I'm bored...I think I want to write a book. How hard is it to get published? What have you guys written and where has it been published?
Just drop a hammer on your big toe. It will hurt less, take less time, and you'll make the same amount of money. If you're insistent on this, don't write a tech book. There's no bigger bunch of scumbags on this planet than tech publishers... Click
Tillman, Do you feel that it is better to create a manuscript first then submit it to publishers, or talk to them first before you start to see if they might be interested?
I've only done tech books, so I cannot comment on the "normal" books -- I suspect they're very different. In the case of the tech books, the publisher already knows what book they want, they just try to match up the authors to it. All that's really involved pre-contract is an outline. Then you churn out the copy and screenshots, kick it over to a tech editor (who may or may not be competent), and it's all sent to layout. VERY short timeframe on tech books, maybe 6 months to write ~500 pages (in my experience). That's why most tech books will be co-written by 2 or more people. I got in because someone who was already an author asked me to co-author and vouched for me. It only took 2 books to decide that the time wasn't worth the cash, so I quit doing them. When I decided to stop, I had 3 offers in front of me for new books. (Oh, and BTW -- you see those last two books there, the ones published in 2001 and 2003? I never saw a cent from those. Coriolis was going bankrupt and basically gave the rights to another shell company, and screwed us three original authors) Hopefully Steven King is lurking on here and can give us some tips
