Why use an agent
An agent …

• will critique your book proposal before it is submitted and make suggestions or edits to help you improve it.
• knows which publishers are likely to be interested in your proposal.
• can garner attention for your proposal and sell it faster than you can.
• is your business representative and, as such, protects your best interests, secures advances, settles contract disputes, collects money, reviews royalty statements, ensures that publishers meet their contractual obligations, and host of other activities.
• is your support system, guide, and cheerleader, which every author needs.
• can bring a new editor up to date on you and your book if that becomes necessary.
• only earns money when he or she sells your book proposal, which is a great motivator.
• is your closest ally in the publishing process.

How to Find an Agent

Start online by looking up The Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR), a not-for-profit organization of qualified literary agents. AAR provides resources to its members and protects the best interests of their clients. AAR agents are obligated to uphold integrity and the highest professional standards in all of their business dealings. Do not consider an agent who does not meet the rigorous standards of the AAR and the National Writers Union (NWU).

Check out on line and print directories. Jeff Herman’s book, Writer’s Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents, is invaluable. His online directory also lists agents’ e-mail addresses and websites. Writer’s Digest Books Guide to Literary Agents and Literary Market Place (LMP): The Directory of the American Book Publishing Industry are excellent sources and may be all you need.

Hardcover and trade paperback publishers produce catalogs to send to booksellers, libraries, and sales reps, which often include agents’ names and contact information. Browse bookstores shelves in the sections where your book might be. Check the dedication and acknowledgment pages of competitive books to see if the authors have thanked their editors and agents.

Let agents find you by getting your book published or publishing it yourself, then making sure the media knows about it.

And, of course, network, network, network. Go where writers and agents are likely to be, such as writing classes, readings, lectures, seminars, book signings, conferences, and book festivals. Join writers’ organizations, and attend meetings. Talk to people who have been published. Ask if they have used an agent, and don’t hesitate to request referrals. In my experience, writers are generous folks who are more than willing to share such information and support each other.

What do agents want from you?
Agents have different policies about what they want from potential authors. Most agents prefer the initial contact be made in writing. They may want anything from a one-page query letter to an entire manuscript. Check the agent’s policy before making any submission. Obviously, whatever you send should be neat, organized, accurate, and well written. This is your first impression; make it a positive one.

A query letter is a one-page document that must entice the recipient to want to know more about your book. It is by definition concise, so every word must count. Its job, like that of a good resume, is to get you in the door. To do that, it must be informative and inviting — both steak and sizzle. In essence, a query letter is a mini-proposal, an encapsulation of your most salient points on a single piece of paper.

A solid query letter is not something you dash off. It takes a great deal of thought and often many revisions. The agent not only wants to know what your book is about and why you are qualified as the author, but also how well you write. This letter may be the single most important piece of marketing you will do.

How to deal with an agent, once you have one
According to Lori Perkins, author of The Insider’s Guide to Getting an Agent (Writers’ Digest Books), there are ways to treat an agent and ways not to. On the plus side of the ledger are simple courtesies like saying thank you; keeping them posted on developments as they occur; educating yourself about the publishing industry; and, though it should seem obvious, always being completely honest.

On the other hand …

• Don’t expect miracles or the impossible. It’s in everyone’s best interest to sell your book.
• Don’t second-guess their decisions. Agents will do everything possible to make you feel special and to get you a good deal.
• When the deal doesn’t meet your expectations, don’t shoot the messenger.
• Don’t be pushy about money or contracts. Pressure doesn’t speed up the process.
• Don’t expect your agent to teach you to write, advance you money, or act as your attorney, therapist, or publicist.
• Finally, if your agent thinks you need to do more work on your book or proposal, don’t be a prima donna. Ridley Pearson, the best-selling mystery writer, tells a story about a writer he referred to his agent.
• When the agent suggested some changes, the writer took offense and said no. He never got his book published, by the way.

