Take It from Me: An Agent’s Guide to Building a Nonfiction Writing Career from Scratch

Noting that practical advice for getting published is plentiful for fiction writers, but sparse for nonfiction writers, debut author and Gernert Company VP Habib offers the latter an essential guide to “the ins and outs of the publishing side.” Rather than a reassuring feel-good like Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird (which the author references knowing it’s on many aspiring writers’ shelves), Habib’s book is a nitty-gritty, roll-up-your-sleeves how-to for academics, journalists, and experts hoping to carve out a path for publishing their work. The author addresses key questions asked by many writers—do I need a platform? an MFA? a book proposal? a query letter? an agent?—and incorporates actual sample content that resulted in representation, contracts, and publication. Habib recommends that aspiring nonfiction authors pitch articles and essays in national newspapers, magazines, and literary journals; the “golden ticket to nonfiction book publishing” is “writing an original piece and having an agent see it and reach out to you.” She also emphasizes developing the book proposal over completing the manuscript, as agents and publishers prefer to help authors shape the work for their audiences. Habib lifts the curtain on how agents decide what books to represent and how editors choose titles to acquire, as well as offering detailed explanations on everything from author advances to what to expect as publication day nears. For aspiring nonfiction authors, it’s a must. (Jan.)