting career if you understand the world through the publishers eyes) Part Five - From Contract to Publication 14. Editing and copyediting 15. Covers and blurbs (what consulation means in practice) 16. Publicity (what to expect and how to interact with your publicist) 17. How to market yourself (website, media profile, book signings, school talks, which books benefit from what kind of techniques) 18. Publication - the joys and sorrows (what to expect on publication. Excellent outcomes, decent outcomes, bad but often typical outcomes) 19. Technicalities - royalties, tax issues Part Six - Self Publishing and Self Marketing 20. Bandits and saints 21 Contracts, prices and budgets (how to put together a publishing package that suits your pocket and your goals. How to set realistic sales targets) 22. Publication, selling and stepping up to commercial publishers (what sales level do you need to get a commercial publisher/agent interested?) Part Seven - Final Word 23. The next book - (what to expect from your agent and publisher, what to write, what the market wants you to write 24. Getting help (SoA, editorial agencies) 24. Why be a writer?
