Bolton Bookstore

Elodie asked:


Most writers claim that ‘writing’ is the painless part of being a writer- the real challenge begins when you attempt to publish your masterpiece. The book industry can be a really hard one to crack, especially if you’re a newbie. No need to panic though - if you’re reading this, all your publishing problems are nearly over!

This guide explores; Publishing thorough an Agency, Mainstream Publication, Self Publishing, Local Publishing Companies and eBook Publication. It furthers to explore life after your book has been published. So whether your interests lie in large international exposure for you book, or self publishing, simply read on for a detailed tour of the publishing industry.

Option 1) Publishing through an Agency

The Process

The first step to saving time whilst publishing is making sure that you avoid writing something that will never be read! My advice to anyone who aspires to publish something is to find a literary agent . This is a great time saver as, when you have an agent, you will never again waste time writing something that may be defined as ‘unmarketable’. To further explain - the literary network is very closely knit i.e. in order to have your book published; you would need to go through specific channels. A strict system has been designed to maintain a sense of order in the realm of literature.

Now, an agent can help you weave your way through the system - especially if you are a first timer. An agent is an individual who is able to help you through much of the information filtering process. A recommendation from an agent almost guarantees that your manuscript will be read by a publishing house. Essentially, the role of an agent is to read and approve your manuscript or any ideas that you may have i.e. queries and proposals.

The agent will then decide whether your venture could be successful. If so, the agent will further to draw up a contract with you. Contracts of this nature usually express the agent’s promise to use his/her best efforts to get your manuscript into a publishing house - the exchange is usually about 15% of the entire deal. Your new agent will then work extremely hard to sell your idea.

Agent Hunting

There are usually 2 types of agents - those who work with fiction and those who work with non-fiction. The easiest way to find your match is by paging through a publishing guide/directory, which lists the functions of a variety of agents in great detail i.e. ‘Guide to Literary Agents’. It is important to take note of any previous books that have been published by the agent/s that you are interested in - usually an agent will take interest in a particular theme, and stick to working with ideas along its lines.

Contacting an Agent

Once you have compiled a list of potential agents, feel free to start contacting them. The best way to do this is via a query letter. In essence, a query letter a short introduction of yourself and your idea - it should feed the agent enough information to arouse interest, but not too much to bore him/her. This is a suggested letter structure:



The Teaser

Your introduction is usually the aspect of the letter sells you - so make it an attention grabber. Ideally, you would want to describe the compelling fit between the person that you are and your idea for a book.

Develop Your Idea

Use your next few sentences to explore your idea, explaining what it is that you want to write about. Feel free to add in a snip-bit of your writing that best exemplifies your idea.

Self Description

Your third paragraph should be based on you. Try to reiterate the connection between you as a person and your idea. You should also feel free to show-off your academic or intellectual achievements.

Wrapping Up

Be sure to personalize your concluding sentence- making the agent feel unique and valuable to you in your selection process. Conclude by sharing your contact details and preferred method of communication.



 

Remember, this letter is merely an ‘appetizer’ so keep it short and simple.

Proposal Preparation

After sending your initial query letter to an agent, he/she would normally follow up by requesting a proposal. Essentially, your proposal is a document that accurately outlines an idea for a book. Here’s idea of what your proposal should contain:



The Overview

The first 2 pages of your proposal should contain a broad summary of the book. Non-fiction: Explain your intentions in terms of contents and topics. Fiction: Provide a general outline of your plot.

Target Market

Your next 3 pages should contain a description of your prospective target market. You should define this in terms of; age, socio-economic, and educational characteristics of you potential audience.

Market Threat and Competition

This section allows you to define what type of threats your book may face in terms of competitors and other books that cover a similar topic. Be careful to do all your homework here, because this section is really important to an agent as it dictates your books marketability.

Authorship

Use this section to write up a brief description about yourself and your co-authors, if any. Take this opportunity to brag as much as possible, as this section will help your agent convince a publishing house to pay you for your idea.

Summary of Chapters

This should be the largest part of your proposal - it contains an outline of what you intend to cover in each chapter of your book. Non-fiction: Provide a minimum amount of information i.e. outlines. Fiction: Provide definite samples of your writing.

Delivery

This section is relatively small - it simply contains the number of words you think your finished book will contain and the approximate time you will take to write it.