In this age of specialization, literary agents are no exception. Like doctors, they have specific niches. When you do research, begin with your particular genre. There’s no sense sending a query letter or proposal to someone who is not an expert in that area of nonfiction. Narrowing your search will increase your odds of success.

Bobbi Linkemer is a book coach, ghostwriter, editor, and the author of 16 books under her own name. She has been a professional writer for more than 40 years, a magazine editor, and a book-writing teacher. Her clients include Fortune 100 companies, entrepreneurs, and individuals who want to write books in order to enhance their credibility or build their businesses. Visit her Website at: www.WriteANonfictionBook.com.

I think the answer is – it depends.

The truth is, if you self-publish a book and sell only 200 copies, an agent is going to have the same (if not worse) luck trying to sell subrights than they would for a traditionally published book that’s sold poorly. And if you’re querying an agent with those sales figures, they’re going to assume that you marketed the book the best that you could, and the result was a lack of interest. Clearly, this isn’t going to be a selling point. It might mean that it’s time to relook at your marketing strategy, the quality of your product, or your distribution method before you can attract an agent.

For an author that has had good to great sales, and wants to continue to self-publish, an agent would still be able to sell the book across different platforms, including audio and foreign rights. They may or may not help negotiate your contracts with distributors.

Ultimately though, we may find the role of an agency shift. Perhaps for the self-published author, the right agent would be one that is also marketing savvy. Since a self-published author’s marketing budget comes from their own pocket and not a publisher, it would behoove them to have someone to bounce marketing ideas off of, and help them decide where their marketing budget (be it time or money) would best be spent.

The largest literary and talent agencies, like William Morris and ICM, already have publicists on staff. But literary agencies may want to consider adding a publicist as well. Of course, this could get tricky. How would the publicist be paid? Would clients opt in or opt out for service? How could you track the success of the publicist? That said, if self-publishing becomes a bigger share of the market and agencies are selling subrights for their self-published authors, a publicist would certainly have the contacts that the self-published author wouldn’t. This could benefit both the agency and author in the long run.

Agencies might also expand their list of contacts to freelance editors, copyeditors, book designers and ebook converters. Agencies would be able to help their authors find the best services for their books, and perhaps negotiate work terms as well. I know some agencies are leery of crossing the agency/publisher divide, but I don’t think that this sort of service would cross any ethical barriers.

Digital and print-on-demand has certainly changed the game for authors, agencies and publishers. But both traditional and self-published authors benefit from having an advocate in their corner, in whatever form that may be!

Tracy Marchini is the author of PUB SPEAK: A WRITER’S DICTIONARY OF PUBLISHING TERMS. Before becoming an editorial consultant and freelance writer, she worked for a literary agency. You can find her on Twitter as @TracyMarchini and on her blog, www.tracymarchini.com.

Some literary agents have a passion and a track record for certain kinds of books: cooking, travel, children’s, business, parenting and so on. To find the right agent for your manuscript, simply match the Work to the agent.

Look on that shelf in the bookstore where your book will be. Check the Acknowledgment pages of similar books; some authors mention their agent. Locate and call authors of works similar to yours. Ask who their agent is.

Agent Patti Breitman, (John Gray, Men are from Mars and Richard Carlson, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff), is a confirmed and renowned vegetarian.

When she was new to the business, she attended many vegetarian conferences and let people know she was looking for manuscripts. After she sold a few, the word spread in vegetarian circles. Now, Patti represents the founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Ingrid Newkirk (You Can Save The Animals); the founder of Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine, Neal Barnard, M.D. (Foods That Fight Pain and Food for Life), the 4th generation cattle rancher turned vegetarian who got Oprah sued, Howard Lyman (Mad Cowboy) and several others.

