Selling a book
I received a couple of boxes in the mail yesterday--early copies of Privacy Lost, How Technology is Endangering Your Privacy, my new (and first) book. Amazon will be shipping in a few days and the books will be available in bookstores next week.
Non-fiction books are a lot harder than I thought to sell, write and market. Actually of the three, writing it was the easiest.
For anyone considering it, the first step is to get an agent. That's difficult if you're unknown, because agents only make money when you do and they might have to put in years of work for free before you sell anything. It helps if a mutual acquaintance introduces you, but I know several people that have cold-called agents and been successful over time. I was very lucky to be introduced to Grace Freedson, who worked diligently at selling my book and in fact, did so.
Then you need a proposal. This is a 10-30 page marketing document in which you explain the book from the perspective of why someone would spend $25 or so for it. Expect to do a little competitive research. I did. It's the writer's job to convince the publisher that the product will move out the door. At this stage, you are discussing a commodity and using the language of sales. Your book's content is less important than its financial prospects.
Then the fun begins. Your agent ships the proposal out and schmoozes perspective buyers. It took about a year and a half to sell Privacy Lost. Part of it was the political climate. Some publishers were nervous about being openly critical of the Bush Administration for awhile (that's changed, of course).
Someone in the publishing house needs to believe in what you're writing or it has to be a cold-bloodedly obvious well-selling entry. I was lucky enough to have my book championed by Dorothy Hearst at Josey-Bass (Wiley & Sons).
The contract negotiation was simple because as a first-time writer you have no clout at all. I argued about the amount of the advance for a few minutes, but only because I thought that it was what I had to pay them.
Tomorrow -- writing.
Posted on October 05, 2006