 

Contracts

Happy Day! So your proposal finally earns you a thumbs up…now what? It’s time to get into some paper work. The best part about this section is that you are not bearing the work load anymore. Your new agent will now send you a contract. These contracts are usually short documents that you can probably work though on your own, so no need for an attorney.

You just need be careful about two things - firstly, that your agent is not looking to exclusively represent you for over 12 months, and secondly that you are not going to billed for the cost of office overhead if your book does not do well on the market.



Once the contract has been signed, your agent will send you a copy of your original proposal with a few editorial suggestions. As soon as you finalize your proposal’s contents, your agent will start pitching your idea to the ‘big boys’ i.e. publishing companies. Once you get the go-ahead as well as the funding, feel free to start writing…Microsoft Word will be your new home!

Option 2) Mainstream Publication

The Process

This option is slightly similar to the first; however the two do have a few minor differences. The primary difference is that the ‘middle man’ or agent is no longer involved i.e. the first step that you need to take in the field of mainstream publication, is directly locating a publisher. Once again, you can feel free to look through a publishing directory or make use of a search engine. This way, you can choose a publisher, that best suits you. As soon as you have made contact with a publishing house and managed to spark a bit of interest, you might be requested to ‘pitch’ your book to the company in person.

The Pitch & Self Marketing

Now if consider yourself to be a great public speaker, this could be your moment to shine - if not, just remember that you will only be speaking to a few suits! The pitch is almost a verbal explanation of everything you would express in a proposal - if you happen to be unfamiliar with the guidelines for a proposal, simply follow the outline mentioned in option 1.

If you choose to publish via mainstream publication, it is important to note that you must be able to market yourself. Even if you do get lucky and a publishing house chooses to publish your book, you will still have to do a major part of the marketing - keep that in mind when it comes to your budget as it will help to have some additional money to use for publicity.

Risks/Benefits

The obvious benefit of publishing via a mainstream company is the possible exposure that you and your book could attain. On a large scale, the scope of various mainstream publication houses extends from local to international. The greatest risk involved in using this method of publication, is the risk of rejection. You may even be rejected before publication as well as after. It is not often that a well-known publishing company would risk a dollar on an unknown author - so prepare yourself for possible rejection after your pitch. Even if your book does get accepted for publication, rejection is still a factor in terms of your book’s marketability and it is highly unlikely that your publisher will pick up the bill should your book not be successful.

Option 3) Self Publishing - (POD) Print/Publish on Demand

The Process

This option refers to printing a book at the time of purchase. It is an innovative method of publishing books that saves money, time and supplies. The printing industry is ecstatic about this method of publication as it means that books no longer need to be warehoused until purchased.

This method of publication allows you to handle the design work of your book or opt for a service/package that offers cover design, formatting and editing. Various companies offer these services. These companies will assist you in the areas that you may need help - from the time that your book has been ordered to the delivery. The POD will actually help you list your book on Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com and other major bookstores by hooking you up with an ISBN. Here’s how the process works:



Submit the final draft of your book to a company that offers POD. Make sure your draft is formatted in the way that you want it to look in its final publication.

You will be requested to wait until your file has been added to the data system of that company.

The printing company receives an order for your book according to its ISBN.

An operator at the printing company accesses your file in their system. Ensuring all editing and formatting is correct; the book is released to the printer and binder system. Your book is printed in less than 5 minutes.

Your book is then packaged and addressed to the customer. It is then sent directly to the customer. This entire process takes approximately 10 working days - thus your book can hit the market as soon as possible.



 

Budget

While this type of publishing has become increasingly popular in the industry, it is important to note that it requires you fork out a bit of your own money - each book will cost you approximately $5.

Risks/Benefits

This option has various benefits. Firstly, most of the companies involved will accept any type of work, no matter who you are - so rejection is not something that you will have to worry about. Secondly, if you are involved with the design and formatting personally, your book automatically will gain a unique edge. Finally, the POD handles distribution and order fulfilment. This means that when you book has been ordered; the POD will print a copy of your book, ship it and pay you a royalty of approximately 30% of the purchase price - leaving you with less grey hair! With regards to the risks involved, it is important to note that the owner of the ISBN also owns the book’s copyright, so be careful with that and make sure that you purchase your book’s ISBN under your name, not the vanity publisher.

