#1: 5 Clear Steps to Get Your Nonfiction Book Published & 3 Common Mistakes to Avoid

In this episode, learn the essential steps to get your nonfiction book published. Discover why you shouldn't write your book first, what a book proposal entails, and how to craft a compelling query letter. We'll also discuss three common mistakes aspiring authors make and provide free resources like Publishers Marketplace and QueryTracker to help you navigate the competitive landscape. Whether you're an expert in your field or just starting, these insights will guide you through the publishing process with confidence.

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Transcript:

If you know that there's a book in you that needs to come out, now's the time to get that out.

Now is the time to make sure that you are packaging what you know. And helping the people who have a problem to solve.

What you don't want to do is wait. Waiting is for the birds. Waiting is like saying, I can't wait to talk about my best practices once I'm retired, nobody cares once you're retired, you are out of the game once you retire, so do not wait for your retirement to write the book that you know people need

We're talking about five very clear steps to getting your book published and Three mistakes people make that you shouldn't.

Let's get started with how publishing works.

The first step of getting a book deal is obviously having a great idea, but when you're writing nonfiction, as I know you are, the steps are different. what people believe is that you go into a cave and you write your entire book, and then you emerge with this work of staggering genius.

 For fiction, you do have to write your entire manuscript first. In non fiction, and this is the good part, don't write your book first. They do not want you to write your book.

A lot of people think, I've written half my book, you don't get extra credit for that. All publishing wants for nonfiction is your book proposal, which is instead of 300 pages, it is maybe 40 pages. It's really a business plan for your book, and it's not about what's in the book.

It's about positioning your book as a product. So it requires a different set of skills. they want a book proposal and then a pitch letter that is essentially like a cover letter.

The process is exactly the same as, applying for a job. you apply for the job with a cover letter and your resume and the recruiter gets a stack and reads your cover letter. And if they're interested, then they read your resume. if they're interested in that, then they get in touch with you.

 When you apply for a job, you don't say, I've already done this job for you. And here's everything I've done for you already. they don't want that. So that's how it is exactly the same as the publisher or the literary agent. if you want to get published by a large traditional publisher and we'll cover publisher types in a sec.

If you want to get a book deal, you send your cover letter, which in the industry. They call it a query letter, that's literary jargon for you, a query letter, you send your query letter, which is a distillation of your whole book in one page, less than 300 words. you send your query letter to the. agent or publisher and any other information that they particularly ask for.

Keep in mind, every agent is different. Every publisher is different. They will ask for different pieces of information. they read your pitch letter along with a bunch of other people's pitch letters.

So yours really has to stand out and show why your book is needed right now in the world that there's a waiting audience. That's eager for it, and that you're the person to write this book because you're an expert in your field because you have this experience that no one else has. Of course, you're the one to write the book.

Of course, you are. The best way to be able to prove that in a very credible way is to show that, where your book fits in the world. That takes some competitive landscape awareness, right? Just like in any business, you have to know what the marketing landscape looks like. who are the other voices? So in terms of clear steps, number one, you have to have, start with this concept. You don't have to name your book first. You can, but I promise you it'll change. but you have to have this concept first.

And then you need to take a step to understand what's going on in the literary market. And there are a couple ways to do that. I'm going to show you how. Number three, you need a book proposal., the book proposal is key for nonfiction. The proposal has eight critical elements that no one knows much about, but that's okay because I have a gift for you if you so want that.

And so, working backward, you start with this concept that, you know, you're going to play with. Probably you'll write some essays or articles or contribute to articles, even on LinkedIn, and you'll see where the push pull is, where people really want to interact with you.

Once you then do that, you're going to want to take a look at what else is out there. And I'm not talking about just going to a bookstore because it takes about two years from a book to go from nugget in your head to on the shelf. And you want to do it on the shelf at your local bookstore, whether that's your local indie bookstore or, Barnes and Noble, or, even on the shelf at your library.

Okay. So probably 18 months to two years, just if you were, if we're doing the math, the next, the 3rd step for getting toward your book deal, these clear steps is number 3 is to write your book proposal for nonfiction.

You do not write your book 1st and. Before you, can really dive in to what your book proposal is, you have to know that it really starts with this competitive analysis of what's out there and what's coming. And when we think about that, there are some great ways to do that.

Free, resources that I'm going to share with you right now that you can, get access to right this minute. I'm going to share my screen and then you're going to see a bunch of stuff. There are three resources I really like and that are free and free is good.

Free is good. And I want you to have access to these The first is Boom! Publishers Marketplace. so Publishers Marketplace is an industry resource, where agents and publishers report their latest book deals. this is Publishers Marketplace.

It's just Publishers Marketplace.com and it's the news of the day, deals of the day, some ads, some news, what you want to do. Sign up for is the publisher's lunch, which is the free newsletter. Okay, so this free newsletter, shows you the news of the day, etc.

