Getting Traditionally Published

Should you self-publish or traditionally publish? This infographic will help you determine the best choice for you and your project.

Book proposals come together much more easily when the author has confidence and clarity on their target audience.

Publishers and literary agents know this, even if they pretend otherwise to conveniently reject you and your work.

Identifying comparable titles helps agents and publishers understand where your book fits in the market and who your most likely readers are.

If you have a book idea or manuscript, one of your first questions is probably: How do I find a publisher? Here are the most popular, essential resources.

Every author must have a frank conversation with their publisher about book marketing—the earlier the better. Here's how to approach the conversation.

Learn how to craft a strong novel synopsis, while avoiding the most common mistakes, including the dreaded "synopsis speak."

Here's what I've learned over 20 years about making the most of any writers conference, whether you're an attendee or a speaker.

The query letter has one purpose, and one purpose only: to seduce the agent or editor into reading or requesting your work. The query letter is so much of a sales piece that it's quite possible to write one without having written a word of the manuscript. All it requires is a firm grasp of your story premise.

As the publishing industry has transformed in the digital age, small press activity has proliferated. Here's how authors can evaluate their offerings.

A step-by-step guide to finding literary agents, plus how to select the right agent for you and your work.

If you want to publish your book, here are the steps you should follow to assess your work's potential, then research and pitch editors and agents.

Everyone has a meaningful story to tell, but not everyone’s story (or writing) is going to deserve a commercial publishing deal. Here are the most common problems I encounter in memoir pitches and manuscripts.

Writing a nonfiction book proposal—a good one—requires not only sharp clarity about your idea, but also how that idea, in book form, is relevant and unique in today’s market. You’ll have a much easier time writing your proposal if you take time to conduct market research beforehand.

Everything you need to know to start writing a book proposal for your nonfiction book.

Some agents and editors say that personalizing a query letter can backfire. Others say the opposite—that it's mandatory. What should you do?

Is it better to look for a literary agent first, or to approach editors and publishers? Much depends on the commercial potential of your work.

But being able to truly see if you’ve been successful in writing a compelling work requires objectivity and distance than can be hard to achieve on your own—and this is where a professional editor comes in.

Should you self-publish? There is no single right answer to this question—it's always situational. It depends on you, your book, and your career goals. This post outlines the key questions you should ask.

No one used to question the value of a publisher, but now everyone's wondering: What are they good for?

Learn how to pitch your nonfiction book to agents and publishers—whether you're writing memoir, narrative nonfiction, or prescriptive nonfiction.

Asking an editor or agent to sign a non-disclosure agreement is not part of traditional publishing business practice.

Publishers use a P&L (profit & loss) statement to determine whether a book makes financial sense to publish. Here's how they work—plus an example form.

Don’t you wish someone could tell you how close you are to getting traditionally published? Don’t you wish someone could say, “If you just keep at it for three more years, you’re certain to make it!" Or, even if it would be heartbreaking, wouldn’t it be nice to be told that you’re wasting your time, so that you can move on, try another tack (like self-publishing), or perhaps even change course entirely to produce some other creative work?

It's been a trend ever since I worked full-time as a book acquisitions editor: Blog-to-book deals. I acquired or oversaw