Option 4) Local Publishing Companies

The Process

Local commercial printing companies use the same technology as PODs. Feel free to browse through a publishing directory or just your local directory for a list of companies that offer publishing services. Your next step is to contact the publishing house that you have chosen.

Budget

While prices may vary, expect to pay 3 cents per black and white page i.e. a 200-page book could cost you approximately $6.50.

Print Style Options

Your first choice in terms of printing style is between color printing and black & white printing. This will dictate the cost that you will need to budget for. Most companies offer digital printing, so you can choose the amount of copies that you want printed at the time of publication. In terms of cover design, you are only limited by your own creativity - once again you are free to take charge of your own design. Binding on the other hand, will be handled by the company and is included in the original price per page.

Risks/Benefits

When you publish through a local company, you must take note that the printer will print precisely what you send - this is without any revision or editing. It is crucial that your book is proofread before submission. Also with this option, you will still have to promote your book, fill and ship all orders.

Option 5) eBook Publication

What is an eBook?

An eBook is an electronic copy of your book that may be purchased, downloaded and read immediately online. It can serve a variety of purposes i.e. advertising, the gathering of potential customer’s information and the generation of interest. Not only does this option provide the media for a sample publication of you incomplete book, but it also allows for full publication of your book once it is complete - thus you can sell the electronic version of your book, as if it were a hard copy.

The Process

This option may be deemed the most convenient and economical way to publish a book. Here is a basic outline of the process:



The Final Draft

To prepare you book for eBook publication, you have to format it exactly the way that you want your readers to see it. This will be easy if you are using a word processor such as Microsoft Word.

The Format

Unless you know exactly what you want in terms of formatting, I suggest that you stick to a standardised type of book formatting - the outline of a manuscript format is included later on in this article.

Proofreading

Sorry to say, editing will be your worst nightmare - just when you think that it’s over, go back and proofread again and again. Also try and get others to read your final draft too. Don’t skimp on the quality of your writing simply because you are publishing electronically.

Copyrighting

Copyrighting your book is your next move. Don’t stress out too much about the ISBN, as you are actually the publisher now, so you will be in charge of the distribution and price setting.

Designing the Cover

If you happen to have an arty side, this is your chance to bring it out! Feel free to extend your creativity but remember to keep your design, appropriate with regards to your book’s contents. You can also make use of external services should you need help i.e. graphic designers do freelance their services for this type of thing.

Publication

Now it really gets interesting…There are various programs available that generate self-executable eBooks. It is however important to note that most people are cautious when it comes to downloading new programs. I therefore recommend that you publish your eBook in plain old .pdf format. Adobe Acrobat Reader is a well established brand which is both safe and also free for anyone to download. Visit Adobe Online and register for their online PDF Creator to publish an ebook or feel free to do a Google search for a few more eBook publishing programs.

Your Account

Set up a business account with an ecommerce site like PayPal. You will then have to add your book’s ISBN to your ‘product list’. PayPal will then generate an html code that you can copy and paste where ever you would like to promote your eBook. You will in turn be notified via email, when someone purchases your book. Your last move is to reply to that email by attaching the .pdf of your book and sending the mail directly to your customer…and voila! Your first eBook is sold.



 

Risks/Benefits

There are various benefits related to this new wave of publication. Firstly, it requires you to spend little to no money out of your own pocket. Thus, there is very little financial risk involved. Secondly, your book can be published from the comfort of your own home…a few clicks here and there is all that it takes. Finally, from a marketing perspective, an eBook opens up various avenues for advertising - it allows you to add links within your book, directing the reader anywhere that you would like i.e. this gives you a chance to expand your business network. Once again, you must remember that you are in charge of your book’s marketing.

Irrespective of the method of publication that you choose, you will need to master manuscript writing…Here’s a handy guide on how to correctly format your manuscript.

Try to make use of this type of formatting prior to submitting it to an agent or publisher. At first glance you may think that these standards may not be aesthetically pleasing, but don’t stress, your publisher should send your original manuscript to a ‘formatter’ that standardizes the format during publication.

Basic Formatting Rules



Use 1 inch margins around all your text - repeat this on each page.

Double spacing should be used throughout your manuscript. This type of spacing enhances your manuscripts readability and makes it easier to edit.

If you want to italicize something, don’t do it now. Only highlight this before the final version is published - anything that you want in italics should be underlined in your manuscript.

All numbers should be spelt out i.e. type out four instead of 4.

