[Ep 220]



A writer reached out to me with news that she's writing a nonfiction book and wants to be published. “What’s the process?” she asked.

I'm happy to explain. I'll cover the main steps to becoming a traditionally published author without going into minute detail. This will give you—and her—a broad overview.
Pre-Process Stage: Educate Yourself
Before taking the first step toward publishing, start learning everything possible about the industry. Educate yourself.

Learn industry terminology, roles, documents, processes, and proposals.

Learn about self-publishing, as well, in case that ends up being an even better approach for you and your book.

To begin understanding how the publishing world works:

Watch conference videos on YouTube
Attend writing conferences
Read books and articles
Listen to relevant podcasts
Subscribe to website feeds to study trends and announcements
Follow gatekeepers and decision-makers on social media

The more you know about the book publishing process, people, jargon, and expectations, the more confident you’ll be heading into each conversation at each stage of the journey.

As you gain knowledge, you’ll discover opportunities, challenges and frustrations, and hopefully you'll make informed decisions about the best publishers, agents, and marketing approaches for you and your project.
The Long Road to Publishing
Let me warn you, though: publishing is not for the faint of heart.

They say from the moment of signing a book contract to the day of the book’s release is on average two years. That doesn’t include all the steps leading up to the signing of that contract, so it can stretch out even longer.

You need patience, vision, grit, perseverance.

The act of defining a book concept takes time. To sign with an agent and land a contract can take an even longer time.

To then develop the book proposal and eventually write every word of a manuscript will require a tremendous output of time, effort, creativity, and courage.

A writer may want to give up at several points.

So take it in stages, because getting a book published is a marathon, not a sprint.
How to Get a Nonfiction Book Published
Now, what are the main steps to traditional publishing? Here’s a high-level look at how it works.
Step 1: Build a Platform
Learn what a platform is (see “Educate Yourself” above) and why it’s important. Then learn all the ways you can build one. Begin to step into spaces where you can connect with target readers, bringing them content related to the general topic of your book concept.

During this step, readers meet you and connect you to that topic. Along the way, you solidify your author brand and build a platform you can use to encourage, inform, and entertain people.

And one day you'll be able to tell them about the book that’s in the works.

Building a platform takes time—the sooner you begin, the better, because publishers will not consider authors who don't have a platform.

Continue to build it as you move into Step 2, so your platform continues to deepen and expand. Bringing a substantial platform to the conversation with a book publisher makes you a more desirable author for them to sign.
Step 2: Create a Book Proposal
You'll need a book proposal. Publishers use these business documents to decide if they want to partner with the author to publish the proposed book.

A typical proposal includes many elements such as your platform stats, the book’s table of contents, chapter summaries, and three polished sample chapters.

Because the proposal includes platform information, you’ll want to tackle Step 1 as soon as possible and continue with those platform-building efforts throughout the process. Publishers want to see that you connect with readers and can get the word out to them.

You may want to have the sample chapters edited (or at least proofread) to be sure they go out in the best shape possible when an agent or editor ask...