From Publishers Weekly
This refreshingly straightforward volume by the author of more than 20 nonfiction books is just what it claims to be: a guideadmittedly, from just one insiders point of viewto getting a book published. Brown (Customers for Life; Lessons From the Top) begins with an apt quote from Samuel Johnson ("No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money"), then proceeds to tell readers what he thinks it takes to become a published and paid nonfiction author. He explains how to write a clear, engaging proposal and, more importantly, how to get it in front of an editor. He also addresses the "do you need an agent?" question, gives advice on facing rejection and dealing with success, and much more. Parenthetical commentary from Browns editor is meant to be funny (e.g., "its impressive how deftly you weave the shameless self-promotion into the meat of the text"), but its often distracting. However, its easy to spot and skipso readers can pay attention to the no-nonsense opinions of an author who knows the publishing business well.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Who among us hasn't harbored a hidden--and, perhaps, not-so-secret--dream of publishing a book? Expanding a 20-page memo originally published in
Inc. magazine, Brown, with major credentials as a magazine editor (including
Forbes and
Inc.) and an author (among his book titles is
Customers for Life, 1990), sets out to help us realize that desire. What he imparts is common sense. His three-step process to finding an agent starts with identifying the books with concepts close to yours, reading the acknowledgments, then contacting that agent. The list of questions to ask your editor begins with a query about the intended marketing plans. How he writes is pure entertainment, complete with editorial sidebars (courtesy of Ellen Kadin, acquisitions editor at AMACOM), footnotes packed with laugh-out-loud information, and occasional illustrations that perk up the well-written text.
Barbara JacobsCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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