How to Sell, Then Write Your Nonfiction Book [Paperback]

Blythe Camenson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0658021044 | ISBN-13: 978-0658021046 | Publication Date: June 24, 2002 | Edition: 1

From idea to contract to execution, this is the first all-in-one guide for prospective nonfiction writers. How to Sell, Then Write Your Nonfiction Book is uniquely structured to help you sell your ideas or yourself before you invest time and effort in a lengthy book project. This comprehensive reference guide provides specific tips for pitching and writing various nonfiction categories, with suggestions from agents, editors, and published authors. With expert advice on the technical elements of voice and style, useful resource listings, and sample proposals, you will find all the tools necessary to ultimately earn a living from nonfiction writing.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

A proven plan for getting published in the nonfiction market

Book publishing is big business. Last year book sales totaled more than $25 billion. Although artistically discouraging, the reality in book publishing is that financial concerns often determine which books get published. But if you play your cards right, you can master the market. How to Sell, Then Write Your Nonfiction Book presents step-by-step instructions on breaking into--and succeeding--in the nonfiction market. This invaluable resource is packed with industry anecdotes, case studies, quotes, interviews, and important advice from leading publishing professionals.

With close to fifty nonfiction books to her credit, Blythe Camenson is an expert at identifying marketable book ideas. Drawing from her wealth of experience, the author provides rare insight into not only the publishing industry but also the entire publishing process.

You'll learn how to:

• Find and define marketable book ideas
• Write attention-grabbing query letters
• Detail your ideas in well-organized proposals
• Approach the right editors and agents
• Land a contract before you write the book
• Deliver a well-crafted nonfiction manuscript

From researching and writing your book to hiring an agent to negotiating royalties and contracts and more, How to Sell, Then Write Your Nonfiction Book addresses--and answers--all your questions.

About the Author

Blythe Camenson has written numerous articles and authored or coauthored more than four dozen books, including Careers in Writing and Your Novel Proposal: From Creation to Contract. As director of Fiction Writer's Connection, an organization for new writers, she teaches members how to improve their writing and how to get published.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (June 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0658021044
• ISBN-13: 978-0658021046
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #413,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good book, September 24, 2002

By 

Bert Krages (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Sell, Then Write Your Nonfiction Book (Paperback)

The strongest points of this book are the sections on ascertaining the market for your book idea, the options available to get your foot in the door, and the need to write a quality proposal (better is better than faster). The chapter about the elements that make up a book proposal are sound although not as extensive as they could be. The examples of query letters and proposals are excellent. I found the sections on writing the book to be less useful but sound. Other writers may find them very helpful. The book is graced with some wonderful quotes. One of my favorites - by Patrick Dennis - is "Writing isn't hard. It isn't any harder than ditch-digging."

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars How to NOT Sell, Then Write Your Nonfiction Book, October 30, 2005

By 

Kathy K (Northeast, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Sell, Then Write Your Nonfiction Book (Paperback)

In terms of "writing" a nonficition book, this book provides sound advice. As for "selling" your nonfiction book, well, that's an entirely different story altogether. The three sample query letters/proposals the author provides comprise 80+ pages of this only 213-page book. Yet, only one of the three actually SOLD. One is, by the author's own admission, her only manuscript that NEVER SOLD. The other, one the author thought was so compelling and was sure would be snatched up quickly, was ultimately self-published after being shopped around for years. If you're seeking rudimentary info on nonfiction publishing then this book passes. If you're going to model your own proposals after those provided within, however, you'd be better served elsewhere.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of Helpful Information, May 26, 2006

By 

Gregory A. Kompes "Author of 50 Fabulous Gay-... (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Sell, Then Write Your Nonfiction Book (Paperback)

Ms. Camenson presents a terrific overview of the nonfiction publishing world in general. More specifically, she outlines the necessary steps to sell your nonfiction book before you actually write it. This is one of the major keys to professional time utilization. Ms. Camenson points out that there's no point investing a lot of time writing a book that might never sell.

Included in the book are tips for researching ideas, preparing and presenting query letters and book proposals, information on "standard" contracts, and advice on writing your book once you sell it.

As far as the writing advice section goes, there are much better aids, books, and guides for this. But, on the whole, this is an excellent book for the nonfiction writer's bookshelf.