thoughts on writing first book?

I think expecting a five-figure advance - or any advance - can be a bit disingenuous. If you have a great topic, are well known, etc., then, yeah. But there are plenty of smaller publishers out there who will buy books and sell them (think University presses, MacFarland, etc.). You're not going to make a lot of money off these, but your book will be out there. Guess it will depend on what you're looking for out of your book.

 

I actually e-mailed with MacFarland and sent them my chapters ... and never heard back. What do you think that means?

 

Oops is right. Maybe you should have shipped them to Leon Durham's house.
Lefty Logan was out of Damon Runyon. Once he opened up his briefcase at a game, pulled out a bag, and said, "Want a donut?" I passed. Phenomenally fast writer, though, and faster still with the puns.

 

MacFarland is one of several publishers I'd be really cautious with. Yes, they will publish your book. Virtually everything else is up to you in terms of promotion, etc., etc. Not to be too negative, because I know plenty who have published with MacFarland, but they are the next step up from a vanity press, providing very little in terms of editorial advice and all the things a larger more legitimate trade publisher does. If you can sell 1,000 books under the MacFarland banner, you are doing really well, and probably working OT to make that happen.

I always worry that there are actually good books occasionally hidden within their titles, and some good writers, who have wasted their ideas in a publishing black hole. Also, having a title published by a publisher like MacFarland means very little to either a larger trade publisher or an agent who works with larger trade publishers, and could even hurt you - go through their back catalog and see how many of their authors have ever made it into the mainstream. Major and high minor league publishers know the kinds of things MacFarland does and the approach they take, and most can check sales. Seeing that your MacFarland title sold only 1,273 copies in a year and a half is not a positive.

But it is also understandable - we all have to start somewhere, and if nothing else, writing a book, any book, even one for MacFarland, gives you the opportunity to work in longer forms. My agent, for example, turns down most proposals from most journalists, including many names we would all recognize, because the ability to write 500-1500 word stories has virtually nothing to do with the ability to write 75,000 words or more. That's going from a sprint to a marathon.

 

That's okay, though, like I said. My first book was sort of a labor of love baseball history niche book with a smaller publisher. And I was over thirty. The challenge is framing the niche book in a fashion that has wider appeal. The right approach can interest people in the niche. Ask Seabiscuit.

 

I don't think you'll have any trouble selling it to a publisher. There's a ton of stuff that gets published every day that is far less interesting.

Having done this before with two books, here's my advice. Forget about how much of an advance you can negotiate. What's far more important is having a publisher who will sincerely and honestly do its best to help publicize you and the book. There are a ton of things that help sell books, but you can't be expected to do these yourself. Missing these opportunities because a publisher is unable or unwilling to market the product is frustrating and, in the end, costly because there usually is a small window for new books.

I'm grateful I have two books with my name on them, but I regret working with a publisher who failed to make the most of good opportunities.

Good luck.

 

I bet if you took a poll of a thousand authors, from the famous to the obscure, 99% would say this. The other 1% might have had a surprise bestseller.

I agree with the posters who say if you're just starting out, if your book appeals to a 'niche' audience, don't do it for the money. One minute you're thinking $5,000 sounds like a nice nugget to put in the kids' college fund, then you realize the economics:

--You'll get half (or less) when you sign a contract, the other half (or less) when the manuscript is accepted by the publisher (which could be a year or more after the first payment), and maybe a payment when the book is published.

--Out of that money, you pay taxes, deduct commissions to an agent if you have one, and pay all of your own expenses. Photos, illustrations, phone bills, transcribers, travel.

--Royalties are a rare blessing. Don't count on them, ever.

And I know, you stand in the bookstore and think, "you must be kidding, I can't believe that schmuck wrote a book." But publishing is a business, and the goal is to make a profit. Show a publisher why your book is going to make some money, and there's a pretty good chance you're going to get it published.

 

When a publisher signs up a new author, they're signing an author, not a book.

What the publisher is looking for is a longterm relationship and with any luck, turning the author into a franchise.

As a business, publishers have to publish books that will end up on their backlist (the books that sell and sell and that after all the hype has disappeared, the ones that stores still stock). The backlist is their annuity which helps to pay the rent because predicting bestsellers is like buying a lottery ticket--with worse odds.

Publishers know that it's rare a first book will make a proft and they're sure as hell not going to invest money in an author that they consider a one trick pony.
.

 

Mr R,

I'm a pony still struggling to come up with one trick.

I think there's an element of truth to what you say Mr R.

You got to find an agent who will sell you to a publisher. Once that happens you better develop a relationship with an editor who will, on top of keeping you sane and your copy coherent, make your case in meetings for promotion, marketing and the like.

It's a goofy business--it seems like you work alone but you're only as good as the people around you. A few books in and I don't remotely have it figured out.

YHS, etc

 

My editor insisted my jacket photo be taken while I was sitting on a pony.

I think it works.

 

Mr macg

My pic is that one, 'cept I'm in a diaper and you can see my mother's hand behind me, keeping me up on barabaro's great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.

YHS, etc

 

I'd love to be a guy like Andrew Podnieks, who is some kind of hockey writing machine. I think he's had 30 some-odd hockey books published and it seems like he's always got one or two more in the pipeline. I assume he makes a half-decent living at it.