 The day's deals they're. Organized by genre and you can see that each of them is written about in the same way in the same format. It starts with, credentials of a person. And then the title of their book is in caps, and then it's followed with what the book is going to be about, this is how. Publishers Marketplace works and you get access to all of these for free by signing up for the Publishers Lunch newsletter, which is again free.

And then you can get a sense of, what the competition is and try not to see these other books as competition, but as Peers who are also writing about a topic that you love and care about, and where you are an expert. The other great thing that Publishers Marketplace will do. If you want to sign up for a membership, it's 25 for one month, or you can do a year and you can search for that. That gives you access to the search engine.

Here we go. Advice and relationships. Here's Michelle Martin. She represents four of my clients. And you can see that she did four deals in the last 12 months in this particular genre.

, if you're thinking, well, I don't know what genre my book is. that's fine. Most books can fit into two or three genres. And it's just a matter of how, you're going to market it, how that book is, what that book's marketing angle opportunities are. Every product, every book can be positioned.

 When we click on Michelle Martin, you can see notable deals. top editors, so these are some of the acquiring editors that, she has sold to, and some notable titles.

She also works in health and medicine. And quite a lot in business and finance as well, you want to use Publisher's Marketplace because you want to see what other books are serving the audience that you are going to be serving.

As you know, when you think about what your book could be, you want to think about it as, a member of a, book club that serves an audience, right?

If you are Miriam Shulman and you are writing Artpreneur, the step by step guide to making a sustainable living from your creativity, then your book, Is serving people who, have a creative practice and want to make more money or make money from it and they don't know where to start and some of those steps that she helps people take our mindset shifts and some are super practical like P.

To make money, the first thing you have to do is open a bank account that is not attached to your household bank account. It's largely symbolic, but oh my gosh, what a breakthrough when people realize like, oh, I don't need to be just digging in to my finances. This. Business I have, I don't care if you sell three birdhouses a year, if it's a business and you are the sole proprietor, then great.

You have a sole proprietorship and you can open a bank account, even just a simple checking account. Her book club, if you think about it, if she had, five other books that the same person is reading, they might not all be about making a sustainable living. They might be about balancing your side hustle and your, regular work life.

It might be about finding your passion. There might be a book about, Leaving your nine to five to really pursue some. There are all these different angles and all these books fit together in a little jigsaw puzzle that presents a picture of the reader who wants to read all of them because readers.

In nonfiction, they get glued on a topic because they're trying to solve a problem, and if you don't know what their problem is, you will soon learn what their problem is by looking at the transcript. Descriptions of these other books and there are particular steps to do this.

Something I teach in my rock your book proposal program where I've distilled all the steps in a fast, fast way so that you don't have to pull out your eyelashes trying to figure out what's in a book proposal. So everything I do for my one on one clients. I package, in a group program so that that's easy for everyone you don't have to.

Stop the world in order to go and become an expert in book proposals, when you're a writer, you need to do a book proposal once, then you get your agent. this was Miriam's first book. and it came out in 2023. In the first 10 days, it became a bestseller, multiple categories. That was exciting really she's serving an audience that is not really well served. she found because we did that look at the competitive landscape and put that into the book proposal, it really helped her position, her book, her vision, but also it was informed by what do people need?

What are they not getting from the current voices and books out there and that's your job. So in terms of clear steps That goes into the book proposal and now We're brushing up her next book pitch for her publisher, which is exciting so that you've got to know your have your concept, you have to do some competitive.

Looking around some analysis, develop your book proposal, and then you need your query letter. Your query letter is a distillation of your whole proposal boiled down into this genius reduction sauce of your book into one page. it's just like your cover letter when you want to apply for a job.

You've got to put everything that makes you special. on one page and make it super readable if it strays from the standard or if it drones on it's hard to read if there are run on sentences if you start sentences with dependent clauses you're making people do literary math dependent clauses are a terrible way to write a business letter and a query letter is a business letter

Dear agent or dear publisher. you can refer to them by the first name or Ms. Or Mr. Or whatever you would like, depending on who you are. I like first name because I am casual, although I'm an expert, I just like to skip over that stuff, You don't need to say, I am, writing this letter in order to ask for representation. They know. So skip that part. they get it because you're going to be submitting to their email that's just for pitches, just for queries,

But that, includes the premise of the book, the Late. Which includes, the sort of universal themes. And what your book could be compared to with what other books your book could be compared to the next paragraph would be the plot of the book, like what's in it structure, you're going to describe, what the promise of the book is, what readers get in the end.

if you're thinking, I've never thought about it like that. You can take a look at any book description. any back cover copy, see this right here, that's, where it is. you can go on Goodreads or bookshop. org or Amazon or Barnes Noble, any retailer and look at the back cover copy has the premise and the plot sitting right there.

So your query letter is written in, first person because you are writing, about you. So it's about the pro who's writing it. So follow with me premise plot pro.