Today, Patti receives several queries and proposals for vegetarian books. As she is not taking on many new clients, Patti must sometimes decline the chance to work with even the best vegetarian authors. Then she will suggest other agents and encourage the writers to persevere, as she shares their passion. eatplants@aol.com

At writers’ conferences, try this non-threatening way of approaching agents: Do not ask an agent to read your manuscript. Place them in a more objective position by saying, “You are an agent and know most of the other agents. I realize agents have a track record in certain types of work. Which agents would you recommend for this manuscript?” You will be astonished at the positive reaction you get.

Good agents specialize. Successful authors know where to look for agents.

Dan Poynter, the Voice of Self-Publishing, has written more than 100 books since 1969 including Writing Nonfiction and The Self-Publishing Manual. Dan is a past vice-president of the Publishers Marketing Association. For more help on book publishing and promoting, see http://ParaPub.com.

As a professional book publicist, (www.book-marketing-expert.com) I am frequently asked to find an agent for my clients. While I know many agents and publishers and work with them, it’s not what I do. But, from time to time, I find someone who can really help out my clients and I’ve found that person. His name is Jeff Rivera, founder of Gumbo Writers based in New York City.

Rivera has been featured or mentioned in the Los Angeles Times, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, New York Observer, Fast Company, TMZ, NPR, Billboard Magazine, Huffington Post, and many other publications. Rivera interviews high profile power players such as Janet Evanovich, Jeff Kinney, Seth Godwin, Philippa Gregory and James Patterson for Mediabistro’s “Galley Cat” considered the publishing world’s TMZ.

Jeff’s query writing service is the #1 service of its kind. He crafts the perfect query letter for you, then selects the right literary agents to pitch to and sends the query out to them. Jeff guarantees at least 10 top agents will request your manuscript or book proposal. Jeff says this has worked successfully for more than 100 clients. That’s remarkable when you think that many writers cannot get even one literary agent to request their work, let alone read it. His record is over 200 agents requesting one client’s work. For one of my clients he got 19 requests. I was astounded and so was my client.

“Most aspiring writers have shot their chances of ever being represented by a literary agent before the agent has even had a chance to read their query letter,” explains Rivera. “Why? Because agents and people like me who work in the book publishing industry, know in two-seconds flat who is professional and who is not, just by a simple glance at their query letter.”

Rivera, who has ghost written countless successful query letters for clients, stresses that first impressions are everything and that there are a few common mistakes aspiring writers make over and over again that block them from being taken seriously. “It’s really unfortunate because there are some very talented writers out there but writing a query letter is a whole other art,” adds Rivera.

As a book promotion specialist who deals daily with the media, I learned a long time ago that a common mistake in crafting pitch letters is making them too long. The same is true of query letters to an agent. A query letter should be no more than half a page. You have to know exactly what agents want to hear, what they’re looking for. Tell them only that and end the letter right there! Keep it short, keep it sweet and you’ll be one step closer to landing an agent.

The next key to a successful pitch letter to the media and a successful query letter to an agent is the first sentence. Here are some ways to grab an agent’s attention in the very first sentence:

• Start with a question that makes them ponder
• Talk about a dramatic moment in your personal life that connects with the book you’ve written
• Tell them immediately about your platform
• Compliment them on a specific recent sale
• Tell them who referred you

Remember that referrals are an aspiring author’s best friend. If you can find someone the literary agent knows to recommend you, or at least someone who will allow you to use their name in an introduction, you’ll be ten steps ahead of everyone else. When someone else refers you or recommends you to an agent, you are brought in at that same level. You don’t start from ground zero, like all the other aspiring authors, but begin on a whole other plane. Always, always, always get the person’s permission to use their name before you mention them. And because you’ve gotten their permission your referral person also may even be kind enough to give the literary agent a call or email to let them know that you’ll be reaching out to them.

Remember that agents are in the business of selling books. They’re not our best friends, they’re not our therapists, and they’re not our life coaches.  The best agents put their nose to the ground, they focus on what they do best which is generating enough excitement on a book and sell it for as high a price as possible. When you get paid, they get paid. End of story.

