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Every book proposal requires research into your field. I’m currently researching a nonfiction book proposal on volunteers, and I have found Amazon.com extremely helpful. A few key word searches have provided a broad array of books in my field. Once I have a list of potential competitors for the market, the hard work of reviewing these books and differentiating them from my own book begins.

Fortunately Amazon provides a number of simple ways to learn about books without necessarily having to purchase and buy every potential competitor.

Search inside the book

A search inside the book yields the crucial summaries provided on back covers and inside flaps, the table of contents, and a few pages of the introduction. This will give you a great summary of the work as well as some key specifics.

Publisher’s Weekly and other reviews

Test your understanding of the book against the reviews typically placed below the publisher’s information (date of publication, press name, ISBN number, etc.). If not Publisher’s Weekly, many books will have brief summaries provided from reviews. Pay careful attention to the source of the review to ensure it’s as reliable as possible. Take the publisher’s summary with a grain of salt since their goal is to convince you to purchase the book.

The list of related books.

As you scroll down the page you’ll notice a relatively new feature that allows you to browse over 50 related books. This can save you a lot of time in your research. My advice is to try and find the book most like your own, and then look into the related books on its Amazon page.

Customer reviews

Customer reviews can be hit or miss, but they’re well worth reading because you may come across a few stating, “I thought this book would be about _________, but instead it’s about _______.” These are solid gold for your purposes and will help you narrow down whether or not this book is worth comparing to your own.

Buy the Book (used if you can)

If you still feel a bit uneasy about the book you’re browsing, it may well be worth purchasing it just to be sure you’re not saying the same exact thing. I have done this in the past and it was well worth the peace of mind. I also made some clear and effective distinctions between the competition and my own work. You can always sell it used after you’re done with it to minimize your cost to a few dollars.

Writing is a business and like any other business there are seasons of plenty and seasons of famine. Of course life goes on whether the market is a boom or a bust, so there will always be writers selling their work to publishers. However, when times are slow a writer will need to do more research, sharpen ideas, and make sure his article pitches and book proposals address the current interests of a publisher–which by the way will be listed on the publisher’s web site.

When an editor is facing a cut back in publishing, only the most appropriate and most marketable proposals will survive. This means that on top of researching the market for your book and the needs of prospective publishers, you’ll also have to keep an eye on publishing news to see which companies are in the best financial shape. If you really want to go with a publisher who is making cuts, just be sure your work is an attractive choice.

The first place to start when seeking news about a publisher is Publisher’s Weekly, though most markets will have blogs and press release sites that track the news specific to your field of expertise.

I had a nice little idea. Contact some local authors. Put together a little promotional package. Everyone wins.

I never realized how hard it would be to simply drop an author an e-mail. It’s darn near impossible.

When you have a book, you need to make it easy for people to learn about it and you need to promote it. This should include a web site with your contact info. In my mind, if your book doesn’t have some kind of web site and if people can’t contact you, you and your book may as well not exist. If someone wants to ask me to share something from my book at an event or if they want to learn more about it, a web site is so crucial. While I don’t want to encourage stalking, it seems that setting up an e-mail address that is easy to find would be the first thing an author should do.

While authors need to be responsible for promoting their books, it strikes me as equally important to make it as easy as possible for interested readers to contact the authors. This could bring all kinds of trouble and annoying messages, but the pay off strikes me as worth while.

Research is unfulfilling drudgery for many people. If you’re interested in writing, then you probably want to write, not search through hefty books or web sites telling you what you should and should not submit. It’s rather boring reading.

However, research doesn’t have to be a drag. Here are some simple ways you can begin to uncover some publishing options.

Visit a Bookstore or Your Books at Home

Look through a bookstore and take particular notice of the publishers listed on the spines of your favorite books. You’ll soon learn the logo of each publisher. Now that you know the publishers who print your kind of work, look them up online or in a writing guide such as the Writer’s Market Guide. Perhaps your favorite writers have published with several different companies. See if you can find out why these writers may have changed publishers. It may be that some are more willing to publish first-time authors.

Check Out Magazine Racks

The same plan applies here with magazines. Browse magazines and try to settle on three or four that fit your interests. These may not be your first choice for submitting an article since the competition will be tough be beat without some publishing credentials, but see if you can find magazines similar to them that accept new authors.

