BOOK PUBLISHING 101
Publishing Your Book: A Course for Writers
INSTRUCTOR: GLENN McMAHAN
Many fiction and nonfiction writers work long hours to finish a manuscript, but then they don’t understand how to bring the book into the world. In this course, you will learn about the challenges and opportunities related to publishing a book.
By having a better understanding of what happens after a manuscript is finished, writers can plan ahead and have a better chance of being published, and they can better navigate the confusing publishing pathways. Each session will last between sixty and ninety minutes.
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Glenn McMahan has edited and/or published more than eighty books, including for MIT Press, Harvard University Press, Princeton University Press, and his own company, Endeavor Literary Press. In 2015, he graduated from the University of Denver Publishing Institute. He has an undergraduate degree in creative writing from Metropolitan State University of Denver and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland. He worked as a news reporter in Washington, DC and Maryland before shifting into book editing and publishing. He is an active member of PubWest, a national association for independent publishers. Glenn is also a member of the Cottonwood board of directors.
Course Design
Session 1
Overview of the today’s book publishing industry
Three ways to publish a book: self, hybrid, traditional
Types of traditional publishers: independent, niche, trade, scholarly/academic, etc.
Homework assignment: Genius (Film)
Session 2
What traditional publishers (should) do for writers
Types of editors
Book designers
Marketing/Sales/Publicity
Legal: Copyrights, Libel, etc.
Book distribution
Session 3
The role of the literary agent
Finding and working with a literary agent
Royalty arrangements
The elements of a great query letter and (if needed) a book proposal
Homework assignment: Write a query letter
Session 4
Workshop on agents and query letters
Session 5
Hybrid and self-publishing overview
Self-publishing (at a professional level)
The cost of self-publishing
Resources for self-publishing (avoiding scams)
Session 6
Book publicity, marketing, sales, distribution for self-published writers