How to Become a Published Author: Step-by-Step Guide to Getting a Publishing Deal For Your Nonfiction Book (Before You Write It)

By JEFF SCOT PHILIPS

This book is packed with practical advice, specific examples, and tons of free resources to help you become a published author.

You will learn:
 - What makes a marketable book concept, why yours probably isn't (yet), and how to fix it
 - The two-step formula that I & other traditionally published used to adapt a book concept to the market, and how to apply this strategy to your book (w/links to a free video training)
 - I walk you through building a book proposal (with examples), plus a few tricks to REALLY make your pitch stand out
 - How to construct a query letter, line-by-line
 - Specifically where to find the perfect agent for your book (and how to see when agents are reading your email so you'll know when to follow up)
 - Tons of other little tips & secrets to help you land a literary agent and get a publishing deal

I remember how frustrating it was when I was trying to figure out how to get an agent to pay attention to me.  I just wanted someone to give me a chance, but nobody seemed to care. 

There were lots of blogs and other books offering advice—mostly what not to do—but nobody could explain why my book wasn't getting picked up.  And they definitely weren't explaining what I could to do to fix it. It was as if everyone who'd crossed to the other side and become a published author, then burned the bridge behind them and said "good luck to the rest of you." 

It was a rough, lonely, and expensive road to getting my book published.  
And I don't want you to have to go through the same thing.

That's why this book is free.

I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that the process of getting traditionally published was about the most amazing experience I've ever had.

Upon getting published, my book was in every major bookstore in the U.S., as well as Canada, the U.K., and Australia. I was booked on national television and appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers—everything from Good Morning America, The Doctors, and Business Insider, to The New York Post, Fox News, and Vice. And I was giving countless interviews for conventional radio shows, Siruis XM, and podcasts.

And I wrote this book to help you achieve the same. 

My goal with this book is to provide as much value as I can, show you all the steps, answer any questions, provide tons of free resources, and hopefully overdeliver in every way possible, so that your book will attract an agent, and help you become a traditionally published author.

See you on the inside!

— Jeff Scot Philips

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeff Scot Philips
• Release date: Oct 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393018513

Book preview

Jeff Scot Philips

How to Become a Published Author

Step-by-Step Guide to Getting a Publishing Deal For Your Nonfiction Book (Before You Write it)

Copyright © 2019 by Jeff Scot Philips

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

First edition

This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy

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Contents

Free Training

Big Fat Disclaimer

I. INTRODUCTION

How I Got My Publishing Deal

Why This Book is Free

II. WHY YOUR BOOK IDEA ISN’T MARKETABLE

What Makes a Compelling Book Pitch?

Problem #1 (and how to fix it)

Problem #2 (and how to fix it)

Borrowing Ideas From Other Successful Books

The Wolf of Wall Street

Orange is the New Black

Kitchen Confidential

Blackout

Mixing Genres & Hooks

III. BUILDING YOUR BOOK PROPOSAL

The Process of Getting Traditionally Published

Overview

Overview Formulas

The Quickest & Easiest Way to Write Your Overview

Sample Chapters

Formula for writing your Sample Chapters

My #1 Tip For Writing Great Sample Chapters:

The Quickest Way to Write Your Sample Chapter[s]

Chapter Outline

Formula For Writing Your Chapter Description

Competitive & Comparable Books

Formula for writing a Comp Books section

Author Bio

IV. HOW TO MAKE YOUR PROPOSAL STAND OUT

Marketing Plan

What to Include in Your Marketing Plan

What Not to Include

What Does a Marketing Plan Look Like (Specifically)

V. THE QUERY LETTER

How to Construct a Query Letter

1st Paragraph (Opener)

1st Paragraph (Closer)

2nd paragraph

3rd paragraph

How to End Your Query

VI. THE EXCITING PART

Choosing an Agent to Contact

Where to Find Your Agent

Bonus Tip #1: How to Find Unlisted Emails, Ninja-Style

Bonus tip #2: Email-Tracking Software

Systematic Pitching Process

VII. TIPS & TRICKS

Tips For Writing Fast

The Key to Good Writing

Your Secret Weapon

Free Training

Also by Jeff Scot Philips

Free Training

(I even talk about book advances — exactly how much I got for mine,

and what you can expect to get paid for yours)

You can watch the video series here

Big Fat Disclaimer

While I do make every effort to show you exactly what you need to do, and how to do it, in order to get your book published, I can’t guarantee you’ll get a book deal. Any author that claims otherwise is simply lying to you. Your success is dependent not only on your use of the strategies, resources, and training material, but also on your effort, adaptability, and persistence.

I

Introduction

How I Got My Publishing Deal

I was so nervous I felt sick to my stomach. But I was ready.

I’d written a formal book proposal, and crafted a professional email to pitch my book. I then compiled a list of literary agents (the people who help authors get publishing deals) and chose the one who’d be most interested in my book based on the previous authors they’ve represented. I went back and skimmed over my email a few more times to make sure it read smooth, and there were no blatant typos—check, check. I even read it one last, last time to make sure the agent’s name was spelled correctly—check. Then I closed my eyes and counted down in my head—three, two, one—and clicked the send button.

I did it! I’d sent my book idea out into the world.

I could practically feel the agent reading my email on the other side of the computer and getting excited about it. After all, my pitch was detailed, researched, spellchecked, my sentences read well, and it was an interesting topic filled with eye-opening information. I’d done my homework.

A few hours later, my inbox dinged with an email. I could see the first sentence without even opening it, Thanks for your submission, however at this time...

Fine, I said to myself, if this agent isn’t interested in getting rich off my book, that’s their loss. I picked the next name on my list, typed a fresh query just for them, with references to their special interests and past clients, and then I counted down—three, two, one—and pressed send.

An hour or so later my inbox dinged with another, however at this time…

I proceeded to systematically pitch all the agents on my spreadsheet, one-by-one, only to get a big fat Thanks, but… from some of them. Most of them didn’t respond at all. And to make it even more frustrating, I was using a software that showed me who was reading my emails (that I’ll show you later in Part VI) so I knew they were reading my email, and then not even taking the time to reply back and tell me no.

That stung.

But then I thought, Well they are reading my email, so that’s something. I’m just apparently not using the right words to entice them. I’d been pitching my story as a how-to-fix-the-food-industry book. But according to the feedback I was getting, I needed a different pitch.

I’d created my food company from the ground up, from my tiny condo kitchen to a giant manufacturing facility shipping food all across the country, and so I thought I’d try pitching my book as a story of entrepreneurship. It would be the same story, my story, but told from a different angle, with different scenes and details. I restructured my proposal, adjusted my query, researched a new list of agents—agents specifically looking for entrepreneurial stories—and I sent out the next round of pitches.

And again, I received a fresh batch of rejections.

This is where a lot of