It's a short bio paragraph. It is not your job history. It is a couple sentences about what makes you relevant and credible and the person to write this book. It doesn't, need to say I'm a retired teacher. If you're writing about, writing, a memoir about, traveling to Columbia, your role as a teacher.

What we do care is that you're an intrepid traveler and that you've been to, 30 countries. That makes it interesting and very relevant that you can write this memoir about how travel can help you find your true calling. I'm making this up, but if that's your thinking, hello, that's the book that I want to write.

Great. I just gave you a little hint for your bio paragraph. So a query letter, premise, plot, pro, and that's you. That's all it is. 300 words or less. The thing is, you're going to cut and paste it into an email anyway, but you're going to write it in a Google Doc or a Word doc. , If you can't fit it on one page, double space with 12 point type, then it's too long.

, the fifth step to getting the book deal, once you have your Concept. You've done some competitive research. You've developed your book proposal. Now you have your query letter is finding the agent and publisher who would be a good fit for you.

And that doesn't mean that you have to research them to the ends of the earth. It also means that you have to start with knowing that they are actually looking for you. And here's why. Agents and publishers don't make their money unless they sell books. Just let that sink in. An agent makes their living on 100 percent commission.

These are salespeople who have hearts of gold, because if they could, they could work in any industry as salespeople. They could work in pharmaceuticals, in , luxury yacht sales. But they choose to work in literature and publishing. So we love them for that. they are angels on earth and they're salespeople. So they're always looking for their next client for their next sale. They're out there looking for you. It's your job to give them something that's saleable.

If you are thinking, well, I need to find the right agent to help me figure out what the book's about. That is not their job. Just like you don't invite a real estate agent over to your house when. You know, that you need a new roof. They're going to point to the roof and say, I can't sell this until there's a new roof.

But they're not going to help you build the roof. they are going to look at your home and say, the roof's caved in. I'm sorry, I can't help you. And then they're going to go on their merry way. So the agent is not the person who gets your book in shape, just like the

Literary agent is not the person who's going to roof your house for you. That's your job. You are the owner of this house that you want to sell. You are the owner of this book that you want to sell. And P. S. it is a product. You will be selling the rights to publish this book. The words remain yours. So that's different.

So five very clear steps. You have to have this concept. You know, your content and you know what you're an expert in.

My second step is go and take a look at what else is out there. Usually it will slap you in the face of like, wow, no, one's talking about this nuance that, people should understand. Use Google, take 2 hours and ask Google what are, the top books in the last 3 years about.

This topic and ask it in a lot of different ways because it'll come up with everything and, in a couple of seconds, you'll be able to see, That's what people are searching for. Let the world's most true. impactful search engine do the work for you, . What you don't have to do is go from bookstore to bookstore and look at the other books that are on the shelf where your book would be on the shelf.

That's a terrible, terrible idea. It is inefficient.

Here's why it's just the worst, worst advice. Number one, your bookstore has an inventory that is limited by what the bookstore manager has purchased for that store. So you're not looking at what else is selling, you're looking at what that one person decided this one store was going to be shelving.

The other thing you're not seeing is, the books that have already been purchased and aren't on that shelf anymore. Usually a bookstore will order three copies of a book. And then when those are out, then they say, Oh gosh, I need three more copies. So you're not seeing the books that are being sold.

You're seeing the books that haven't been purchased. So you see my drift. You're seeing something that's limited by someone else's choice and also books that haven't sold. So don't do that. Use the internet. Be a digital detective and get a sense of what else is out there.

The third step, write your book proposal. It is faster and easier than people say. I've done it in four days and gotten. my client multiple agent offers, most of my clients get, agent offers and interest reaction from agents usually in a day or 2 when the, , industry average is like 3 to 6 months. I think it takes a marketer's mind to know how to market an idea, how to position you.

That's what the book proposal does. Then you need this query letter, which is the invitation, the business letter that it's a pitch to the agent or the publisher. And then you need to find the agents and publishers who are looking for you. I'm going to show you

One more tool that you can use to look for an agent or a publisher. Let me share my screen here, and I'm going to go to

QueryTracker. Here we go. This is QueryTracker. net this is free again. You need to sign up, but it is free and they don't take your credit card or anything. it's just so that you have a login that is specific to you, you can take a look at the agents who have self selected to be in here. You can filter by the agent name or look at statistics on a particular agent or, how many days they take to respond to pitches. If you want to. Have a membership. I think it's 25 for an entire year. You can actually query agents through and publishers through query tracker, and then it keeps track of things for you.

If you know that there's a book in you that needs to come out, now's the time to get that out.

Now is the time to make sure that you are packaging what you know. And helping the people who have a problem to solve. They want to achieve something that you know how to help them achieve. What you don't want to do is wait. Waiting is for the birds. Waiting is for perfectionists. Waiting is like saying, I can't wait to talk about my best practices in coaching, this pro basketball team once I'm retired, nobody cares once you're retired, you are out of the game once you retire, so do not wait for your retirement to write the book that you know people need