Cook the Book

No, not dodgy accounting practices, just a plea for help.

The good news is that I've been offered a contract to write a real live book (yup, dead trees and everything) on the use of social software in the enterprise.

The bad news (in this particular instance) is that I'm no copyright lawyer or literary agent, so I have absolutely no idea whether I'm being offered a good deal or getting taken for a ride.

Anyone with any experience or advice to offer a first-time author, please leave a comment (or if you prefer drop me a private email at ncook@hillandknowlton.com).

Thanks.

PS. A quick thought - maybe I should put the contract up on a wiki and we could collaboratively edit it. What do you think?

Published 02 October 2006 17:41 by Niall Cook

Filed under: Miscellaneous

Comments

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  Douglas Walker said:

  Hi Niall, happy to share my experience on the subject of book publishing. In brief, I highly recommend an agent.
  
  We were actually approached by the agent first (Laurie Abkemier of DeFiore & Co www.defioreandco.com). I cannot recommend her highly enough, she really made the process quite painless and let us focus on the actual writing rather than the business.
  
  She helped us craft our initial proposal, farmed it out to the publishers, set the deadline, handled a 5 way auction process, negotiated the final deal and was always there when I had questions (which I had loads of). She was also excellent at providing initial feedback on draft chapters and through a sub-agent got us distribution of the book in other English markets.
  
  So while you were approached to write the book (which is amazing, congrats) the choice of publisher is a huge one, because they are not all created equal and these days there are a lot of print-on-demand services that offer little to nothing to the author unless it sells. How much the publisher supports, designs and markets the book has a massive bearing on its ultimeate success. So don't take the first offer just because you are flattered (especially if it isn't a reputable publisher or imprint). As you no doubt know, writing a book requires a load of heart and effort and you deserve to paid for it.
  
  Also, to be brutally mercenary about it, you need someone who is going to push for the maximum advance you can get in the market and without specialized knowledge in the business books market, that probably isn't you. Business books are a tough market and even with the long tail in effect, you may never see another dime from your book over your initial advance, so pay yourself first (and your illustrator too;).
  
  Best of luck to you going down this excting road. Writing my book was the most fun and satisfying thing I have ever done professionally.
  
  Let me know if you have any specific questions.
  October 2, 2006 19:41
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  Jameson Bull said:

  Niall:
  I don't have any contract writing/negotiation/editing experience whatsoever, but I thought the idea of creating a contract wiki is amazing.
  
  I'm not sure how effective a fluid community of people would be at negotiating some pretty important details, but I'd love to find out!
  Whatever happens, good luck and I'll be keeping my eye out for the book!
  
  Jameson Bull
  October 2, 2006 22:27
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  Piaras Kelly said:

  Don't know any agents, but best of luck with this endevour.
  October 2, 2006 23:09
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  Chris C said:

  Congrats on the book offer.
  
  I doubt your publisher would be too keen to see their confidential contracts out there on the wild world web as a wiki. Might affect the size of your advance ;)
  
  I think a better idea would be tying in your blog or a new blog as with Chris Andersen's excellent The Long Tail and testing your thinking as you're writing it as well as building an audience and awareness of the book.
  October 4, 2006 16:42
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  Marketing Technology said:

  As mentioned previously , I am currently writing a book on social software in the enterprise. To be more

  May 27, 2007 10:50