The word on the street is that in these times of Covid-19, #literary agents have more time to consider new projects, so it’s a great time to submit your #nonfiction #book #proposal. The other word is that #publishers are being ultra-cautious about what books they commission, and the amount they will pay authors as an advance.
It’s a great time to take a good, hard look at your publishing options, and choose the one that fits you best. But it’s a mistake to think you have just two options: traditional publishing or self-publishing.
I’m guilty of this mistake myself. Asking my author clients, “Do you want a traditional publishing deal, or are you planning to self-publish?”
Making the choice seem binary, when it’s anything but.
Jane Friedman is publisher and editor of The Hot Sheet, a publishing industry newsletter for authors, and former publisher of Writer's Digest. She has an uncanny knack for cutting through the noise around the business of #writing, and making the big issues easy to understand.
For each of the past six years, Jane has released a nifty infographic laying out the key paths to getting your book published. Her desire is for people to use it and share it, so here is the 2019-2020 version:
On her website Jane expands on the considerations for each path. It’s totally worth checking out.
If you’re working on your nonfiction book or book proposal at home right now, I want to tell you about a new online course I’m launching this month, “Build Your Author Platform.” This course contains everything I’ve learned about what it takes for authors to successfully connect with readers. At the end, participants will have a clear and achievable plan for reaching the widest possible audience.
Stay tuned for more details!