Publishing Confidential: The Insider's Guide to What It Really Takes to Land a Nonfiction Book Deal [Paperback]

Paul B. Brown (Author), Britton Payne (Author), John A. Byrne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2004

Any number of books explain ""how to write a book,"" but getting a book published is the hard part. Aside from talent, writers need a strategy for distinguishing their efforts from countless others. (No, don’t use pink paper.) Paul B. Brown has been an author on a dozen books with sales totaling more than 2 million copies. So you could say he knows what it takes. In Getting Published, Brown offers a straightforward approach to test-marketing book ideas, creating strong proposals, reaching the right editors and agent, and more. Equally important, he provides inside tips for how to become an integral part of the publisher’s marketing and sales efforts. The book also gives pointers on nontraditional arrangements such as self- and subsidy-based publishing. The book’s many valuable tools include sample contract language, a fully annotated book proposal, and exercises to help authors identify what they may be doing right and wrong. With abundant humor and unparalleled insight, Brown debunks the myths and misconceptions in favor of trustworthy and effective advice.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This refreshingly straightforward volume by the author of more than 20 nonfiction books is just what it claims to be: a guide—admittedly, from just one insider’s point of view—to 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 Brown’s editor is meant to be funny (e.g., "it’s impressive how deftly you weave the shameless self-promotion into the meat of the text"), but it’s often distracting. However, it’s easy to spot and skip—so 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 Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 17 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814472265
• ISBN-13: 978-0814472262
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #898,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical, how-to advice you can put to work immediately, January 31, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Publishing Confidential: The Insider's Guide to What It Really Takes to Land a Nonfiction Book Deal (Paperback)

Maybe books should be subjected to truth in advertising laws. Most other books that tell you how to be published, happily or otherwise, concentrate on how to write. I know how to write. (I think.) What I need is help getting published. This helps. A lot.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brown delivers in book that will save you time, August 18, 2005

By 

Anthony R. Buccino (Nutley, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Publishing Confidential: The Insider's Guide to What It Really Takes to Land a Nonfiction Book Deal (Paperback)

With insight and irreverence Paul Brown lays it all out for aspiring writers. He takes you from book proposal to agent to publisher to promotion.

That's all that a would-be nonfiction author could want. He'll tell you things you don't want to hear, but must know in order to make your foray into writing a success.

Brown has endured book ideas that were rejected and books that didn't sell, along with a perennial best-seller Customers For Life.

If nothing else Brown knows his trade when it comes to publishing nonfiction books.

I'd like to point out errors in his 'Nontraditional Approaches' but from my observations, Brown is correct more than I'd like to say.

And, when he has a question, he knows where to go to find the answers, which, of course, he shares with readers.

If you don't like the idea of pitching book ideas to publishers, then maybe being an author isn't for you.

If you don't like the idea of a 40 to 50 page book proposal, Brown will explain why it's in your best interest to get through it, or scrap your idea of a nonfiction book deal.

If you want a bigger advance - and why you should try to get the most you can (besides the obvious reason) - are nailed by Brown in Publishing Confidential.

If your idea is to write a nonfiction best seller, then Brown's book will save you a lot of time, and serve as your tour guide.

You may not write the next top selling business book, it's not a guarantee, but Brown's book will help you get through it with his `insider's guide to what it really takes to land a nonfiction book deal.'

Brown delivers.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Educational AND inspirational!, September 24, 2004

By 

Brenda Huettner (Tucson AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Publishing Confidential: The Insider's Guide to What It Really Takes to Land a Nonfiction Book Deal (Paperback)

I loved this book. The author's honest, forthright style and sense of humor made it a quick and easy read. He not only tells us how to get a book deal through his knowledge and experience in the subject matter, he also SHOWS how with numerous anecdotes and real-world examples, including a complete proposal that was actually bought by someone. Even better, he also goes through all of the myriad other things you need to do not just to publish a book but to make it successful (marketing, pr, sales, interviews, etc.)