Most symbols should also be spelt out i.e. don’t use the ‘%’ sign, instead type out ‘percent’.



 



Life After Publication

Even though your book is now on its way to mass production, you need not let your relaxation period be short lived - don’t become overridden with anxiety about publicity, marketing and even worse, sales!

For a stress free way to boost sales and keep abreast of your new book’s performance you should consider subscribing to a promotions and sales tracking company.

With modern publishing methods, like self-publishing and eBook publication in mind, it is easy to understand why sales tracking has become a common pastime for most writers. Because most publishing options force you to take charge of your book’s marketing, it may be a good idea for you to make use of an online service to help you track the sales of your book and handle do a bit of book promotion on your behalf.

Taking this into consideration, let’s take look at the sales ranking and promotions company, RankTracer. This company will do some online promotion and track your book at the same time - giving you on-the-hour sales rank information, graphs, reports and actual sales estimates.

With an external company tracking your sales and offering you a bit of extra help with book promotion, you are left with more time on your hands to use as you please - feel free to explore book-signings, tours, public talks and even blog about your new book!

So now you know! I trust that you found my walk through the publishing industry informative. Hopefully it has answered a few of your publishing queries and has helped you find the perfect publishing fit for you. Good luck and happy publishing!

Thomas Goodlett asked:


Book printing requires the use of robust techniques in order to publish books that meet the standards of the present generation. Ideally, every household should have access to books anytime. There has been a noticeable increase in published books in recent years, thanks to new technology that enables en mass production. Before the book printer was introduced to mankind in the 19th century, book printing and publishing was at a really slow phase, limiting readership to the elite and mighty. Not any more. There’s no limit to how many books can be produced especially since the global population is growing at an alarming rate. Anyone can produce a book as long as it meets the set standards.

Some of the various book printing services are - Book Printing and Binding - Book Printing is the production of copies of a book loaded with the same content. Book binding is attaching together of the books pages in order to produce single document. The method used to bind a book depends on the strength of the final product. A strong binding material ensures that the papers stay intact longer, helping you to save on the cost of re-binding in the near future or buying a new copy altogether.

Spiral binding - For this type of binding, the publisher will use a spiral -like wire to join the book pages. This is one of the most commonly used methods of binding books nowadays. It also happens to be the cheapest. The book printing cost is much lower when it comes to spiral binding and will save a lot of money.

Booklet binding (saddle stitching) - It is a method that is generally applied to small booklets that has fewer pages. An example of this type of binding is the note books and diaries, whereby the binding is done with stitches using an appropriate thread such that the pages cannot pluck out quite easily.

Various types of hard cover book binding - It is recommended that a hard cover should be used to bind books. Hard covers will keep the inside of the book clean so it saves pages from getting plucked off more easily. Books require good maintenance otherwise they can easily get damaged. Therefore books should not be kept on moist shelves, as papers can easily absorb water damaging the books. There are also some other forms of binding like foil blocking and several other types of book finishing.

Joni Pypers asked:


You want to write a book – a very exciting and challenging undertaking. Good for you. You have a great book idea – an idea that you believe needs to be in print. You believe that other people have an interest in what you have to say. You believe that many people will buy your book, and if you do the job of writing correctly, many people WILL buy your book. 

It is your dream to have your book in every bookstore in the country, perhaps even in several countries. But wait, have you planned beyond bookstore sales? Many authors are unaware that there are many markets for books beyond the bookstores. The bookstores may be your first market, but there are many other “hidden” markets, and here are some key book marketing tips to help you tap into those markets.

Let’s begin with the job of writing the book. When you put “pen to paper”, it is important that you focus on one audience but write for many markets. Let’s begin by identifying why you are writing a book. Some people merely want to be a published author, giving them claim to a copyright and their name on a book. That is satisfaction enough. They don’t care about the financial return or the development of writing or publishing as a career. Other people just want to write a family history and sell it to their extended family. Some people are interested only in selling to the attendees of their seminars. Many others, however, want to sell thousands of books in as many markets as possible. Decide at the beginning of the writing process why you are writing so that you can determine whether or not you are creating a business venture.

