Turning Your Ideas into a Published Book Jacqueline Wehmueller Executive Editor The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore, Maryland

Nine Steps in the Publishing Process Idea Friends, colleagues, family Proposal Agent or publisher Editor Contract Manuscript preparation Copy editing to bound book Marketing and publicity

Know what you want to say and why you want to say it. 1. Idea Know what you want to say and why you want to say it. Write what you know. Write what you are passionate about. Ask yourself “Why am I writing this book?” To entertain. To educate. To inspire. To send my children to college.

2. Friends, colleagues, family Try it out different ways Avoid tiring it out Any blank looks? One writer friend of mine cautions against telling your book idea to everyone you encounter at every dinner party. She is concerned that

3. Proposal Author Information Description of the Project Competing Books Characteristics of the Proposed Manuscript Publishing History

Author Information: Who are you and what are your qualifications to write this book? Name, position, institutional affiliation and address, office phone, department phone, fax number, and e-mail address Attach a copy of your CV Describe your experience and research in the field as they relate to the current project.

Description of the Project: What is it about and who is it for? Title and alternative titles Content: thesis methodology contribution to the field conclusions Intended audience or audiences scholarly professional trade

Competing Books: What else is out there and how good is it? Author, title, publisher, date of publication, price, format How is yours different?

Characteristics of the Proposed Manuscript Length (number of double-spaced, single-sided pages, including notes and bibliography) Tables, art, appendixes Date of completion

Publishing History Is the manuscript being considered for publication elsewhere? Have portions of the proposed manuscript been previously published? (When and where?) Have you signed any publication contracts, consent‑to‑publish forms, or work‑for­-hire agree­ments? If so, please give details.

4. Agent or publisher What are you looking for in an agent or publisher? Pros and cons of agents Do your homework Ask your friends and colleagues about agents and publishers. Who publishes the books in your field, or books similar to your book? --Currency, expertise, friendship, prestige, reputation, trust --15% of royalties but contacts in publishing world and possibly get a higher royalty rate. Do not pay an agent. At least in the beginning, sign for the current project only, not for future projects. Do they sell foreign rights, serial rights, motion picture and television rights? --look at the books you admire. Who published them?

Making Contact A preliminary phone call or email message. (Not.) Write a compelling cover letter Generally no longer than three or four paragraphs long Say who you are and why they should consider your proposal The first sentence is important Address the letter to the agent or the editor by name. If you know someone who has previously worked with that agent or editor, say so. Better yet, ask that person to alert the agent or editor before you make contact.

Pros and Cons of Multiple Submissions For the author For the interested agent or editor For the marginally interested agent or editor For the uninterested agent or editor

5. Editor Your editor will be your representative and advocate During the review process In making the case for publication to the managers and marketing staff Through copy editing, design, and production After publication, in marketing and publicity

6. Contract Advance contract Contract advance Contract for completed manuscript Negotiating the contract Entirely appropriate: “Negotiation is O.K.” What is important to you? Royalties, design, paperback edition, marketing, … Legal advice: intellectual property and publishing law

7. Manuscript Preparation Double space everything. Do not embed art in Word files. Obtain permissions for art. Include a table of contents. Preliminaries: Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Introduction

8. Copy Editing to Bound Book Freelance vs. in-house copy editors and designers Proofreading Author vs. professional indexing Type size and style Cover art

9. Marketing and Publicity Freelance publicists vs. in-house publicists Promotional opportunities The author’s role The internet

How to Write Compellingly Know what you want to say and why you want to say it. Be aware of your tone and style, and employ them consistently. Keep the reader always in mind. So what? Ask and answer the so what? question

A word or two about style Style is: Vocabulary (tone, level) Structure Style that draws attention to itself must be very, very good. The occasional stylistic flourish is fun for the author and for the reader. Sometimes the most effective “style” is invisible.

Keep the reader always in mind When explaining something to an audience that is unfamiliar with the topic, play out the information at a comfortable pace use analogies say it again in different language insert a figure or a table use an example such as a patient vignette.

“The reader is smart.”* Precision is a sign of clear thinking. Don’t use “many” when you mean “often”; for example, “Patients are often told that nothing is wrong with them.” vs. “Many patients are told that nothing is wrong with them.” Don’t use words in writing that you wouldn’t use in speaking. *Elise Hancock, Ideas into Words: Mastering the Craft of Science Writing (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003), p. 12. Sometimes this means using one adjective rather than two or three. Finding the one right word means that you have thought it through. An example of imprecision that can lead to misunderstandings in medical books for patients, for example. There is a difference in meaning between “often” and “many.” , such as, possibly, “plethora” and “myriad.”

“Everything is interesting”* “If a subject bores you, it’s because you don’t know enough or you’ve adopted the wrong vantage point.”* That said, avoid using the word “Interestingly.” Make it interesting, write it interesting, but don’t tell the reader that it is interesting (to you). *Elise Hancock, Ideas into Words: Mastering the Craft of Science Writing (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003), p. 11. These words of wisdom from my friend and author Elise Hancock, who wrote a book for us titled Mastering the Craft of Science Writing.

Turning Your Ideas into a Published Book Jacqueline Wehmueller Executive Editor The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore, Maryland