One novelist hired Rivera who wrote one sentence about what the novel was actually about. “Don’t you think we should tell them more about it?” the client asked. Rivera told him, “Who cares what it’s about? You’re a regular guest on Fox News.”

A book agent or book publicist can turn your manuscript into a best seller – if you listen carefully and follow their advice. You know how to write – they know how to sell your book.

The bottom line: Why reinvent the wheel? Sign up with an “agent’s agent” like Jeff Rivera by dropping him a note at query@gumbowriters.com and then listen to his advice.

Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it’s their first book or their 15th book. He’s handled publicity for books by CEOs, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC Nightly News, The New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Family Circle, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few. Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at www.book-marketing-expert.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @aBookPublicist.

1. Find out who the best book publishing agents are in your field.

Most book publishing agents specialize in certain fields, and so it is best to do your research first on who are the prominent literary agents in the category where your book belongs. You can check published authors in your category and see who their book publishing agent is. You can also network with other authors in your field. A good word travels fast, and your peers would surely know who the best book publishing agents are. You can also check the websites of these agents, if they have any, to get an idea on the type of works that they prefer to handle.

2. Sell your idea.

Once you’ve identified the agents you would want to talk to and work with, prepare a book proposal that they would find difficult to turn down. Don’t simply give your agent a gist of your book, but write a complete business proposal, with mention of your target audience, and how you plan to reach out to them. Sell the idea, not the book yet. Let your book publishing agent see that the topic of your book is relevant and compelling – one that will be discussed in internet forums, daytime talk shows, radio programs and quoted on magazines and newspapers.

You need to show as well that you, as an author, will not be that difficult to market. You need to project the confidence and an engaging character that can make you an interesting author. Mention your expertise and give reasons why you are the right person to write on the topic you chose.

3. Show that there is a market for your book.

You can easily convince a literary agent to help you market your book if you can provide data showing that there is a market for your book. Who would your readers be? How many of them are there? What other books target those readers? What makes your book different from those already published? Your proposal should also include a profile of your target audience and how you plan to reach it. Make your estimates conservative and achievable. If you had previously published and sold books, then include your past performance as a basis for making sales projections.

4. Try to build a relationship with book publishing agents.

Join an online forum that you know is frequented by book publishing agents. Invite a prominent literary agent to a seminar or a meeting of your peers in the industry. If you get turned down by a literary agent, send him a letter of thanks for the time he spent considering your work. It will make a good impression and he will remember you or perhaps even recommend someone who would be more interested with your work.

5. Build your reputation as a writer.

You can join literary groups, enter writing contests, write for magazines and newspapers or create your own blog. Start small by writing articles that can generate public interest. Promote your own talents and sooner or later someone will notice your mastery of the art.

Book publishing agents can help you reach your dream of getting published. Use your talent, skills and charm to choose the right agent and be on your way to becoming a successful writer.

Learn more about writing and publishing and how to get an agent here at SellingBooks.com.

There are a number of good directories where you can find listings of literary agents, including Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents. A guide such as this can be useful for finding contact information for agents and learning how they like to be approached. However, finding a literary agent is not as simple as picking a name from a list. You need to find the agent who is the best match for you and your book.

Agents do not represent every kind of book. Some specialize in mysteries, others in business books, romance, cookbooks or other types of fiction and non-fiction. By specializing, they have relationships with editors at the publishing houses that publish their kind of book.

A good place to start looking for an agent is on your own bookshelves. Most authors like to read the same type of books they write, so you may have a collection of books that would appeal to the same audience as your book. If not, you can start your research at your local book store.

Pick up a few books that are similar to yours and look for an Acknowledgments page. That is where authors thank the people who helped them write and publish the book. One of those people will probably be…you guessed it, their agent. Write down the names you find of agents and the books and authors they represented.

