The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published, 4th Edition (Paperback)

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Product Description

Expert advice for new writers.

Publishing companies have consolidated, there are fewer editors, and literary agents are more selective. The result is that it’s tougher than ever to get published. Now, a successful literary agent and author and a best-selling nonfiction author and literary consultant provide even more of the practical advice every writer needs to get published. In this new edition, readers will find:

• An updated overview of changes in the publishing industry
• Practical tips about pitch letters, negotiations, contracts, and industry trends
• Includes CD-ROM with sample pitch letters, proposal templates, a comprehensive list of literary agents, links to fantastic author websites, and more

About the Author

Sheree Bykofsky, the founder and owner of the Sheree Bykofsky Literary Agency, has written and represented hundreds of successful titles over her long publishing career. She regularly teaches university courses on publishing and speaks at writers’ conferences across the country.

Jennifer Basye Sander has been an author and book packager for nearly 20 years. Her career has spanned all aspects of the business, from retail sales and book acquisition to editorial and publicity. She and her husband founded the Big City Books Group, which develops book projects and has over 40 successful books in print.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Alpha; 4th edition (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592575188
• ISBN-13: 978-1592575183
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #70,484 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Comparing five books about writing book proposals, April 7, 2007

By	Thomas D. Kehoe (Boulder, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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I bought five books to help me write a book proposal:

"How to Write a Book Proposal, 3rd edition," by Michael Larsen

"78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published & 14 Reasons Why It Just Might," by Pat Walsh

"The Forest for the Trees," by Betsy Lerner

"The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published, 4th edition," by Sheree Bykofsky and Jennifer Basye Sander

"Think Like Your Editor," by Susan Rabiner and Alfred Fortunado

The worst was "How to Write a Book Proposal." This book felt like a bad date, like I wanted to wash my hair after reading it. The intent is to teach you to be an "Authorpreneur (r)." Yes, Larsen has registered this word. You'll learn such gems as everyone has 250 friends, and each of them has 250 friends, so you can "spread the word" about your book to more than 62,000 people by e-mail. I think there's a word for that -- spam. Larsen also says to include your promotion plan in the book proposal, including pushing "the paperback edition as hard as you can" when it's published a year after the hardcover edition. I'm not an agent or editor, but I'd think that an agent would giggle quietly to themselves if you were so presumptuous as to include a marketing plan for the paperback edition. (To the author's credit, he doesn't say you should suggest which actor should play the main character in the movie version of your book.) Then there's the chapter about including illustrations and cover art. Excuse me, I thought the editor and art director develop the cover art? I can't imagine creating the book cover to include in the proposal. And the author recommends including a "surprise," such as a baby shoe with a note saying "Now that I have a foot in the door." The book has one good piece of advice: pick a good title. For example, "How to Write a Book Proposal" is a title that will make 100,000 aspiring writers buy your book, regardless of how awful the book is.

"78 Reasons" was good. Some sections are wrong, such as #38 and #39, which correctly advises against paying for a vanity press to publish your book but confuses this with self-publishing. I've successfully self-published two books, and unsuccessfully self-published one book. The correct answer is that if you have a niche book in a niche market you know well, self-publish. Self-publishing mass market books is a recipe for disaster. Some of the advice is excellent, such as #16, about "killing your little darlings" (a scene you think is brilliant, that you build the rest of the book around). While most of this book is sound advice to a novice writer, as an experienced writer I didn't learn anything new.

"The Complete Idiot's Guide" covers the entire process from thinking of an idea through book proposals, book contracts, publicity tours, etc. It's a good overview but each chapter is too short. You'll need to buy another book about book proposals, etc. I'm keeping my copy as a reference to turn to occasionally but it's not the last word.

