I’m still in the very early stages of writing Muskoka’s Main Street: The Muskoka Colonization Road, so you haven’t missed much. Because the publisher approached me, I did not have to produce a full Book Proposal, which is the typical first step when you are shopping for a publisher. I did produce an outline, which consists of:
- a one-page overview of the book
- a description of my vision for the tone and style and a proposed Table of Contents TABLEOFCONTENTS
- a chapter-by-chapter summary of the book, describing the beginning, middle and end of each chapter and suggestions for illustrations.
Remember, I’ve already written and published a 3,000 word article on this topic, which has provided the backbone that I will now expand.
I’ve met with the publisher and discussed:
- how long I expect the book to be (about 40,000 words, which is not a big book – under 300 pages in final form)
- when he expects to publish it (spring 2012)
- how he works with his authors (a book contract, royalty payments based on sales of the book, and a schedule that we agree on to accommodate the editing and production phases.)
I’ve drafted a 300 word synopsis that will be our overall guide and descriptor of the story I intend to tell. ABOUTTHISBOOK
Does it surprise you to know how much a writer has to think through a project before actually getting started? This is standard operating procedure for non-fiction (and fiction too, with some differences.) The publisher has to know what he’s buying; I have to be clear on what I intend to deliver; we both have to know this subject is big enough to be a book. The synopsis helps us both to market the book well before it’s published and also helps me to stay on track to write the book I said I would write. Of course, my research might uncover some terrific new material that I will want to incorporate, but for now, all of this serves to provide the broad perameters for the book.
“Book math” is important too – estimating how many words I expect to write will help me to figure out how long it will take me to write it. Which will provide me with a good idea of how the next year of my life is going to unfold! I’ll talk more about book math in a later post.
Oh – and there’s also the blog itself, which is a key part of the process. I’ve spent the better part of the past few weeks getting myself up to speed on the whole blogging thing. I’m going to have lots more to say about that!
Sounds very interesting,challenging and indepth. Looking forward to more.
Do you think it is typical for non-fiction writers to “sell” an outline or idea before writing? It seems to me that most first time, unpublished fiction writers write something – a novel or short stories, for example – and then try to sell the completed work. Would you say that non-fiction publishers are more willing to work with an idea/outline, than a finished manuscript? Or did it just work out that way for you, because you had the magazine article as a starter?
It certainly worked well for me that I had the magazine article as a starter. I worked from there to expand into the outline for the book. But I think that non-fiction writers do tend to start with an outline, then send that out to sell before actually completing the work, unlike fiction writers. The outline is considered a guideline by publishers, an indication that you’ve throught the idea through and that it’s big enough to be a book. It’s OK if your research reveals some additional information, as long as the “heart” of the book remains the same and you don’t take it in an entirely different direction.
I have thoroughly enjoyed your first two blogs. I find the whole process of writing a book utterly fascinating. I am intrigued by the title of chapter 5 – that could be the title of a chapter written about today’s road building. Certainly things were different back then, but some things never change.
Ah, yes, “We Were Promised a Road Last Year”! Kind of like, “we were promised road repair last year”! Nice to hear from you, Shirley! Glad to have you along for the adventure.