Next, go to the agent’s website to see what you can learn about the agent and her other clients. When you approach the literary agent, you can show that you are familiar with their work by mentioning some of your favorites among the books and authors they have represented.

Refer to your agent directory to learn more about the agents you have identified as possibly being a good fit for your book. Pay attention to how they want to be contacted. Some may want a query letter, others a proposal and some may want to see the entire manuscript.

Of course, personal contact can be very effective, so you may look for opportunities to meet the agent in person. Many agents attend writers’ conferences and other events where they will meet with authors. When you see that one of the agents you would like to represent you will be at a conference, make plans to attend and get an appointment with the agent to pitch your book.

Taking the time to research literary agents will help you to find the agent who can best represent you and your book.

Cathy Stucker writes about marketing, blogging, publishing and more at IdeaLady.com and CathyStucker.com. Sign up for her free IdeaLady Insider newsletter at http://IdeaLady.com/article/newsletter.

So how do you get a legitimate literary agent fast?

• Do your research for each agent. Although this may not seem like a fast process, it will save you from chasing a rabbit trail since there are many different con artists that pose as literary agents. There are also quite a few amateur agents who don’t have the experience you need to get your book published, which will also be a waste of time. As a big warning, don’t give money to any agent as a part of your contract because it could be a scam, and you will not get that money back. Luckily, you can research easily online directly through an agent’s website, and you can also check out their credentials and feedback from other authors on websites like Preditors and Editors.

• Look for the real thing. The truth is that real literary agents don’t need to advertise because they are so swamped with all of their submissions and manuscripts. If you come across an agent actively looking for new clients, this is something that you should be skeptical of since it may be a scam. Again, it is not acceptable for any agents to ask you for upfront fees since they work in the same way as a real estate agent where their salary is based on commission. This is their incentive to sell your book for you, where they will get commission off of the top once they make the sale but not before.

• Read all submission guidelines carefully. As you start to research and delve into the agents within your genre, you do need to pay attention to all of their submission guidelines to the letter. Many agents may not be accepting submissions at the time, and other agents may only want you to send a query letter. Some agents may prefer a snail mail query letter with a SASE, while others will accept e-mail queries only. How complicated! If necessary, make a spreadsheet of all of the different submission guidelines so that you don’t make an error in your submission that will cause it to get rejected.

• Write an amazing query letter. Your query letter is your first introduction to an agency, and it will make or break whether they want to look at your manuscript. There are many tutorials for writing a query letter online, and as you do your homework, you may also find that specific agencies will list information they would like included in the query letter. Your biggest mistake would be to mass submit one query letter to several agencies because they will all be deleted!

For a great selection of the Bodum French Press, check out Bethany Ramos‘ website, The Coffee Bump

In the high-tech and innovative new world of publishing, the Internet makes it easy for you to take matters into your own hands through self-publishing. In fact, many companies have jumped on the trend to create self-publishing websites where you will pay a lump sum to have your book printed and publicized on a number of online book websites, like Amazon.com.

Before you make the big decision, start by doing your research of both literary agents and self-publishing agencies. Many first-time authors will pay the money to a self-publishing company because they are sick of dealing with traditional literary agents, but you do need to keep in mind that it takes time and commitment to see your work come to fruition. You only need one literary agent to be interested in you, so prepare yourself to receive rejection after rejection after rejection. It’s normal!

From there, decide if your book would be read by a large or very limited audience. Yes, you probably want your book to be read by anyone and everyone in the country, but you do need to be honest with yourself about whether or not your book has a very narrow audience. If it is a narrow or niche market book, self-publishing may be the better choice since literary agents will often invest only in book projects that are geared toward a mass audience.

Last of all, decide if you perhaps need to write another manuscript and begin on your quest again. If you are considering self-publishing only because you want an easy hit book on your hands, that is most likely not going to happen. Instead, you may want to try it again with your second book to get more experience through fine-tuning your craft so that a literary agent may be interested in your next work!

