non-fiction publishing question

[wjordan]

Greetings!

I'm a new member to CW and have completed my first book which is a Christian non-fiction work. It's in the spiritual/personal development genre. While the initial writing is done, I know only a little of the publishing process.

I have been gaining an education in the publishing side of things. Here's my assessment at this time. I am looking for any feedback, new information or suggestions.

From what I have read and researched thus far, I have come to the conclusion that if I want my non-fiction book to have an opportunity to become a best seller, I need to find a traditional publishing house and probably a literary agent as well.

For the record, I'm about as optimistic and euphoric about life in general as people get. So while I know the statistics on selling hundreds of thousands of copies, I'm enough of a dreamer to believe I have a book that can...and if I'm wrong, I won't need medication for depression or bash my fingers in or anything like that. Anyway I said that because you need to know my "big picture" thoughts in order to comment.

So I'd just like some feedback. If I really think I have a book with that kind of potential, and am willing to invest the time/effort/money to see if that's where the Lord takes it, what should I be doing first?

I have a few connections that could be huge. However I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket and then find out the couple directions I was hoping for don't come through and I'm 2-4 months down the line and have accomplished nothing.

Do I begin by trying to find a literary agent?
Should I make sure the agent is a Christian and works just with Christian non-fiction? (I'm assuming yes but thought I'd ask anyway.)
Do I try to use a smaller publishing house that might actually be accepting unsolicited proposals?
Does anyone have a specific recommendation for either a literary agent or a publisher that I should be contacting.
Should I consider self publishing until I sell 50,000 +/- books to "prove" a demand and then approach a publishing house?
Any other directions I should consider?

Thank you all in advance for any consideration and your comments or suggestions.

Sincerely,
William Jordan

[lynnmosher]

This is what I know, which is not much, and it's not set in stone. I write non-fiction also so this is what I am going to do. First, write a proposal. As you do, research the Christian agents to whom you may send your proposal. Follow all their guidelines to the letter!

If you search for an agent, there is no need to search for a publisher. The agent will do that. It is hard to recommend an agent. I think this is something you need to decide yourself. Studying agents' websites will help you decide.

As most publishers, as far as I have heard, will not accept a previously self-published book, I would not go this route.

Having contacts is a great plus. See what they say. Hope this helps a little.

[kriswrite]

I'm the author of 16 nonfiction books; one is Christian.

It is not crucial for nonfiction authors to have agents; I've never had one. I think it's something you should pray about, since it is a very personal thing. Since you have little experience in publishing, it might be useful.

If your book is strictly CBA, then you should try for an agent/publisher who works with the CBA market. I don't think it really matters if an agent also does ABA (secular) work.

Small houses do have many advantages. As an author, you often get much more personalized attention, and your book is much more likely to get the marketing department behind it. You don't have to publish with a major house in order to end up with a best seller :) Common wisdom says, bigger houses are more likely to get your book in a wider variety of bookstores, but in my experience, the opposite is true.

Personally, I'd try to find houses that are the best fit with your book, and not worry about their size. Examine the books they already publish. Does your book seem to fit right in?

To find an agent or publishing house is a LOT of work. There are no shortcuts. Buy the latest copy of Christian Writer's Market Guide. Then go through the listings with a fine tooth comb. Just because someone is listed in the book doesn't mean they are on the up and up. Study the agent/publisher's websites; read their submission guidelines; check out their latest sales; read bios. Then check online to see if there are complaints about the agent/house. Start at Preditors & Editors: http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/ Agents should be members of AAR, and they should NEVER charge a reading fee.

As someone who has self published, too, I do not recommend it unless you have a very small niche audience you are selling to. It's almost impossible to sell 50,000 self published books because bookstores see self published work as inferior. Yes, there are some amazing stories about successful self publishers, but they are the exception, not the rule...and their success comes from working their behinds off creating a quality product...then being an excellent, hard working salesperson.

Read everything you can about getting an agent or publisher. Writer's Digest has some excellent books on the topic. Just make sure they aren't more than a decade old :)

Kristina

[paullooney]

thank you, Kristina!

Your reply to Mr. Jordan was very helpful for me, as well.

have a great day!

Paul

[kriswrite]

I should add that before you query an agent or editor, you really must have a polished proposal ready. If you don't know how to write a book proposal, I recommend The Shortest Distance Between You and a Published Book by Susan Page and Book Proposals That Sell: 21 Secrets to Speed Your Success by Terry Whalin. Be sure to read them both. :)

Kristina

[paullooney]

Again, thanks!

[cpickett]

Just a few notes for you:

You did mention that you are optimistic but still have realistic understandings too and that's a good thing. First, I'd suggest you look further at your goals. The term "best seller" can mean a lot of things. New York times best seller, Amazon best seller etc. Define what you are aiming at more specifically. The big 6 or 8 conglomerate houses are responsible for many on the "big" lists and they are primarily looking at big names because their risk is smaller that way. Amazon best seller status can be hit much easier, sometimes it's valued sometimes it's not. I'm sure one of your goals is to reach as many people as possible, but you also need to look at the odds of going about it this way.

Also, in regard to self-publishing: Yes, there are a few well known success stories going from self to big traditonal houses, and they are pretty much exceptions. However, there are some lesser known authors too who have gotten contract offers from smaller houses after selling a few thousand books on their own after self-pubbing.

Another thought, since your book is NF is it appropriate, can it be made appropriate for Bible Study? Could you put a workbook with it if it is not in that format?
Consider this: 200 churches buy 20 copies for Bible study = 4000 copies. Believe it or not, this is actually a good sales record by industry standards (not looking at the Joel Osteens and the like).