Once you have established your reason for writing, move on to what you are writing about. Don’t try to be all things to all people or the encyclopedic source of all information on a subject. Choose an area of a subject with which you are very familiar and develop your topic well so that you don’t overwhelm or bore your readers. For instance, if you are writing a cookbook, don’t try to be The Joy of Cooking – that’s already been done. Instead, write about a category of recipes, such as heritage recipes, or recipes of a region or culture, or recipes from famous restaurants, etc. Your goal is to make your book different, and better, than other cookbooks.

Having now decided on the why and the what, focus on the who, meaning who will buy your book. You believe that many people will be interested in your book, but let’s define “many”. Do you mean all of the people in your interest group, your church or your workplace, or do you mean everyone? A word of caution, though - there is NO book that is for everyone. Sure, everyone may need your book but not everyone will want it. If your book is a healthy lifestyle cookbook, everyone might need it, but only people who actually want to be healthy will buy it. Do some research on who those people are and where they are likely to actually buy your book. Understand their demographics: age group, income level, shopping habits, activities, etc. Now write for them. What information are your target readers looking for? Is their a gap in the information about a subject that is very familiar to you or in which you have the credentials to fill the gap? Make sure that your book solves a problem or problems for the reader, or make sure that your book will increase the well being of the reader. Avoid falling into the trap of writing to make yourself feel better – you are not the one who will buy your book. Or if you are, you are the only buyer that you will have!

The why, what and who now being defined, you can turn your attention to the where you can sell your book. Because there are many markets for books, decide early in the writing process just what those markets are and write to sell your book in those markets.

It is likely that the first market that will come to mind is traditional book stores, and of course they can be a vital part of your sales. Do your research in getting to know your competition on the book store shelves, i.e., look at the other books that have been written in your genre. What writing style is most appealing to a wide audience? Is there a gap in the information provided in the other books? Are there problems that have not been addressed? Find the needs and fill them. When you are satisfied with the information that you are providing, think about what will attract the book store buyers. They will want to know about your planned publicity campaign. If you want people to buy your book in book stores, you are responsible for letting people know that your book is available, thereby driving buyers to the stores.

Besides book stores, books are purchased in the nontraditional book market by display retailers, book clubs, catalogs, gift retailers, volume buyers (think Costco and Price Club), corporations, foundations and foreign markets. These markets are considered “hidden” because they exist outside the usual bookstore market, yet they account for many millions of dollars each year in book sales. In fact, we sell thousands of books to buyers like these every year (for more about our Book Marketing tips and secrets click here: Book Marketing Tips). These markets, however, do not buy any and every book. They are looking for books that appeal to their customers.

For instance, if you are writing a book about spiritual experiences, think about which of those markets will likely buy your book. Will you approach book clubs? If yes, which book clubs – those that specialize in spiritual books only, or those that market to the general public? Will you approach the gift market or catalogs? Each market evaluates its purchases for its own clientele. Book clubs that target the religious book reader have a greater interest in spiritual books than do general interest book clubs. Volume buyers, catalogs and gift buyers (unless they target a religious market), display retailers and corporations will very seldom buy a spiritual book. Foreign markets, however, are often very interested.

Even if your book is written for the general book trade, you can still think of corporations that might be able to use your book as a promotional item. Make a list of corporations that could be interested in your book and make sure that your writing supports their products or philosophy, and that what you are writing about will solve some problems for the corporate clients. For instance, one cookbook was targeted at busy people who want to follow a healthy lifestyle. It became a bestseller very quickly in the traditional book trade, but sales exploded when it was sold to pharmaceutical companies who used the book as support information for clients who needed to achieve a healthy weight. The book also sold successfully in foreign markets, to catalogs, as fund raisers and to shopping malls as a customer reward.

The point is: you need to know how to slant your writing for your markets. You can sometimes get around the road blocks by giving your book the look and feel of a gift book rather than one that is a “serious read”. Don’t give your book the look and feel of a thesis. Many volume buyers are looking for broad interest books that people buy on impulse as gifts. This approach to writing increases your market tremendously, so if you want to appeal to a very large audience, approach your subject from a much “lighter” angle.

However, if you are a professional speaker who knows that you have a very good chance of selling your book to your seminar attendees, and perhaps to the corporations who hire you, writing for a very broad market is not necessary. You are not even trying to sell to the impulse buyer. Your buyer is already looking for a source of expertise such as yours.

If you are planning to sell your book primarily from a website to a specific type of buyer, someone who is searching the internet for answers to a concern or problem, you can be as specific as you like. The general public, again in this instance, is not your market – you already have enough buyers to make you very successful.