For a great selection of Bunn coffee makers, check out Bethany Ramos‘ website, The Coffee Bump

Qualities of a Good Pitch:

1. It’s brief: A good pitch starts with a single sentence, known as a logline or hook. Prepare one or two additional sentence-long talking points about your project based on the book’s synopsis.
2. It gets to the guts of your book: By boiling your pitch down to a single sentence, you are forced to get to the heart of the story or message. The hook should be the book’s compelling central idea and will be used to sell your idea again and again.

The elements of a pitch are slightly different for each genre, but the purpose is the same—to convey the meat of the project in as few of words as possible.

A fiction or memoir logline contains the following elements:

1. Protagonist: Name your hero/main character.
2. Core conflict: Lay out the main issue of your book (only use relevant subplots for additional talking points if the agent or publisher asks—for example, they may ask if there is a love interest in the story).
3. Differentiating factor: Explain to the agent or publisher what sets your book apart.
4. Setting: Establish the time period, location, or specific subgenre, if applicable.

Here is a sample logline from the copyright page of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins:

“In a future North America, where the rules of Panem maintain control though an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districs against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss’s skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister’s place.”

This logline hits all the elements listed above; we see that

1. The main character is a sixteen-year-old named Katniss.
2. The main conflict is that Katniss must compete for her survival against other teens.
3. The story is different because of the idea of children fighting each other as a means of entertainment.
4. The setting is a future dystopian North America.

If you would like additional examples, read the blog post “Writing a Logline” from Query Tracker.

A nonfiction logline is slightly different from a fiction logline. A typical nonfiction hook will contain

1. Genre: Whether stated or implied, the agent or publisher should be able to surmise the book’s genre—business, new age, health, etc.
2. Key problem addressed: Are you helping women with weight loss, new parents with discipline skills, business managers with communication skills?
3. Promise: How does the book solve the problem? Are you teaching people how to be more assertive, how to eat better, how to delegate?
4. Differentiation: What makes this title different from its competition?

Here is a sample logline for the upcoming title Briefcase Essentials by Susan Spencer:

“A woman’s guide to discovering the 12 natural talents that can help her achieve success in a male-dominated workplace. “

We see that

1. This is a business book that deals with success in the workplace.
2. The problem addressed is women competing in male-dominated industries.
3. The promise is to give women 12 tools to help them find success in a male-dominated workplace.
4. The book is different in that it encourages women to embrace their natural abilities rather than try to adopt masculine traits.

Again, you can refer to the examples in Query Tracker or look on the copyright page and back cover of comparable titles for ideas on how successful authors and publishers have crafted their pitches.

As you develop your pitch, avoid the following mistakes:

1. Don’t talk about the process: Although the journey has been the most exciting and rewarding part of your writing experience, it is not relevant to the agent or publisher’s decision-making process. Refrain from explaining how you developed your characters or where you got your ideas. Those topics are better reserved for author interviews.
2. Don’t pounce: Take the time to open up a natural conversation if at all possible (if you’re pitching roundtables or attending a crowded conference, you may not have this luxury). Building rapport before the pitch makes the agent or publisher more receptive to your message.
3. Don’t verbally vomit: Stick to short, one- to two-sentence talking points that make them respond with “Tell me more.” People lose interest during long-winded pitches. Pause, take a breath, and if you see their eyes gloss over, stop.
4. Walk away when you’re ahead: Once you hear the magic words “Send it to me,” say thank you, stop talking, and move on. You’ve done your job, now congratulate yourself and end the conversation before you undo the progress you’ve made.

Again, the pitch is not a retelling of the whole story. It is a brief statement depicting the core idea of your book. When you’re competing against hundreds of other writers, a well-crafted pitch can make or break your chances of connecting with a potential agent or publisher. Take the time to do it right. Practice saying your pitch out loud. Test it on a couple of friends. Whittle it down until it contains only the barest essentials. You’ll be glad you did.

