HOW TO FIND PUBLISHERS AND AGENTS AND GET PUBLISHED is about how to successfully write, pitch a book, write a query letter, promote a book, and build a platform. Many of these chapters started off as answers to questions from clients or prospective clients of The Publishing Connection, a service that connects writers to publishers and agents. Then, I began thinking about all the steps involved from writing a book to getting published.
This is the first is a series of books directed to writers, primarily those new to pitching books and getting published, although previously published writers can benefit from some chapters, too.
The book is divided into five parts:
- Writing Your Book: how to write your book, including increasing your creativity, looking to your personal experiences for ideas, expanding blogs or articles into books, and editing and polishing your book;
- Pitching Your Book: how to determine whether to find a publisher or agent or self-publish, the pros and cons of working with a small or large publisher, and how to choose what publisher or agent to work with;
- Sending Query Letters: how to write a good query letter to interest an agent, publisher, of producer in your book or script;
- Promoting Your Book: how to build your platform and promote your book;
- Problems with Publishers: how to deal with problem publishers who don’t pay you.
The chapters in this book are drawn from my over 30 years of experience in writing, pitching, promoting, and publishing books for myself and for clients; writing and sending out queries to pitch books and scripts for over 1000 clients; and working with dozens of publishers, agents, and film producers along the way.