"The Forest for the Trees" starts with six essays about writing, with topics such as alcoholism, self-promoting poets (starting with Walt Whitman), the childhood of famous writers, writers who are too successful too young, etc. These are interesting reading. The second half of the book is essays about publishing, starting with literary agents. One paragraph describes the plethora of surprise gifts writers include with their query letters. She's received baby shoes, presumably from readers of Larsen's book. She says: "Please resist the temptation to do any of these outlandish things...a simple, dignified letter with a clear statement of your intent and credentials will win more affirmative responses than any gimmick or hype." If you read Larsen's book, read Lerner's book as the antidote. The next essays are about dealing with rejection, the life of editors, what writers want from editors, how book covers are designed, book titles selected, etc. This book is descriptive, not proscriptive, so you'll learn how the world of books operates, if not be told how to write a book and get it published. I enjoyed the author's "voice" and I recommend this book.

The best book is "Thinking Like Your Editor." The first half of the book is about preparing your book proposal. Unlike the other four books, reading this book made me completely rewrite my book proposal. The author begins by emphasizing the three most important things about a book: audience, audience, and audience. Who is going to buy your book? Not who might be sort of interested in your book, but who will feel that he or she must read your book. I'd thought about this before, but reading Rabiner's book made me think lucidly about this. She then walks you through the elements that must be in a book proposal, such as your thesis, or what makes your message unique and new and challenging; why is now the time to publish this book; and why are you the person most qualified to write it. The second half of the book is about writing your book, including the importance of narrative tension in non-fiction writing, and of presenting a balanced "argument" to make your views more convincing. The other four books made me say, "uh-huh, uh-huh" and not do anything. Rabiner's book made me spend several days working on my proposal. (My 2003 paperback copy has the typos corrected.)

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most practical book on publishing that I've ever read, August 2, 2006

By	Nancy Pistorius - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a freelance writer and owner of several bookshelves literally groaning with stacks of books on writing. I've devoured books on writing the way my teenage daughter digs into pizza, always hoping for some mantra that would help pave my way to publishing success. Although I am a successful magazine (Woman's Day, Cosmopolitan, etc.) and newspaper (Chicago Tribune, etc.) author, and have contributed to several anthologies, I have yet to hold a book in my hand with my name on the cover. THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO GETTING PUBLISHED is the most practical book on publishing that I've ever read, and I've read them all! Not only is each chapter packed with advice for writers at every level of the publishing process, but the text is highly readable and even entertaining. All the sidebars and boxes keep the large volume of information from ever becoming dry or boring. And the icing on the cake is a CD-ROM with templates for pitch letters and proposals--just what every writer needs, when he's faced with the daunting task of selling himself to publishers. Thanks so much, Sheree and Jennifer!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More thorough than you'll think you need, February 13, 2007

By	H. Grove "owling6683" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Sheree Bykofsky and Jennifer Basye Sander want you to get your book published. They want you to understand absolutely every aspect of the business--from idea generation through book promotion--so that even though you're a beginner, you can navigate those shark-infested waters like a pro. Sometimes you might think they go into unnecessary detail, such as when they describe the ins and outs of an editor's typical day at a publishing house, but the truth is that because of a lack of this understanding many writers shoot their careers in the foot by making unnecessary mistakes.

This book is aimed at anyone interested in gaining entrance to the world of publishing, whether you want to write novels, poetry, children's books, how-to books, or magazine articles. If you want to publish with the big-name pros or even self-publish, this book will help you decide what would suit you best and how to achieve it. It covers everything from idea generation through the submission process, contract negotiations, finding an agent, and participating in the publicity process.

Because the public vision of the publishing industry is so vastly incorrect, there are many ways in which a writer can feel frustrated, annoyed, angry or hurt by things that really boil down to misunderstandings or a lack of comprehension. There are also so many ways in which a writer can ruin a potential career by making herself known as a high-maintenance troublemaker, when perhaps if she better understood what her editor's job was and how her editor conducted that job, she might do the right thing.

In addition, although I call it "the publishing industry," there's a lot of variety out there. Without a guide to that variety (when to query, when to submit a proposal or manuscript, how long each thing should be and how it should be written, what should be included with it, how it should be mailed, when and how you should or shouldn't follow up, etc.) it's easy to make a misstep. That's where "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published, Fourth Edition" comes in.

This is an incredibly thorough book that will impart a very good understanding of the realities of getting published. It will help you to understand how editors, agents, and publishers view writers' actions. It will help you to make yourself an invaluable part of a publishing team, which can only serve to enhance your career opportunities.