“Getting Your First Book Published: A Guide for
Indian Writers”

chillibreeze writer — Sreenivasa Krishnamurthy

A quote from Edward Abbey on writing says, “Good writing can be defined as having something to say and saying it well. When one has nothing to say, one should remain silent. Silence is always beautiful at such times”. If you have embarked on the path of writing a book and trying to establish yourself as an author, do not be discouraged by the saying. If you do not try, you will never realize whether you can succeed or fail and if you fail in the first attempt remember that failure is the stepping-stone to success. Writing the book is the easiest portion of the entire ordeal but getting it published, as a new author is the most frustrating process that any first time author would acknowledge. However, it is not always true if one can perform the required due-diligence, establish a plan and execute the plan it would be no different from any other job that we may work for a day-to-day living.

You need an "APE" to get the book published, now don't you start worrying on how to find one. When I say APE, I do not mean a tailless primate such as a chimpanzee, gorilla, or orangutan or an imitator or mimic of somebody or something. An APE is the combination of an excellent Agent who can represent you to the publisher, a Publisher who can publish your work and an Editor who can prepare the language for presentation by correction, condensation and organization.

The whole process of publishing starts with sending query letters to agents. Agents are people or companies who have contacts in the publishing house. The agents receive a whole lot of ideas for books so it is important the letters should be able to create interest in your idea to get you an opportunity to present your work. You should use your best skills as a writer and be able to define your approach and scope of the book if we generate enough interest with the agents you might be able to get the book printed. The query letter should be able to emphasize on the books potential benefits to the reader and the authors qualifications in relation to the book idea. The key is to make sure we follow the “Kiss” approach (Keep it simple stupid) in the query letter and try to edit to one page length. Whenever possible attach samples and enclose self-addressed envelope for reply. Make sure the tone of the letter is not sounding demanding, desperate or apologetic. Ensure that you talk about only one book idea per query and introduce some humor with query if possible. The agents will go through the query letters to make a decision on whether to proceed further or send a rejection letter (sometimes agents do not send a rejection letter). If the agent likes the idea, he or she will request for a proposal on the book.

The challenge starts when the agent says yes to the query letter. The next step in the process is to figure out how to write a book proposal. Remember, you are writing a proposal and not a book, make sure the proposal consists of a brief description about why the book is unique. Include the market trend on how many books in the same line of work have been published, sold and make sure to include statistical numbers in terms of volume of sales and $000 dollars of revenues generated. It is easy to gather those if you were to visit Amazon.com or any other book retailer’s web site. The key is to include demographics of the potential readers and projected sales. Also, include the title, author, ISBN, and a brief description of competition and make sure you highlight what your book addresses better than the competition.

Let the agent know you plan for promotion, be specific in terms of whether you will be willing to give seminars or speak at public events. Most publishers want authors to be actively involved in marketing their books by expending efforts if not monetarily involved in promotion. Write a brief description of what makes you the subject matter expert to write on the relevant topic. Do not forget to include any previously authored articles written for magazines, newspaper or online journals. If you can get a well-known authority figure, expert, celebrity or author to give you an endorsement, or to commit to an endorsement, it puts you ahead in the game. Include synopsis of a chapter or two and it should not be more than three to four pages. List each chapter with sub-headings and a brief description explaining what will be included in the chapter. The editor will judge the quality of your writing by the chapter. The proposal not including the sample chapter can run from 10 to 25 pages. The proposal needs submitted in a hard copy through post, preferably typed out in A-4 size paper.

The agent will submit the proposal to a publisher/many publishers (depending on the agent) and the publisher is the company that chooses to publish the book. The company will have editors whose job is to choose which books the company publishes. If the publishing company likes the proposal after preliminary evaluation, they may request a manuscript or get ready to sign a contract. In return for getting the book printed, the agent will negotiate with you some percentage of what you make on the book. If you are a first time author it is always much wiser to have an agent on your side. The agent will increase the possibility of publishing the book.

If you have already written the book before signing the contract, the editor at the publishing company may have few suggestions and you may want to accommodate the changes. If you have not written the book yet and have landed with a contract, being first time author you will need to ensure you deliver the best quality output. The only thing to do from then on is to remember Don Marquis quote that says, “Publishing is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo” and start planning for your next book.

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article.

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—About our writer: Sreenivasa, PMI Certified with 13 plus yrs diversified industry experience in different countries. He is currently working as a Program Management Consultant in USA in addition, has been an entrepreneur in United States and India.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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