In rec.aviation.piloting Ed Rasimus wrote:
On Thu, 26 Apr 2007 17:25:41 -0500, "Danny Deger"
wrote:

Anyone know how to get an agent of a publisher?

I haven't ever published a book myself, but I have worked for some
(fiction) authors, and from what I understand of the process, Ed Rasimus'
comments are right on. To expand a little on some of the things he said:

You can "self-publish" or "publish on demand"--these are two aspects
of what is referred to as the "vanity press". Folks want to say
they've written a book, so they pay a couple of thousand dollars to
have a few hundred copies printed up and then distribute them to
friends. I don't recomment that, YMMV.

One version of this I've heard is that "as a writer, you should only
ever sign the BACK of a check". In other words, people should be giving
you money, not the other way around. If somebody wants you to give them
money first, be careful.

In fiction, the initial check you get is usually an advance against
royalties. In other words, to make up numbers, if your cut of each book
is $1, and they send you a check for $1000, at least a thousand copies
of the book have to be sold before you get any more money. If the book
sells less than a thousand copies, you owe the difference back to the
publisher. If it sells more, then every so often (maybe quarterly), you
get a check for the additional copies that have sold so far. Non-fiction
may be different.

Thanks to some friends like RAM's own Dan Ford who got a review
published in the Wall Street Journal, the book did quite well.

Depending on the publisher, you will get some amount of support from
them in the form of advertising and promotion. But you can also do your
own promotion. Bookstores usually like to have "local authors" in to
sign books; sometimes they will order some extra copies of your book
for the signing. Sign all the copies they have, even the ones they don't
sell that day - they will put them on the shelf, and signed copies
hardly ever get returned as unsold to the publisher. Talk to your tax
person or attorney, but you may even be able to write off some of your
promotional expense.

It takes a lot of effort to find a publisher or agent who will take
your work. Scout out the internet for names and contact info.

There is (was?) a book called "Writer's Market" that listed the contact
information for many publishers, along with the types of things they
liked to publish. You might also go to the bookstore and see which
publishers are printing similar types of books.

I don't know how true this is in non-fiction, but in fiction, it helps
to have a short story or two published in a magazine or anthology
(collection of short stories). It gives the publisher some assurance
that you know what you're doing. A chapter of your book (with a bit of
editing) might make a good short story in a magazine, BUT the book
publisher may not like the idea of printing something that has already
been partially published. You should probably ask someone with more
current industry information about this.

Matt Roberds