 

So, before you begin the writing process, make an outline of your book. Then, look at your list of potential buyers. Have you filled their needs? If not, can you add information or chapters to your book that will increase the likelihood of sales to those buyers? If you want to sell thousands of books, think about the end user of your book and write for them, not for yourself. That is the ultimate book marketing tip. See you on the bestseller list!

© Copyright 2004 Ink Tree Ltd.

Sunita Kaushal asked:


In truth, that’s a lie. Every author has the option of self-publishing. However, there are advantages to writing a book proposal instead of a whole book.

One advantage is that it usually takes less time than writing a whole book. Two, it creates the possibility of getting paid to write your book, perhaps just a few thousand dollars, perhaps tens or even hundreds of thousands. Three, it forces you to get clear about what you’re doing with your book, on a number of levels.

Even if you want to self-publish, a book proposal serves as a sort of business plan for your book. The time and energy spent on research, evaluation and comparison of your ideas at the outset pays off down the line many times over. After all, wouldn’t you rather find out now that someone else has said similar things more eloquently and have a chance to amend your manuscript, than publish the darn thing only to read terrible—or worse—no reviews?

The process of polishing your book proposal is also an exercise in discipline and focus. It brings the purpose of your book, its scope, depth and message into sharp relief. It will get your thinking muscles into the best shape ever to produce the most marketable book of which you are capable. However, you must dedicate the necessary time and energy to educate yourself, move through multiple drafts and polish this behemoth of a document to perfection, or else hire someone who knows how to do just that.

Here are some answers to questions you may be asking right now:

What is a book proposal?

A book proposal is a document intended to sell a publishing staff on publishing a particular nonfiction book. It is the way most nonfiction books get published by major publishers. It reads very much like a business plan about the book proposed. It can be anywhere from 10-100 double-spaced, 12-point 8 1/2 X 11 pages—most are 20-60 pages, including sample chapters. It generally uses a very specific format and specialized language to make its case.

What does the book proposal do?

It answers a series of typical questions that different departments of book publishing companies need answered when deciding which tiny handful of proposals, out of hundreds, to take a chance on. It acts on you and your book’s behalf to answer questions like, Why this book over all the others in its class? Why now? Why this author?

Who sees my book proposal first, an agent or a publisher?

It depends on whether you choose to have an agent represent you, or go directly to publishers. Many publishers will not accept unpatented material, so make sure you check a given publisher’s guidelines first.

What does the book proposal contain?

Generally, a book proposal contains a cover sheet, table of contents, along with the following sections: overview, author bio, author’s marketing plan, market analysis of buyers, comparative and/or competing books, outline, and sample chapters.

The overview contains a hook, or means of enticement, draws the editor in, and gives a general summary of the book’s purpose. It’s sort of like an article about the book. It should make you want to read the whole thing!

The author bio puts any and all of your experience related to writing the book, in its best light. It’s different from a resume or CV. It looks a lot like the “about the author” blurbs you see in the back of published books, below the author’s photo.

The author’s marketing plan, or “what the author will do to promote the book,” shows the publisher that you know what it takes to sell your book, and details how you plan to do it. These days, ironically, publishers don’t put much money into publicity, unless you’re already famous. An author with a well-thought-out marketing plan will stand out from most of the others who pay far less attention to this section, thinking instead that the publisher will take care of it.

The complementary and competing books section identifies and describes books that both directly compete with and also that complement the proposed book. The purpose of this section is to show the editors what has been done before, and how your book fits in. The reason for this section is twofold: One, many editors are too busy to keep up-to-the-minute records of what’s being done in every field, and so rely on the author to educate them about what else is out there. Two, just as many editors know exactly what’s out there, and want to know how your work purports to compare.

There’s a paradox here: On the one hand, you want to point to X, Y and Z books as evidence that this topic you’re writing on is really hot. On the other hand, you want to make a strong case that yet another book—namely yours—is still necessary, and why. So you have to point out strongly yet tactfully—you never know what relationship the person reading your proposal bears to your competition— what yours will do that others haven’t.