No matter which way you publish, you'll have to put a lot of effort in, and no matter what you'll be doing most of the promotional work. Again, set some goals, maybe plan A and plan B, then figure out what it will take to reach them, decide what you're willing to do and then you can better determine which option is best to get you there.

Hope that helps.

[wjordan]

Thanks all for the comments thus far! As you can see, I'm not the only one who's paying attention. =)

I'll definitely continue praying about looking for an agent vs. going straight to a publisher. Can anyone suggest the best way to identify Christian agents? I've found a few online just with various searches. Same for publishers who take unsolicited proposals.

I went ahead and wrote a proposal yesterday. Thomas Nelson had a guide for the format which I followed. I'll edit it a couple times, and maybe send it to an editor I'm considering using. I'm guessing she'd review it for me for a flat fee just to make sure there are no embarrassing mistakes in it! I would think like writing a book, the only way to know if it’s great is for someone who isn’t biased to tell you. =)

To me, “best seller” really just means that I see this as something far beyond a 5,000 – 50,000 sale book. There’s not a specific goal I’m trying to accomplish or list that I need to be on. Really just saying that this book IMHO has the potential to sell a million copies.

I’ll acknowledge that might translate into selling 1,000 copies, I just don’t want to start out in a way that makes the former less possible. From what I’ve read here and in other places, beginning with self-publishing would drastically reduce the possibility of selling really large numbers.

I just keep reading how it’s mostly up to me to promote and sell the book. It sounds like the publisher really just fronts the money (which I’m able to do) and makes sure the book has a reasonable chance to be in local Christian bookstores (though they can’t promise even that). Finally it sounds like my completed manuscript will still take a year or more to actually be published.

Is there an in between approach?
Am I missing some of the benefits of a larger publishing house?
What are they really doing other than fronting the costs?

The book is written in an interactive format and is perfect for small group studies. I’m working on more ways to support small group reading and interaction.

Thanks again and more feedback/advice is greatly appreciated!

William

[cpickett]

Hi again,
In answer to your question about the role of a traditional publisher, you've pretty much got it, they put up the money and handle/coordinate all of the biz side of things, the author writes, does the edits they want, and then does promotion.

As far as knowing if a publisher firm and all who work there hold Christian values, you may find out some information on their "about" page on their website. And even if it's posted there, there's still no guarantee that you'll agree on all their practices. If you find one where you do, that will be wonderful, but look for a good business match too because that's what's going to help you reach your goals.

It's great to believe your book can sell a million copies, and even if you can convince a publisher to take you on, you'll still have to make that happen for the most part. Yes, a benefit of traditional publishing is a larger distribution network which can make numbers like that easier, but after an initial push of a few months for kick off, even the big publishers are on to the next project. Once in a great while someone hits out of the gate, but more often, it's a gradual building process, again driven by activity of the author. Speaking of your proposal, hopefully your example included the fact that you'll need to include a plan as to what you intend to do to make sales happen.

Also, for what it's worth and just in case you haven't seen it, here's a popular list regarding self-published authors who many consider "successful" http://www.groundbreaking.com/SPAuthorsList.htm

[kriswrite]

You wrote a proposal in one day??? That makes me think it isn't sufficient. Nonfiction book proposals take a lot of time to write, because you must analyse the competition thoroughly (which means reading every book somewhat like yours), and come up with a realistic marketing section.

Kristina

[paullooney]

Hi, Kristina-
Just went to you website. Impressive collection of writing. I especially liked the book covers done from your photos and video clips from your musical. Very cool.

[wjordan]

Does it sound bad to say there is no other book like mine???

I did a brief section on "competition", but all I can do is mention a couple of other books that would be purchased by the same book buyers. There's not really a scenario of buying my book vs. buying someone else's which does the same things in a different way.

It could also be that I'm just using a template for a book proposal which is too simple. Could you suggest a template that would show how a true proposal should be structured?

[kriswrite]

Truly, saying there's no book like yours only makes you look like you haven't done your homework. Yes, your book should be different from others, but there MUST be other books that are at least somewhat similar. If there aren't, publishers are going to think there's no market for the book.

I think you should probably read a couple of good books on writing book proposals. My favorites are listed here: http://www.kristinaseleshanko.com/WritingBooksYouMustRead.htm

Kristina

P.S. Paul, thank you; I'm glad you liked my website!

[lynnmosher]

***Hi-jacking for a moment...Kristina, I love your site as well. Great job! Okay. We now return you to our regularly scheduled thread...***

[wjordan]

Thanks for the suggestion on proposal writing. I purchased the ebook and found it to be very helpful. I've been able to modify the proposal I wrote and now have a page on 'competition'.

Where do you go to have a proposal reviewed and edited? I'd like to discover before the proposal goes out where the deficiencies are.

In any event, others are welcome to comment. I'm sure Kristina would prefer this not become a 'Kristina on proposal writing' thread. =) (I'm also happy to hear from Kristina again! In fact I think I'll pay her to review my proposal if she'll have me as a client.)

[kdawgs34]

Instead of me repeating the great advice you have already been getting. I will just say. In my experience its all hit or miss. You pray. You feel pretty good about a direction based on the advice you received and go for it. I think Timing and unknown elements have a lot to do with it. Theirs no perfect formula or secret. I'm a dreamer like you. You could make it quick or like most writers it may take a while. One traditional publisher wrote back to me when I first started out. And said though we are somewhat interested our writers must pay the price first. I would start known agent first. I they say no. Then traditional publisher. If no. Then self publishing or wait and write something else. I hope that helps. God is with you.