Damn! Why Didn't I Write That? : How Ordinary People Are Raking in $100,000. 00... or More Writing Nonfiction Books and How You Can Too!

by Unknown

• ISBN13: 9781884956553
• ISBN10: 1884956556
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2006-07-01
• Publisher: Quill Driver Books

Summary

More nonfiction books are breaking the 100,000-copy sale barrier than ever before. Amateur writers, housewives, and even high school dropouts have cashed in with astonishingly simple best-sellers. This guide, by best-selling author Marc McCutcheon, shows the reader how to get in on the action by identifying lucrative publishing niches and filling them, not once, not twice, but year after year.

Table of Contents

The Don't Skip This Introduction Introduction	1	(10)
Some thoughts on the best home business anywhere
How much can a modestly successful author make?
Fiction vs. Nonfiction
Do you have to be a high school dropout to do this?
Could You Have Written Any of These?	11	(18)
A select representation of the hundreds of titles that earn thousands and even millions of dollars for their authors every year
Nonfiction Success Stories	29	(13)
Make a sizable income writing nonfiction books
A score or more best-selling titles you could have written
What Kind of Nonfiction Book Should You Write?	42	(20)
Nonfiction's top-selling topics
A rundown of the basic nonfiction categories
A critical ingredient for author success
How to Know if Your Book Idea Will Fly	62	(16)
Avoid listening to family and friends
Testing your idea
The Great Book Idea checklist
Why You Don't Need a College Degree	78	(16)
Establishing credibility
Where to find expert information
Contacting experts
Collaborating
``With a foreword by . . .''
Do You Need an Agent?	94	(19)
Fees
Duties and responsibilities
Representing yourself
Sample agent/author contract
Choosing an agent
Toughen Yourself to Rejection	113	(4)
Don't feel like the Lone Ranger
The Query Letter	117	(18)
Be professional
Sample letters
What to include
What to omit
Anticipate rejections
The Proposal	135	(19)
The parts
Sample of a successful proposal
Proper format
Negotiating Your Book Contract	154	(24)
Figuring advances & royalties
Negotiating the advance
Handling subrights
Sample contract
Promotion	178	(16)
Working with your publisher's publicist
Obtaining prepublication blurbs
Promotion to-do checklist
Resources
Lean and Mean: The Secrets to Full-Time Writing Success	194	(16)
It's a business
1,000 words a day
Focus
A writer's checklist for success
A Grab Bag of Tips	210	(29)
Beating the block
Entitling titles
Writing tips
Finding more time to write
The Author's Bundle of Rights	231	(2)
Standard Format for Book Proposals and Manuscripts	233	(1)
Resources
Helpful Books	234	(1)
Helpful Magazines	235	(1)
Helpful Websites	236	(2)
Organizations	238	(1)
Glossary	239	(5)
Index	244	(12)
About the Author	256