Tuesday’s writing tip for authors

New authors experiencing difficulty obtaining a publishing contract getting their first book contract should do what I did: look around for opportunities outside of conventional trade publishing. Just as nobody wants to be a surgeon’s first patient, or be a passenger on a pilot’s first cross-country flight, few publishers want to invest in a virgin author.

That was the problem I had when I was starting out. Nobody wanted a book about small business marketing or graphic design, as the markets for these books were not yet developed.

I knew that once I wrote my first book, it would be easier to land contracts for follow-up titles. So, I decided to search for alternative ways to get published.

Positioning for success

My solution was to approach businesses that needed a book about using graphic design as a small business marketing tool and show them how they could benefit from publishing the book I wanted to write.

I approached the Aldus Corporation, publisher of the first popular desktop publishing program. I showed them how they could benefit from the book I had in mind:

• Registration premium. I showed them that they could use the Aldus Guide to Basic Design as a premium, or incentive, for PageMaker buyers to register their software (making them more likely to purchase upgrades as they became available).
• Tracking. I described how they could use the book to track the firm’s advertising and public relations activities.
• Training tool. I encouraged them to use the Aldus Guide to Basic Design as a training and seminar leave-behind for presentations to corporate markets. (Brochures get thrown away, but nobody ever throws away a helpful book!)

Throughout the proposal process, I continued to position The Aldus Guide to Basic Design not as a “book,” but as a pragmatic marketing tool.

The strategy worked. Within 1 week of the Guide’s release, I had a contract for what became my first NY Times best-seller: Looking Good in Print: A Guide to Basic Design for Desktop Publishing.

Equally important, even after writing several best-selling books, i.e., Looking Good in Print, the original Microsoft Office for Dummies books, etc., I continued to write premium books for firms that needed to educate their markets and create purchase incentives.

Takeaway: Explore alternative ways to publish your first book

If you have a burning desire to write, don’t be discouraged by the roadblocks you encounter getting published in initial trade-publishing channels.

Instead, do what I did: locate a firm, organization, or association that can profit from the book you want to write, and offer to write the book on a work-for-hire basis. This can generate immediate cash flow and help you establish your writing credentials.

Basically, you’re being paid to write your business card, or resume!