Shennandoah Diaz is the Business Development Assistant at Greenleaf Book Group, a publisher and distributor supporting independent authors and small presses. Diaz develops educational materials for authors in addition to managing Greenleaf’s social media, writing case studies and white papers on the publishing industry, and coordinating Austin Publishing University.

Money. If your publisher prints 5000 copies, the book sells for $19.95 and your royalty is 6% of the cover price (12-14% of the net), your earnings will be less than $6000. If the book sells and goes back to press, you may do well. Otherwise, it is not worth the many hours at the keyboard for $6000. According to Publishing for Profit by Tom Woll, most initial print runs are 5,000 copies.

In self-publishing, you invest the money but you do not have to share the net. You get it all.

The Publisher is the person or company that invests in the book.

Speed. It takes a large publisher 18 months to move a book through its system of production and distribution. From the time you deliver the manuscript, it will take a year and a half before books are on the shelves in the stores.

You can have a book printed in 2-5 weeks. You must consider: Do you want to wait an eternity to get paid? Will your information expire in 18 months? Will someone else beat you to the market with the same information? Do you want to let a publisher delay the publication of your book?

18 months? You can make a baby faster than that!

Control. Some of the larger publishers have surrendered to their bean counters. Many of their books are on pulp paper, the margins are narrow and the type is small. Your publisher may leave out some of your illustrations to save money.

As the (self) publisher, you can design the book to convey your information to your reader in the best-possible way.

A poorly-produced book lacks credibility.
People won’t buy the book and will never be exposed to the message.

Covering your bases. Today, with the computer and digital printing, it is possible to approach publishers and publish yourself. You can print 500 copies very reasonably (144 pages, 5.25 x 8.25, soft cover for $1,500). Then you can send the (example) book to agents and publishers.

Those who circulate a proposal, query letter or manuscript are treated like a writer.
Those with a book are treated like an author.

You will also send copies of your book to magazines for review, to book clubs for adoption and to foreign publishers for translation and publication.

Authors and promotion. Some authors do not want to publicly flog their books. You may be looking forward to the day when your work is recognized and you won’t have to promote it. You may wish to be a celebrity and above all this crass commercialism. Be advised that Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes) spends some six months each year making appearances on behalf of his books. He is a best-selling author because he promotes his books.

Whether you sell out to a (NY) publisher or publish yourself, the author must do the promotion. Publishers do not promote books. They have the books manufactured and they place them in bookstores. It is up to you to let potential buyers know your book is available.

There are four stages in the life of a book: writing, publishing, distributing and promoting. Giving birth to a book is like bringing a child into the world—you have an obligation to raise it. Fortunately, the book is not a twenty-year commitment and you do not have to send it to college. But, you do have to promote it.

You will write and promote your book and your publisher will produce and distribute it. You can deal with typesetters, printers and distributors yourself to get your finished book into the stores. You might as well self-publish.

Publishing increases the value. No one can be an expert in every book—some 100,000 titles are published each year. Everyone specializes or, at least, has a track record with certain categories of books. If you are turned down by an agent or publisher, that is not a reflection on the ability of the writer or the quality of the work. That agent or publisher just does not get it. With this New Model, if industry people fail to recognize the need and market for your book, it does not matter because your book is launched. It is out for review, it is be considered by book clubs and evaluated foreign publishers. If an agent or publisher “discovers” your book after you have proven it in the market, it is now worth more. For examples, see the sidebars.

This New Book Model is the best approach for you, your book and your writing future. Send your finished book to agents and publishers. Do not send a proposal, query letter or manuscript. Don’t let the agents and publishers hold you back.

Dan Poynter, the Voice of Self-Publishing, has written more than 100 books since 1969 including Writing Nonfiction and The Self-Publishing Manual. Dan is a past vice-president of the Publishers Marketing Association. For more help on book publishing and promoting, see http://ParaPub.com.