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Old Dec 04, 2019, 02:53 AM
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bpcyclist bpcyclist is offline
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Member Since: Sep 2019
Location: Portland
Posts: 12,681
That is so exciting, Crafter!

I have a couple of nonfiction books published. The process works basically two ways. One, you are already well-known or famous in your area of expertise and the publisher comes to you because of that. That's the easy way and it is how I got my stuff published. Easy.

The other way is the same for everyone else. Ideally, you finish your book and then go about the process of getting an agent. For nonfiction, some agents don't require the book to be finished, but you should be well into it. Fiction agents generally require that the work be done before contacting them.

It is extremely competitive to get an agent. I believe JK Rowling was turned down over 30 times before someone finally thought Harry Potter was worth anything. Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park) famously carried rejection letters around with him, still bothered by it even after he was a famous kazillionaire.

Those are both fiction authors, of course, but the principle is the same. It is challenging.
Here, The Ultimate Guide to Getting a Literary Agent [2019]
– So You Want to Write?
, is a free decent guide to how this process works. There are other guides available on amazon.

The best advice I ever got about writing a book long ago from a successful author was: "If you want to be a writer, then write. Writers write."

And that was exactly correct. So, if you want to write a book about your experience, do it. Sit down and write. Because in the end, if you don't have a book to shop, an agent isn't really going to do you any good.
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When I was a kid, my parents moved a lot, but I always found them--Rodney Dangerfield
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Thanks for this!
happysobercrafter