How do I pitch a niche non-fiction book without industry experience?

[bowsbold]

I have an idea for a non fiction book, well more than an idea really it is a book about something I have been researching and thinking about for a while now. I have looked and there doesn't appear to be another book ever about this exact topic which is something niche but also has the potential to appeal to a wide audience professionals, academics and the public at large if they have an interest (and many do). I would think this is something that would usually be written by an academic or specialist journalist and would probably work best as a coffee table type book with text and images. I also have ideas for additional books after this one if the first were to do well enough.

However I am not an academic or a journalist. I did work in a relevant field and my degree and post grad is in a relevant subject and I have some professional experience in the area I want to write about but it is from 20 years ago before I stopped working to raise my kids and look after family. This is ok because the topic of the book is historical.

I am at the stage where I probably need to start getting access to archives and interviewing people and maybe get some help towards travel costs and I wondered if having an interested publisher might help with said access and funding?

Any ideas on how to go about this? Should I seek an agent?

Hmm. How much experience do you have of writing for this sort of readership? Most publishers will also expect you to have some form of platform to promote a book from.

@JoanOgden I don't really have any I could start a blog or substack? Do you have experience of writing or publishing yourself? What would you advise?

Another possibility is to try and find a research degree opportunity that fitted to develop this work? This isn't my first choice to be honest as I deliberately chose not to do a PhD many years ago even though I was encouraged to do so by my post grad thesis adviser. I'd honestly rather just do the book.

You’ll generally need a book proposal - chapter breakdown, intended audience, sample chapters, marketing analysis. Google ‘non fiction book proposal’ and see what various agents or publishers expect.

I would target the publishers for that particular niche

But how niche is it? Is it going to be worth someone actually putting in the effort of publishing it?

@Huckleberries It's a unique angle on something a lot of people are interested in and love. It's something that would be of interest to academics, students, professionals and general enthusiasts of which there are many. This general area sells a lot of books like this but my angle hasn't been done before.

@bowsbold apologies I missed the sentence where you said you wondered if a publisher might help with funding

Publishers are looking for the lowest possible outlay so I can’t see that anyone would help fund your research.

When the time comes and you’ve actually written the book, you will need to think about what kind of publisher would go for it.

You’ve basically got a long way to go, but I can’t see how you would get funding unless you crowd fund. There are dedicated platforms for this.

Can you start a substack where you start writing pieces.
(1) If you get an audience, publishers are much much more interested in you (as you've proven that there are people who want to read what you write)
(2) Writing the substack articles probably makes writing the book a lot quicker
(3) Depending on your idea, you may find that substack is actually more lucrative than a book

Yes, I'd recommend a Substack as well. I'd also question a couple of things- you describe it as a coffee table book but also as "of interest to academics, students, professionals and general enthusiasts". I understand the urge is to say it's of interest to everyone but you're more likely to write a good book and be taken seriously as a writer if you can identify a specific target market. Academic and trade books are really different- have different conventions, publishers, pricing etc etc.

I'd also try to think about the niche in relation to other books that are out there already. Sounds odd but publishers are much more likely to be interested in something where they know there is an established market, so " a new spin on X" is a better proposition than "a completely new subject, X".

@Huckleberries Thanks I've also considered perhaps seeing is there is any grants available for independent researchers but I'm not sure if I'd be eligible for anything. Some of it I could fund myself but some for example there are some archives in the UK I'd like to visit I'd need some help with.

I think this is something I do need to work out, visuals are a key part of what I am researching and it would make a stunning monograph with lots of visuals. I have books myself that definitely straddle the academic / professional and the interested lay person. I suppose when I say broad appeal it might not mean what you are imagining. I think I would pitch it as an academic study but the topic and visuals and the unique angle would also appeal to a wider audience and there are certainly actual professionals, not just academics who would be interested I'm sure.

The idea could be vastly expanded into a study over decades but I'm currently focusing on a key period of time.

I really appreciate the advice, thank you!

I do have experience, though not recently. Yes, I think that starting a substack would be a very good idea.

When thinking about market, remember you're thinking about who would actually spend their money on the book, rather than just those who would find it interesting; and how it would compare with similar books in terms of appeal.

Publishing books with lots of illustrations is very expensive these days, both the actual printing of them and also the picture fees, so take that into account too (unless you're a professional photographer and can take the photos yourself).

Some great advice already. I’d add buy a copy of the writers and artists yearbook as that is good on pitching, dif routes to publishing etc

colour images cost a lot to print in a book so that is less popular with publishers than you might think

def build the Substack and find your readers that way - it shows a publisher there is interest in your writing

also how about writing articles for relevant magazines? That can be a clue to what interest there is in your topic

What is it? Even a clue might help?

I've written many non fictions for traditional publishers. My advice would be...

Noone (publisher-wise) will help you fund the research. It is just expected that you will bring this to the table.

You also need to write at least a few chapters first, before you approach any agents or publishers. You need to have an excellent chapter synopsis and a clear rationale as to why this would sell (and why you are the right person to write it). Remember these days people can get a lot of info for free online.

You need to be tighter with your target market - plenty of people will no doubt find your concept interesting, but few will part with their hard earned cash to purchase your book. Those people are your market.

Decide if you want to go for crossover or academic publishers as the requirements and expectations are very different. For the former, ideally you will have a large(ish) social media following too. For the latter you won't need an agent (good news!) but the reality is that you may well end up with a high RRP (maybe 70gbp) so few people might end up buying it.

As others have said, routes like Substack are also options.

@Writermama103 So it was less that I think a publisher would fund my research more that I would be looking to see if any grants might be available to me and also thinking that I might be taken more seriously for access to certain interviews and archives if there was some interest from a publisher.

Thank you for your advice, all very sound and I will need to have more of a think and get some more clarity on exactly what level I want to pitch it too.

@JoanOgden Very good points! I really need a bit more insight into how publishing works so perhaps it is better to get started with a substack and see how that goes. I think there are a lot of non professionals who are quite fanatical about my area interest but I suppose there are many factors to consider.

@Newgirls I will get the book you advise and then also look into any possible opportunities to publish articles I can think of a few journals that might have some interest and I suppose an established substack might also help with that!