The market analysis makes the case for the size of the book’s audience. It usually covers a broad view of current interests and buying patterns in the larger culture that bode favorably for the book. It may include recent movies, documentaries on television, and facts about memberships in organizations or clubs, social or ethnic groups whose constituents would be likely buyers of the book. For example, a book with an exercise theme might cite the circulation of major fitness magazines, membership in health clubs or recent TV shows on related topics. This approach can be adapted to whatever the subject: parenting, cancer, gardening, dogs, mental illness, business, or entrepreneurship.

The chapter outline tells chapter by chapter what your book contains, and the sample chapters, usually about 30 pages worth, represent the best samples of your writing.

Why are so many book proposals rejected?

Most book proposals are rejected because the ideas presented in them fail to convince the publisher that the author has a worthwhile (read: marketable) project. Making a project appealing to a publisher is a specialized skill, very different from creating the project itself.

In my experience, authors, whether of fiction or nonfiction are by nature creative people. If you’re reading this, chances are at some point in your life, you became enamored of an idea or ideas, and felt the urge to move your thoughts into the world in book form. Your mind is alive. You have something to say.

A successful book proposal, on the other hand, is a specialized marketing document that follows a particular form, and answers very specific questions in a way that gets a “Yes!” from publishers. Unless your field is marketing, and in particular, the marketing of books to publishers, chances are you don’t have expertise in creating a book proposal. And why should you? It’s nowhere near as much fun for most authors as working and playing with their own ideas.

The majority of my clients who give me book proposals to review, even those who have read books I’ve recommended and claim to have followed them, give me proposals almost certainly slated for rejection. An excellent book proposal is a tough document for most authors to produce on their own. However, help abounds!

If you are determined to write your book proposal on your own, can really, truly follow directions, and have the patience it takes to polish your work with dozens or hundreds of revisions, I recommend Michael Larsen’s book, How to Write a Book Proposal, and Jeff Herman’s Write the Perfect Book Proposal. Read them, study them, write your proposal, rewrite it several dozen times (no, I’m not joking) and have it professionally reviewed by someone who really knows what they are doing. Polish it to perfection—in this business, in which 99% of all proposals will get rejected, good enough simply isn’t.

Then, if you want an agent, make sure you find one with a successful track record of selling work like yours, otherwise your polished proposal may gleam, twinkle and shimmer for unappreciative and unqualified eyes. Unless the agent has specified otherwise, query them first via a one- to one-and-a-half page letter. For the query, read and study John Wood’s How to Write Attention-Grabbing Query and Cover Letters. Then have at it. Spend at least three weeks on this query letter, and get feedback from at least three people, at least one of whom truly knows the field.

Sarvesh Sharma asked:


If you are fond of reading books and literature, then you should become the member of a book club. With the help of these book clubs, an individual can enjoy and can get fun by reading books. They give us a common platform for discussing over books. These book clubs arrange a get together of its group members. In these clubs, everybody has a liberty to express his views over books. One can also get the high quality books at the affordable prices on these reading groups. These clubs are also known as reading groups, discussion groups and book groups. They also have the huge collection of excellent quality books on various categories.

Today, there are lots of book clubs such as India Today Book Club, NBT book club, Navayana book club, Bombay book club and many more. But India Today Book Club is one of the most appreciated book clubs in India. This book club brings thousands of books in several categories for instance, Classics, Art and Reference books, Children’s reading material, Cooking, Fitness and Health, Religion and spirituality and many more. Every member of this club also gets a free magazine with name Books Today. If you want to join this book club, then you have to fill a membership form for this. Once your membership request gets approved, you can start ordering of books immediately. On becoming member of this club, you will get a membership card that contains yours membership number, web ID and membership expiry date. The membership number may help you in lodging complaints, placing orders and asking any query with this book club.

ITBC also brings the attractive reward scheme for its group members. In this scheme, if a group member places an order for the value of Rs.1000 and above, he will get some reward points in his account. One reward point is equivalent to one rupee. So these points can be utilized for further purchasing of books, gifting of membership and future purchases. The key feature of this club is that if an individual wants to gift a book to his loved one and his loved one is far from the place, he can send the book to him with the help of this book club.

In other words, we can say that India Today Book Club brings very attractive offers for its group members. This book club also has the ultimate collection of high quality books.

Global Medical Book asked:


In today’s world, medical insurance and costs are very high priced for just about any type of medical procedure, check up, or doctors visit. Medical expenses are very high in the United States, on the flip side, the UK and Canada have universal medical coverage but all too frequently people and patients are exposed to substandard medical conditions in order to save a buck. So the next question would be where can I get some of the best medical care for a reasonable (astronomically lower) price?

