Write/publish a non-fiction book

[brandnewuserna]

I'm in the process of writing a non-fiction book and wanted to hear from others on how they managed this with their research and also the process of finding an agent, publisher etc. I don't have teaching responsibilities so that certainly helps, but the subject matter is quite different from my area of expertise.

If you've managed to write and publish a non-fiction book alongside your research, how did you manage this, how long did it take and how to go about finding an agent.

Interesting question Op@brandnewuserna 🤔

I'd be talking to a literary agent. Most trade publishers won't take proposals coming in randomly, whereas they will listen to agents.

look up Jenny Rohn (on twitter etc) who is a successful scientist and has published several books.

also Dorothy Bishop is a v successful scientist with a set of good self-published novels (not sure if she has an agent etc).

@brandnewuserna I was researching this today and came across your post. Some of the advice I saw online was about building your own brand on a platform, and using your platform engagement metrics as you approach agents or publishers. It also felt like the platform was key for selling the book after publishing. So writing a blog, regularly posting on LinkedIn or Twitter on your topic of choice and getting followers. Have you heard anything about this before?

It feels perhaps like a chicken-egg scenario where a book can help build and establish "your brand". Also, brand building feels more difficult for introverts who might not want to "put themselves out there", but might have a nice book idea 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ the need for putting yourself out there with "a brand" always makes me cringe: it feels super off putting.

Do you have a brand or online presence that you can leverage? Or could you start building one?

There's a particular set of questions non-fic editors ask when considering commissioning a book. I can't remember what it is, exactly, but something like 'why you, why this, why now?'. In other words, why are you the right person to right this book? Could be something to do with your existing 'brand' or expertise or life story, etc. 'Why now?' is why is this a relevant topic/ story that people will be interested in in the current moment?