Richard Laermer

Q: How do I get a book published about my field of expertise?

Howard S.
Brooklyn, New York

A: While there is probably an entire book worthy of this question, a primer is offered here: It is smart to have a desire that shouts ‘I want to write a book’ when you’re a businessperson who has a message to get across. But there’s one caveat to be aware of: 1. People don’t read, so please don’t expect that what you put in paper, no matter how great, will be received by the masses. A powerful chairman of an entertainment company told me, after the last book I did, ‘I wasn’t expecting to read it, but to skim. I am embarrassed to say I read it cover to cover.”

Having said that, it’s good to have product to share with your prospective customers and, in general, colleagues who may want to work with you one day. People won’t necessarily read it, but they’ll be impressed that you did it!

With that preamble over, what’s the mystery behind becoming an author with a business book? I’ve been reading this sector isn’t selling a lot lately–but don’t believe what you read. If you have an idea that’s so different that it hasn’t been “done” before, you can write a book that, most importantly, will catch the eye of a small to midsized publisher. First try out the idea–the basic message–in a trade magazine by selling it as an op-ed piece for your industry or in a local business weekly. Ensure that influencers who toil in the same or similar fields see this article. Simply send them a hard copy in the mail with a nice note.

Also, show it to publishers with a brief proposal letter–not a gigantic treatise on what it is you are attempting to do. (It’s easy to find publishers. Go to the New York Public Library reference desk and ask them for one of a dozen publishing handbooks and go through it.) This correspondence should state who you are and what you do that makes you particularly interesting. It has to say why you are the only person who can do this, so cram it full of relevant, intriguing facts/factoids. This letter is crucial, so it has to include specific info that would make a book type want to know more (as you can imagine, a ton of these pour in all the time). Keep in mind that you must be as brief as possible, because no one has the attention span to take in that much these days. After they say they’re interested, they’ll probably want you to flesh it out with an outline of what will be in each chapter.

Please also remember that, more than anything, book proposals are pure sales documents. So when writing to publishers, do be exact about why your book will sell. Oh, and never forget: The people you are writing to want to know that you will get up on a high horse, climb any mountain, in support of your work of art! You will buy books (crucial) to give to clients, prospects, employees, Mom and Dad and Uncle Hugo, and a ton of others. You will tour to bookstores and civic groups, et al., and come up with creative ideas–please list a few–to get the book into columns and on local TV, etc. You will be as accessible as possible to the publisher, and not, forgive the expression, a prima donna to the editors, marketing people, and others at the firm. Uh-huh. Believe it or not, that’s pretty important to subtly note when writing to publishing folks. Authors can be real pains, wasteful of time. If you appear to be a cool customer, they’ll be more inclined to want to chance it. Oh, I did say be passionate, right? That gets your foot in the door.

The dull query “What about agents?” always rears its head about this time. My advice: Try to avoid agents because first-timers need a good negotiating lawyer more than an agent if they are publishing a topic tome. In the modern world of book publishing, with editors scarce and most of them looking for people who are highly promotable more than “great writers,” the agent thing is pretty much passé. Final note on topic: I find most agents to be more protective of relationships with editors than with their own clients, so they won’t really do a top-notch job of getting you what you want if they think the former may get ticked off and resent them!

As the shampoo commercials say, rinse and repeat. And finally, what happens, if you do it enough, is an editor gets interested–we hope, two or three. Then what? You have to get a few things straight: One, when will they publish? If it’s timely, push for sooner rather than later–don’t worry about short deadlines–you need this book out! Two, will they work with you to create the look and feel? Work with an editor who wants to help you craft, not one of these lazy types who says, “Just write the book and we’ll see.” Three, what marketing will the publisher do to support your effort? Push for a mini-plan and hope they will see the need. Most publishers I’ve met in the past are more printers than marketers. It’s the reason so many books fail in the marketplace. They say to themselves, “Well gee, hmm, if the book has an audience they’ll find it.” And then they go on to the next risk.

Paper or hardback is always the next question. They’ll want to do paper–and that’s a good idea because this is cheaper for the public. Hardcovers are insanely expensive and unless you are a celebrity, or already have several books to your credit, no one will pay that kind of bread en masse. There is also a little-known something you should know: Amazon doesn’t sell a lot of trade paperbacks, but does a terrific job with hard. (It’s one of those bizarre facts about online sales.)

The last question to ask is the hardest part: How much will they pay? You won’t get a huge advance but you can negotiate a nice chunk of change per book in the form of a royalty. My advice: Ask for 15%–the most you can get for a book selling up to 20,000 copies–and if the book takes off, there’s your new vacation house.

By the way, don’t be discouraged if you get rejection notes from publishers. Keep on sending. Patrick Dennis, author of the novel Auntie Mame, an embellished life story that was begging to be written, received nearly 110 form-letter rejections before he found a publisher willing to risk it. He lived off the proceeds–and his aunt’s delicious fame–for the rest of his fancy life.

You’ll notice I didn’t talk much about writing the book. That’s because I am imagining this is your passion. If you are really as “into” what you do as you seem to be, then start the darn thing as soon as you finish reading our column. Even before you have a deal. Get the words into print. Tell your side of the story. Extrapolate from your life as an entrepreneur. People who write for a living always say: The best way to become a writer is to sit down and write. Yeah, obviously book-writing isn’t your first priority in your “day to day,” but it could be the second!