I had the pleasure of coffee with a Vancouver publisher yesterday, where we discussed three possible books: two nonfiction and one fiction.
The original idea I'd proposed, a family memoir by my two brothers and me, didn't go over well on the basis of a sample chapter. But I said I'd revise in the light of his comments and get back to him.
The other nonfiction idea was a collection of my BC-related articles for The Tyee, which I've been writing for since 2003. He looked over my proposal and thought it might have possibilities. Again I said I'd give him more to consider. I estimated that the book might have 45,000 words plus another 15,000 of commentary
As for the novel, I gave him a quick plot summary and the first 30 pages of Henderson's Tenants, on which I've been working, off and on, for years. The publisher said he'd get back to me early in the new year.
So I came home and started putting together the Tyee anthology. Somewhat to my surprise, I found that in a few hours I'd put together articles totalling 50,000 words, with more still to add. This is why I'm a big proponent of writing articles on your nonfiction subject: You're making money (or at least a reputation) from them, and creating material for the eventual book as well.
Update (April 9): It took a few months, but the other day I finally heard from the publisher; the answers were all no.
This doesn't much discourage me. I'll pitch a few more publishers, but I'll also start exploring the possibility of publishing my own work in e-book format.
Do you recommend having your content out there online before you go to a publisher? Maybe see how people enjoy it? What are some pros or cons?
Posted by: Scentsy Bricks | 07/05/2010 at 04:00 PM
Good questions! Putting at least some content online can build an audience/market for your writing, at least if you can cite good traffic numbers to your website(s). And writing blog-sized posts can make the creation of a book that much easier. In effect, blogging for any length of time can be writing a book on the instalment plan.
Some publishers, however, may think that material published online is already there for the asking, so why bother printing it and hoping to be paid for it? My response: A manuscript based on web posts should have some value-added, and the publisher should be able to add still more value. The posts now have new/reorganized content, and they're accessible in a compact and readable book.
Posted by: Crof | 07/05/2010 at 05:09 PM
Incredible job here. and thank you for allowing us to witness the experiences and thoughts and work. keep up the great work. stay well.
Posted by: Mathew | 07/21/2020 at 08:16 PM
good job and keeping rocking , thanks for the info about publisher
Posted by: Foodresearch lab | 11/13/2020 at 01:14 AM