Let’s think for a minute…

Some of the worlds’ and the United States best doctors are from India, China, and the Middle East, so why not take a beautiful vacation while receiving some of the best medical care for any ailment. These medical vacations can also be called medical tourism. Medical tourism is becoming very popular worldwide and many people are truly benefiting from the high quality medical care, low cost medical expenses, and all doing so while on a very beautiful and tranquil vacation.

As with anything worthwhile, medical tourism is becoming a high demand industry worldwide and competition is pretty interesting. What I mean by this is there are now medical tourism travel agencies, all inclusive medical travel packages and plans, medical vacations. These packages can offer everything from airfare to hotels, food to limousine service, all medical travel packages offering many lavish upgrades.

Visit Global Medical Group to find out more! Receive the best healthcare at an affordable price while traveling the world.

gardnerwilkinson asked:


A hotel website without a booking engine is like food without salt – bland, and undesirable! A booking engine is the key is a hotel website’s success, as it allows the guest to make an easy and hasselfree reservation, in no time. In the past few decades, technology has seen tremendous growth and has completely changed the way business works. There was a time when hotel booking was possible only on phone; but today with the advent of technology, one can book a hotel room at the comfort of their home or office. Hotel booking engines have made hotel booking a convenient and smooth affair.

Choosing the right booking engine for your hotel website is extremely important as it is a quick and easy way of developing your online business and increasing profitability. When choosing a booking engine for your website, you must consider the following:-



Thorough Market & Industry Research

A good booking engine will enhance your business prospects to a great extent, as more and more people will be able to make a quick and hasselfree reservation in your hotel. In order to select the booking engine that will best suit your hotel business, you must conduct a thorough research of all the booking engines available in the market, evaluate their pro and cons; compare their strengths and weaknesses and then make a final decision.

Evaluating the Budget

Choose a booking engine that best suits your budget and at the same time delivers services that live up to your expectations. Make sure the amount you spend on a booking engine is worth the effort and you get the desired results, at the best deal possible.

Presentation

Many of you must have come across food stalls where the food looks delicious, but when you see the place where they prepare the items, it is unbearably unhygienic. Similarly, a good hotel website with a shoddy and substandard booking engine will simply drive guests away!

While selecting a booking engine for your hotel website, keep certain things in mind such as – Does it look attractive? Does it blend well with your website? Is it customisable? And does it have all the features you are looking for?

Multi-lingual & Multi-currency

Everyone knows what its like to be in a foreign country, and not knowing its language. You feel lost and frustrated. Similarly, a booking engine that is not multilingual and does not have multiple currency options will draw fewer people to your hotel. Therefore, it is important for you to choose a booking engine that has the multilingual and multicurrency feature that will allow your guests to reserve rooms in their local language and pay in their local currency. The ideal booking engine will have the capacity to present itself in a variety of languages and accept a variety of currencies, making it accessible to a larger potential customer base.

Seamless Integration

Choose a booking engine that has a range of online customization tools. This will enable you to duplicate your website’s look and feel and add branding to your booking engine. A good booking engine will seamlessly integrate with your website, so that when a guest is making a booking, he doesn’t have to think twice about the security of his payment details.

Wide Range of Payment Options

Your booking engine should offer a wide range of payment options without you having to invest large sums of money to develop your own payment network. Lack of payment options is one of the key reasons behind abandoned reservations, as not all customers are comfortable with limited payment options. Therefore, the more payment options you offer the more customers you gain.

Easy to Use

In this fast paced life, everyone wants things done quick and hasselfree. A booking engine involving a labyrinth of steps to complete the booking process will instantly put-off the guest. Choose a booking engine that follows the K.I.S.S rule (Keep It Short and Simple) and you will realise that it will work wonders for your business.

Images of Hotel Property

A booking engine including clear images of your hotel property enables the guest to enjoy the experience of making a booking in your website. An image of the room type, next to the room description in your booking engine can really make a difference as the customer will know exactly how the room looks and will feel more satisfied while making a reservation.



Easy Adaptability with Market Trends

Your booking engine should be backed up with a good technology development team; who are aware of the current activities taking place in the industry and can easily adapt to the market changes, otherwise it will quickly become an outdated tool.