Publish Your Nonfiction Book
Strategies for Learning the Industry, Selling Your Book, and Building a Successful Career
by Sharlene Martin and Anthony Flacco
Writer's Digest Books, 2009
ISBN 978-1-58297-578-8
$17.99, paperback, 304 pages

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Read an Excerpt
Authors Sharlene Martin and Anthony Flacco offer tips for building your author platform by building your Internet presence.

Read an Exclusive Q&A
Martin and Flacco discuss changes in the publishing industry, advice for writers, writing groups and more.

About the Book

Demystify the publishing process with this insider’s guide to beating rejection!

In Publish Your Nonfiction Book, successful literary agent Sharlene Martin and noted novelist and nonfiction author Anthony Flacco draw on their years of experience to provide you with an in-depth understanding of what the publishing industry is really like and how to successfully navigate it in order to ensure a long-term career. You’ll learn:

•    Techniques for writing a strong query letter that hooks agents and editors right from the start
•    Strategies for putting together a stellar proposal package that successfully pitches you and your book
•    Methods for creating a respectable author platform—before you start pitching your book
•    Tips for getting an agent and building a lasting working relationship
•    And much, much more!

Plus, the authors examine actual query letters and proposals that worked, so you can see firsthand exactly what catches an agent’s attention and why.

Publish Your Nonfiction Book is the one-on-one agent consultation you need—but seldom get—to learn the ropes and seal the deal.

About the Authors

Sharlene Martin and Anthony Flacco have used their considerable experience as a successful literary agent and widely published writer, respectively, to demystify the publishing process for nonfiction books in a way that any writer will find to be informative and enlightening. …

—William Shinker, President & Publisher, Gotham and Avery Books

In Publish Your Nonfiction Book, Martin and Flacco have used their years of experience and their insiders’ understanding to provide an easy-to-follow path to building a successful career in a volatile and competitive marketplace. It will become an invaluable classic on any writer's bookshelf. …

—Roger Cooper, Vice-President, Publisher, Vanguard Press

Table of Contents


Introduction    1
Chapter 1: How to Surf the Tidal Wave in Today’s
Nonfiction Book Market     5
Chapter 2: The Many Forms of Nonfiction    15
Chapter 3: The Platform Dance    37
Chapter 4: Getting the Rights Right    55
Chapter 5: The Nine Essential Elements of a Book Proposal    64
Chapter 6: Three Proposals That Sold—and Why They Did    82
Chapter 7: The Tao of the Query Letter—and Beyond    104
Chapter 8: Crazy Queries: How Not to Do it    116
Chapter 9: Why Your Query Will Work    133
Chapter 10: Submitting Your Query    150
Chapter 11: From Agent to Deal (or Not): Tactics for Presenting Yourself    162
Chapter 12: Demystifying the Process: How Your Sale Is Made    174
Chapter 13: High Fives: The Book Contract    190
Chapter 14: The Self-Publishing Option    208
Chapter 15: Discipline Is Your Friend:
Follow This Schedule to Finish Your Book    223
Chapter 16: A Targeted Public Relations Campaign:
Your Ticket to the Top    245
Chapter 17: The Nonfiction Writer’s Life and You: What’s Next?    268
Appendix: Resources    282
Index    292