Author
Released
1/25/2019- Comparing traditional publishing and self-publishing
- Writing and revising your novel
- Finding an agent
- Perfecting your pitch
- Writing a query letter
- Researching agents
- Submitting to agents
- Reading your book contract
- Negotiating advances and royalties
- Understanding the publishing process
Skill Level Intermediate
Duration
Views
(bright music) - When I first started out as an author, the amount of knowledge I had about selling a novel to a major publisher could fit on a single Post-it note, and it would probably look something like this. Step one, write book. Step two, sell book. Yep, that's about it. I was an economics major in college, and when I began writing my first novel, I was working as a financial analyst.
I didn't know anyone in the publishing industry, no agents or editors. I didn't even know anyone who had sold a novel before, but somehow over the course of the next 13 years, I managed to sell more than 15 novels to major publishers like Simon & Schuster, Random House, Macmillan, and Disney Press. And now my books have been translated in over 23 countries, and several have been optioned for film and television. So how did I do all that? Well, basically, I spent the first five years learning the process from scratch, reading books and blogs and websites, querying agents, editors and friends of friends of friends, writing, rewriting, revising and making mistake after mistake after mistake.
But now, having been through the whole process from the absolute ground floor, I know exactly what works and what doesn't work. Since inking my first publishing deal, I've received tons of questions from writers asking me for advice on how to sell their novel to a major publisher. So many questions, in fact, I decided to start publishing the most frequently asked ones on my website, jessicabrody.com, but there's so much information about how to sell a novel to a publisher, I was only able to cover the tip of the iceberg, and the questions were still coming.
I found myself spending more time helping people publish their novels than I was writing my own, and that's where I got the idea to create this course. I've decided to compile all the information I've gathered about the publishing industry and present it in this one extensive A to Z course. Now you can benefit from all of my mistakes and all of my trials and errors. Essentially, I've packed 13 years worth of knowledge and experience into these lectures. In this course, I will put you on the fast track to selling your novel to a major publisher, I will teach you the ins and outs of the publishing industry, why it's important to have an agent, what to do when you disagree with your editor, what to expect from your first book contract and most importantly, how to sell your first manuscript.
Related Courses
-
Writing: The Craft of Story
with Lisa Cron1h 55m Intermediate -
Negotiation Skills
with Chris Croft2h 12m Beginner
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1. Overview of the Publishing Process
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Why I created this course2m 32s
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2. Writing and Revising Your Novel
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Writing your novel4m 37s
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Revising your novel3m 22s
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3. Introduction to Literary Agents
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Why you need an agent8m 10s
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Finding an agent: Overview6m 32s
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4. Creating and Perfecting Your Pitch
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The definition of a pitch5m 23s
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The logline9m 30s
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The elevator pitch8m 33s
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The short synopsis6m 45s
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The full synopsis4m 21s
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5. Writing Your Query Letter
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Part 1: Hook their attention5m 41s
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Part 2: The book summary2m 45s
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Part 4: All about you4m 48s
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Query letter summary2m 22s
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Technical details4m 30s
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6. Researching Agents
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The agent submission list5m 57s
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Agent research tool #17m 17s
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Agent research tool #22m 43s
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Agent research tool #33m 24s
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Agent research tool #43m 4s
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Agent research tool #64m 30s
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Organizing your list2m 10s
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7. Submitting to Agents
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Getting rejections20m 28s
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Selling in vs. selling out5m 23s
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Thank-you letters1m 51s
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Getting interest3m 55s
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Getting signed6m 6s
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Agency contracts8m 42s
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8. Selling Your Novel
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Key publishing terms5m 3s
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Revisions and submissions7m 44s
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Money and advances18m 1s
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9. Navigating Your First Book Contract
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Royalties1m 44s
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Subsidiary rights10m 53s
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Option clauses6m 43s
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10. The Publishing Process
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Your last revision5m 32s
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Copyediting3m 44s
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First pass pages2m 40s
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Cover art4m 20s
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ARCs3m 47s
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Conclusion
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Video: Why I created this course