How (Not) To Get A Book Deal
Writers who want to publish their first book must ask themselves one question: do I have a book that is ready for the marketplace?
Dear Reader,
I first shared a post with this title about three years ago, but since we recently reached the end of another NaNoWriMo, I thought it might be worth sharing an edited version again.
I first wrote this in the wake of a mini-publishing scandal: a young writer had just admitted to extensive plagiarism in her soon-to-be-published first novel. This stemmed, in part, or so she said, from finding herself with a book contract at a major publishing house, and the ticking clock of an impending deadline, without really understanding how the industry worked.
I originally wrote this for the unpublished author in general; those who were starting to wonder just how their work-in-progress might turn into an actual published book one day, and hoping that this might help to explain the process.
To give fair warning: it is geared mostly towards those publishing in America. I know it applies to other countries as well, though not all. In France, for example, where things are a bit different, talking about your “literary agent” at a party of French writers can cause you to come across as a bit of a diva—or so I’ve been told.
Even so, I hope this can be of use to some of you!
Book contracts do not come to those who work the hardest or are the most deserving. At least, not necessarily. It isn’t fair, and isn’t meant to be. Intense effort is required, but that’s not always enough. It is merely a question of whether or not what you bring to the table can solve a particular problem for an agent or an editor: they need a book, a certain kind of book, at a certain time, to inspire and/or to sell.
