GamePlan for Getting Published

by Maryann Karinch

In GamePlan for Getting Published, literary agent Maryann Karinch tells non-fiction authors how to present a book project to an agent and work with a commercial publisher. Karinch's title is one of the first books offered by GamePlan Press (www.gameplanpress.com), a new publisher specializing in succinct business and career books.Karinch, who founded The Rudy Agency in 2004, describes a query letter and proposal in detail and provides samples of each. She also introduces the reader to the process of working with a publisher.The book is concise, humorous, and includes references to other material that would be useful to a first-time author."I wanted GamePlan Press to offer this book at a price that any author could afford," notes Karinch. "Being an author myself, I realize that writng a book is rarely a get-rich-quick scheme!"GamePlan for Getting Published has generous doses of insider information, some of which come from Karinch's own experience as a commercially published author. The book also gives step-by-step guidance on development of a strong promotion plan, which is now a required element of most proposals for works of non-fiction.

86 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 27, 2010

Reviews

[Darcy Leech · Rating 5 out of 5]

My copy has beat up edges, visible finger smudges, underlinings, stars and hand scrawled notes. My complete proposal was built from the guide in this book - and I landed a contract with it. I thought I knew how to write a book, and it turns out I did. But once I had to write a complete proposal after someone showed interest in my query letter, I knew I had no idea how to do that without looking like I didn't know how to do it. This book helped. Karinch gives bullet point lists on how to improve a query letter and what not to put in a query letter. With this pragmatic advice, I improved my query letter (go figure - the book did it's job). Over 40 pages of the book though are directly about writing a non-fiction complete proposal. I couldn't find how to write a solid non-fiction complete proposal online. I didn't have friends who had done it. There weren't any successful non-fiction authors next door to me I could ask for advice. This book had exactly what I needed. Karinch writes about what should be in a proposal and provides samples with analysis. Her most helpful advice is about the promotion and platform piece of a complete proposal. I don't think I would have landed a contract without Karinch's advice on what it takes for a first time author to have a promotion plan for marketing a book. Her early guidance still forms part of my marketing plan today and helped shape my positive web presence with purpose. I took her book with me to visit the head librarian and showed her the chapter on competitive market analysis and that's how I built my draft for that section. I carried this book around like my Bible while completing and revising my proposal. Karinch writes a pragmatic, solid guide to a task you may not have other good resources to help you complete. If you ever have a question, I suggest contacting Karinch. She is a wise woman filled varied experiences in writing and publishing and helpful - http://karinch.com/