Arielle Eckstut - The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published: How to Write It, Sell It, and Market It . . . Successfully

By Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry

Workman Publishing New York

To Joann Eckstut and Stan Eckstut and in memory of Maureen Moreland for always encouraging us to follow our passions

To Olive, we thought this book was our baby until you came along!

And in memory of Peter Workman, who helped countless authors put their passion into print

While we had no problem divulging our own missteps, pratfalls and furious anger, it didnt seem fair to air other peoples dirty laundry. So weve added the odd unnamed author story to our book. To fully protect these unnamed authors, weve changed some details and/or created composite stories. Wed hate to put an abrupt end to anyones publishing career just to help other people start theirs!

We would like to gratefully acknowledge Andr Bernard for granting us permission to reprint a portion of his fabulous book Rotten Rejections: A Literary Companion (Chrysalis Books, 2002).

Part I
Setting Up Shop

Part II
Taking Care of Business

Part III
Getting the Word Out

Nothing leads so straight to futility as literary ambitions without systematic knowledge.

H.G. Wells

The world of books is undergoing its most profound structural shift since Gutenberg.

John Makinson, chairman, Penguin Random House

Five years ago, we wrote an updated edition of a book we wrote five years before that called Putting Your Passion into Print. Welcome to the even more updated edition. Why a new new edition after only five years? Because the world has been turned upside down since 2010. And the book business is dizzy from landing on its head.

For hundreds of years, a book has been a bunch of words, symbols and maybe some pictures printed on paper and bound between two covers held together by a sturdy spine. Suddenly, thats no longer true. In fact, at this very moment, you may be reading this very book on an e-reader that weighs in at less than a pound and contains everything from the Iliad to Freakonomics to Captain Underpants.

Theres been a sea change in how we communicate. Social networking no longer means meeting for cocktails and hobnobbing at parties. It means logging hours in front of a computer screen. (Cocktails optional.) Research may mean a trip to the library, but it also means beaming into a search engine.

In fact, search engines were at the root of our title change. While we were oh so attached to the poetry of the first title for this book, Putting Your Passion into Print, we had to face the fact that it wasnt search-friendly. Our book wasnt finding its readers (or vice versa). Never a good thing for an author. Which gets us back to the fact that the world has radically changed. And these changes mean lots of great news to all current and future authors. In fact, after interviewing everyone from the CEO of Harlequin to the former editor in chief of Simon & Schuster, from a top search engine optimization expert to a number of social networking gurus, from literary giants like Margaret Atwood and Neil Gaiman to a whole host of self-publishing success stories, weve come to believe that this is the greatest time in history to write a book.

When we started working on this newest edition, we, like many authors, were feeling a little panicky and slightly depressed about the state of publishing and the future of books. But we have arrived at an undeniable conclusion: Todays writers have the chance to disseminate their ideas more easily and to larger groups of people than ever before. Back in the 15th century, printed books cost an arm, a leg, a couple of eyes and a few brains. Now rich and poor alike are able to buy and read books. In fact, many authors are offering up their books for free, which may sound crazy at first. But a free book, given to the right person at the right time, may be one of the best business decisions of your life.

Writers now have breathtaking new ways of connecting with and getting their work directly into the hands of readers. And they no longer have to rely on a small group of publishing experts in order to get published. Because there is now no barrier to publishing. The opportunities for authors are boundless and growing exponentially every year, says Michael Cader, creator of Publishers Lunch and Publishers Marketplace, the leading online newsletter and resource for the industry. The only downside is that the written world is an increasingly crowded place. Thus the contemporary paradox: It is both easier than ever and harder than ever to attract an audience for any particular piece of writing. And the corollary: It is also both easier than ever and harder than ever to make money from any particular piece of writing.

Yes, authors are now swimming in an ocean with a seemingly infinite number of fish, many of whom are much, much bigger than they are. Without a map and a paddle, its all too easy to get lost at sea. Thats where we come in. We have literally traveled from the Redwood Forests to the Gulf Stream Waters helping people to get their books published. Successfully. Grizzled veterans of the publishing jungle who were looking to avoid the author-eating beasts their next time around, and newbies dreaming of bestsellerdom. Doctors, lawyers and entrepreneurs. MFAs, Ph.D.s and high school dropouts. World War II veterans and goth teenagers. Professors and preschool teachers. Soccer moms and ex-cons. Nine-year-olds and 99-year-olds. Their writing spanned every bookstore category: fiction (literary, sci-fi, thrillers, romance, mysteries, graphic novels and more), narrative nonfiction, memoir, health, inspiration, parenting, religion, business, cookbooks, childrens books of every kindpicture books, middle grade, young adult, new adultthe list goes on and on.... We know what youre up against. Our mission is to help you navigate the waters and land happily on the sunny shores of publishing.

Just so were clear: This book is not about how to be or become a writer. It is a step-by-step, blow-by-blow explanation of how to take an idea youre passionate about, develop a book out of it, get it published and deliver it into the hands, heads and hearts of readers all over the world.

From figuring out the right idea to locating and landing an agent; to selling your book to the appropriate publisher or self-publishing; to understanding your contract; to getting P-A-I-D; to actually sitting down and writing your book; to becoming savvy about publicity, marketing, e-media and social networking; to setting up your website; to planning and executing a magnificent event where you sell beaucoup books; to getting online reviews; to making a promotional video that will make its way around the World Wide Web; to planting your flag on bestseller lists, The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published is your all-in-one guide to publishing.

Sprinkled among all these nuts and bolts are juicy nuggets of insider information from seasoned industry professionals: authors, agents, editors, publishers, publicists, social networking gurus, bookstore owners, website wizards, booksellers and many more.

As we mentioned, the title to the first edition of this book was Putting Your Passion into Print. Passion isnt usually the first item on the list of requirements for writing a book. But heres a fact: Getting a book written, published, bought and read is hard work. And its so much harder if youre writing about something you dont care that much about.