Look Up Literary Agents

We’re digging into the tougher research here. First time authors and published authors may both need agents. While agents are not essential, they can be the key to opening the doors at publishing houses for unknown authors. While you’re looking up your favorite books, check the acknowledgements pages for information about their agents. Perhaps the agent of your favorite author is willing to review your manuscript. The Writer’s Market Guide and other literary agent guides will also help you find agents suited to your interests.

In each of these scenarios, publishing research can begin with the books on the your shelf or in your local book store, a prospect that shouldn’t be too daunting. Look through your favorite books and start with these lists. Once you have some preliminary info in hand, you can start probing into guides and online writing sites.

Remember this is a process. You are gradually accumulating knowledge. You will never become a publishing industry expert. This is simply a process of gathering bits and pieces of information over time, gradually putting together enough parts to send you on your way toward publishing.

If you’re thinking of publishing a book, keep in mind that very few writers become rich off writing. Most writers who end up working full time either publish a series of best sellers, write for businesses, combine writing with public speaking, or combine writing with editing, marketing or some other element of the book industry. It is a tough act to simply make a living off writing.

Therefore it’s important to keep your finances in the picture with writing. Are you writing on the side as a hobby? Are you making it part of a larger business venture? Are you planning on hosting events and seminars that will help pay the bills? Are you building a relationship with a publisher to you’re guaranteed a steady stream of work.

Not only do writers need to be prepared for a paltry profit, they need to also be willing to give some of their writing away for free. If you’re doing a blog or newsletter, then you’ve got a great start at building up your reputation and expertise. It’s also important to publish articles online because it’s an easy way to gain exposure.

However, at some point you’ll need to start thinking of making money. Part of your leverage will be the quality of your work that you gave away for free. And that is the key here: treat every assignment as a key one for your career. If you’re not paid today, you may be paid five years because of that article.

The hourly break down for writers is never pretty, but keep the big picture in mind. You’re building a portfolio and momentum.

If you’re already blogging and working on a newsletter to send out, you’re also going to need a collection of published material to show potential publishers. There are a few investments you can make to speed yourself along with this.

Knowing the Magazine Market

First of all you should consult a recent version of the Writer’s Market Guide. This doesn’t mean you need to pick up the latest edition, though that will surely be the most helpful. You should consider picking up last year’s edition if you’re looking to save a buck or two. These guides will provide you with a great reference to magazines and journals who may accept your work. They’ll tell you who accepts unsolicited manuscripts, who pays the most, and how to submit your manuscript. They also provide articles and sample query letters to speed you along.

This is all essential information that will help set you part from the pack of writers scampering to get their works published. Remember, if you’re trying to break in that plenty of experienced writers are submitting work to these editors and so enjoy an advantage. Your best asset to stick to the rule as precisely as possible. This means ordering a trial issue of the magazine, reviewing the guidelines carefully, and making the editor’s job as easy as possible.

Press Releases

Of course it’s rather tough to start out with submitting articles to a national magazine. A better bet may be submitting articles to local newspapers. Find the smaller paper in your town that may need some freelancers and offer your services. It couldn’t hurt. However, another way to slice this is to offer a nonprofit organization with their press releases.

I did this with a local church and ended up writing a pretty significant feature for the local paper. The church paid me a nominal fee and the community noticed that this church had a lot going on, which turned out to be a real win-win for both of us. I have a long list of releases I wrote this church and now can offer these as writing samples that have been published, even if many of them did not have my name hanging on a “by” line.

Publishing Online

And if either of these sounds a little too intimidating, remember that you’re working on blogging or at least networking a little online. Search for some online magazines that you may find interesting. These sites rarely pay their writers, but their guidelines are a bit more flexible since the online format is very forgiving to wordy writers. Expect rejections here all the same, but be sure to keep plugging away, as publishing online is a great way to gain some exposure for yourself and to give publishers a simple way to access your writing. 

Dealing with Rejection

The down side of writing articles is the roller coaster of acceptance and rejection letters. The rejections may come fast and furious at first, but remember that even the best writers have to deal with rejections from time to time. There are far too many writers competing for the same spots. There is a lot you can do to increase the odds of getting published, but rejection is something you always have to deal with, so steel yourself for it.

The up side is your collection of published work will give you valuable experience, look great on your future book proposal, and contribute to building your platform of readers. If they recognize your name in the book store after reading a great article you’ve published pro bono online, they may be more inclined to pick up a copy of your work.

Coming Up: How to publish an e-mail newsletter at no cost whatsoever.