Author and former literary agent Nathan Bransford shares his secrets for creating killer plots, fleshing out your first ideas, crafting compelling characters, and staying sane in the process. Read the guide that New York Times bestselling author Ransom Riggs called "The best how-to-write-a-novel book I've read."
Now updated for 2015! The best, most comprehensive guide for writers is now revised and updated, with new sections on ebooks, self-publishing, crowd-funding through Kickstarter, blogging, increasing visibility via online marketing, micropublishing, the power of social media and author websites, and more—making The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published more vital than ever for anyone who wants to mine that great idea and turn it into a successfully published book. Written by experts with twenty-five books between them as well as many years’ experience as a literary agent (Eckstut) and a book doctor (Sterry), this nuts-and-bolts guide demystifies every step of the publishing process: how to come up with a blockbuster title, create a selling proposal, find the right agent, understand a book contract, and develop marketing and publicity savvy. Includes interviews with hundreds of publishing insiders and authors, including Seth Godin, Neil Gaiman, Amy Bloom, Margaret Atwood, Leonard Lopate, plus agents, editors, and booksellers; sidebars featuring real-life publishing success stories; sample proposals, query letters, and an entirely updated resources and publishers directory.
Out-of-this-world antics in this hysterical middle-grade adventure! Sixth-grader Jacob Wonderbar is a master when it comes to disarming and annihilating substitute teachers. But when he and his best friends, Sarah and Dexter, swap a spaceship for a corn dog, they embark on an outer space adventure. And between breaking the universe with an epic explosion, being kidnapped by a space pirate, and surviving a planet that reeks of burp breath, Jacob and his friends are in way over their heads. Action packed with an added dose of heart, Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow is sure to captivate middlegrade readers all over the universe.
The ultimate recipe resource: an indispensable treasury of more than 2,000 foolproof recipes and 150 test kitchen discoveries from the pages of Cook's Illustrated magazine. There is a lot to know about cooking, more than can be learned in a lifetime, and for the last 20 years we have been eager to share our discoveries with you, our friends and readers. The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook represents the fruit of that labor. It contains 2,000 recipes, representing almost our entire repertoire. Looking back over this work as we edited this volume, we were reminded of some of our greatest hits, from Foolproof Pie Dough (we add vodka for an easy-to-roll-out but flaky crust), innumerable recipes based on brining and salting meats (our Brined Thanksgiving Turkey in 1993 launched a nationwide trend), Slow-Roasted Beef(we salt a roast a day in advance and then use a very low oven to promote a tender, juicy result), Poached Salmon (a very shallow poaching liquid steams the fish instead of simmering it in water and robbing it of flavor), and the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies (we brown the butter for better flavor). Our editors handpicked more than 2,000 recipes from the pages of the magazine to form this wide-ranging compendium of our greatest hits. More than just a great collection of foolproof recipes, The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook is also an authoritative cooking reference with clear hand-drawn illustrations for preparing the perfect omelet, carving a turkey, removing meat from lobsters, frosting a layer cake, shaping sandwich bread, and more. 150 test kitchen tips throughout the book solve real home-cooking problems such as how to revive tired herbs, why you shouldn't buy trimmed leeks, what you need to know about freezing and thawing chicken, when to rinse rice, and the best method for seasoning cast-iron (you can even run it through the dishwasher). An essential collection for fans of Cook's Illustrated (and any discerning cook), The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook will keep you cooking for a lifetime - and guarantees impeccable results.
Provides practical and timely advice on writing different types of children's books, working with publishers, understanding the publishing process, the importance of illustrators, and building a career in the field of children's literature. Original. 12,000 first printing.
Why sacrifice ten to fifteen percent of your book advance to a commissioned agent when you don'¬?t have to? If you'¬?re a talented writer with a head for details, you can prepare your manuscript, pitch it to publishers, secure an offer, and negotiate your contract without using an agent or spending hundreds of dollars on a publishing lawyer. In this revised and updated edition of BE YOUR OWN LITERARY AGENT, fifty-year publishing veteran Martin P. Levin walks first-time authors through the intimidating process of selling their work with a clear, intelligent, and supportive approach that works. Sample letters and proposals show you exactly how to write a query letter, compile an author bio, phrase a book summary, organize a sample chapter, and more. With a clean manuscript in your hand and BE YOUR OWN LITERARY AGENT in your pocket, publishing success is virtually assured.‚Ä¢ Includes a glossary of publishing terms, a list of publishers most likely to read and accept a first-time author'¬?s book, and a handy manuscript submission record.‚Ä¢ The new edition covers how to get published on the Internet and protect electronic rights, and includes new copyright terms for authors.‚Ä¢ Original edition sold over 20,000 copies.
Distilled wisdom from two publishing pros for every serious nonfiction author in search of big commercial success. Over 50,000 books are published in America each year, the vast majority nonfiction. Even so, many writers are stymied in getting their books published, never mind gaining significant attention for their ideas—and substantial sales. This is the book editors have been recommending to would-be authors. Filled with trade secrets, Thinking Like Your Editor explains: • why every proposal should ask and answer five key questions; • how to tailor academic writing to a general reader, without losing ideas or dumbing down your work; • how to write a proposal that editors cannot ignore; • why the most important chapter is your introduction; • why "simple structure, complex ideas" is the mantra for creating serious nonfiction; • why smart nonfiction editors regularly reject great writing but find new arguments irresistible. Whatever the topic, from history to business, science to philosophy, law, or gender studies, this book is vital to every serious nonfiction writer.
Now, more than ever, in a market glutted with aspiring writers and a shrinking number of publishing houses, writers need someone familiar with the publishing scene to shepherd their manuscript to the right person. Completely updated annually, Guide to Literary Agents provides names and specialties for more than 800 individual agents around the United States and the world. The 2009 edition includes more than 85 pages of original articles on everything you need to know including how to submit to agents, how to avoid scams and what an agent can do for their clients.
HOW TO BE YOUR OWN LITERARY AGENT is the most practical and thorough guide to book publishing for writers. Richard Curtis, a top literary agent for more than twenty-five years, provides a comprehensive overview of the publishing process, from submissions to contract negotiations to subsidiary rights to marketing and beyond. In this completely revised and expanded edition, Curtis takes into account the enormous changes in the publishing world over the past ten years. Included are new sections on what the electronic revolution means to you, and how to take advantage of it; the new breed of literary agents: how to find them and interest them in your work; how you can have a say in your book's design, cover art, jacket copy, and promotion; what author and agent organizations can do for you; how book chains and the superstores affect your chances of getting published; and why the American Booksellers Association convention is important to you. No other book provides such detailed and accessible information. For novices and veteran writers alike, HOW TO BE YOUR OWN LITERARY AGENT takes the mystery out of getting the best deal possible and ensuring happy publication.