The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Business Books [Paperback]

Bert Holtje (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2009 | Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide

The great idea is only the beginning.

The typical business book author often lacks style, voice, pace, or focus. This guide takes the reader on a virtual tour of business book publishing, providing all the information essential to a successful book, from shaping the idea to writing the proposal to approaching an agent and beyond.

?Covers the essentials of marketing and publicity

?Addresses self-publishing, for those business book writers who simply look to sell their books at conferences

?The Complete Idiot?s Guides® dedicated to writing and publishing continue to do well

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bert Holtje founded James Peter Associates, book producer and literary agency, in 1970, representing 87 nonfiction authors and more than 600 books. He is an author, collaborator, or ghostwriter of 32 books. Since selling the company in 2000, Holtje, who has an MA in marketing, has been a consultant. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Alpha (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592578799
• ISBN-13: 978-1592578795
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #650,537 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't Actually Teach The Reader How To Write A Business Book, March 20, 2010

By 

Laura Cross (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Business Books (Paperback)

The title of "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Writing Business Books" is misleading, since the book doesn't actually teach the reader how to write a business book. Only 10 pages of the book (in the brief chapter "Voice, Point of View, and Style") deal with any aspect of writing a book.

Instead the author provides material (divided into six sections) on:
* Testing your business book idea
* Writing your proposal and sample chapter
* Finding an agent and other helpers
* Finding a publisher and negotiating a contract
* Writing and publicizing your book
* Using your published book to enhance your career

And while the content is well presented, I am left wondering, "Where is the material promised by the book's title?" There are much better, and more thorough, books on the topics of:

Developing book proposals: "Bulletproof Book Proposals" by Pam Brodowsky and Eric Neuhaus, Michael Larson's "How To Write a Book Proposal", or "Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write" by Elizabeth Lyon

Finding a literary agent: "How To Get A Literary Agent" by Michael Larson

Publicizing and marketing your book: "From Book To Bestseller" by Penny Sansevieri, Steve Weber's "Plug Your Book", and "1001 Ways To Market Your Books" by John Kremer

Too bad "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Writing Business Books" doesn't deliver on the topic of writing business books - I'm sure many entrepreneurs aspiring to write business books could use a good business book-writing manual.

5.0 out of 5 stars An extremely user-friendly resource, highly recommended, December 11, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Business Books (Paperback)

Despite their titles, "The Complete Idiot's Guide" series of how-to books are most assuredly not for 'idiots' - they are for absolutely everyone in search of solid information on a subject. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Business Books continues this worthy tradition with a no-nonsense primer on writing and profitably publishing a compendium of one's business wisdom. From testing whether there's a market for one's book, to tips on whether one should collaborate (and if so, how to find the right person to do it with), to advice for publicizing oneself and one's book, and more, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Business Books walks the reader through every step of the process. An extremely user-friendly resource, highly recommended.