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So, You Want To Be An Author?
by Marisa Urgo
The books were delivered to my work address. The mail clerk walked into my office and dropped a heavy box on my desk. At first I thought, "What's this?" I couldn't recall having ordered anything, but then I saw the return address and my spine tingled. I tore into the box -- packing peanuts flew everywhere -- and pulled out the top copy of a purple book. I tried to restrain my joy, but the triumph of actually holding my own book in my hands was too much to hold back. I skipped out of my office and screamed "YES!" Then I ran from one office to another and waved it around at my colleagues, yelling "See?! My book!"
There is a lot of work involved in writing a book, and when it's completed there's a lot of joy and personal satisfaction. However, writing for publication, especially for professional and technical publishers, is not going to make you famous. It's not even going to make you much money. If you want to write you should do it either for personal satisfaction or professional development, or both. I began writing my book in 1998 and finished it on October 15, 1999. In the span of a year I learned more about my own potential then at any other time in my life. I learned self-discipline, the key to time management. I learned how to talk to people and learn from them. Necessity gave me many opportunities to grow, and I recommend the experience to anyone who has both the audacity to start a book and the courage to complete it.
However, if you're going to write, you should do it for personal or professional reasons. Writing for publication has its professional advantages. It increases your name recognition, and, like a catalyst, writing often brings you in contact with people who share your opinions. It's also an effective means of opening doors. This is especially true for library or information professionals who want to make career changes. If you want to change your career's focus, then you might want to consider writing articles relevant to the new area of work you have chosen. If you are considering becoming a consultant or an information broker, writing offers you opportunities for developing your name recognition.
Some of you might already have the idea of publishing a book. The following are a few tips to keep in mind while you plan, research, and market your book idea:
Preparation makes a difference. Try to make sure that your book idea is unique. If it is not unique, then you need to be able to identify competing books and authors, and then you must be prepared to tell a publisher how your book will be different. Also, you should already have a well-developed idea or theme in place. You should be able to, upon request, describe your book idea using a hundred words or less.
Know the market. You should also understand a book's potential audience: what they read, how they read, etc. This becomes very important when you are writing a book proposal, because a publisher is going to ask you to define your audience. They're also going to ask you how that audience is going to use your book. They might even ask you other audience-related questions. You better know a lot about your book's audience, your market, before you begin to write it.
Research the publisher. It's a waste of your time to send a manuscript proposal to a publisher who doesn't know your audience and doesn't have much experience publishing in your subject area. Research potential publishers before you send them proposals. In this area, librarians have an advantage over other aspiring authors. Librarians work with the kinds of reference sources they need in order to research potential publishers. Uhlrich's, for example, will pinpoint periodicals that explore the issues you're interested in writing for. From this list, there are many journals and magazines that will be in turn connected to book publishers. The website http://www.publist.com also helps with this kind of research. Contact these publishers directly, request sample copies of current periodicals or review copies of related books, and ask about submission guidelines. Publishers like working with librarians, and for this reason you can leverage your position to access the kind of information you need to improve your chances of being published.
Maintain realistic expectations. Most professional and technical publishers, and this includes library and information science publishers, keep costs down by maintaining low stocks of books. Technical books tend to be expensive and often have relatively small potential audiences. Don't be too surprised to discover that your publisher will only print 1000 copies of your book. The point is to turn a small profit, not to bust into the New York Times Bestsellers List (although I'm sure they wouldn't mind if that happened). As a result, you will make about ten per cent royalties off the price of each book sold. It's not a lot of money, and if you were expecting something more grandiose, you might be disappointed. However, if you keep your expectations focused on professional development, then all the work you put into it won't appear to have gone unrewarded.
Wait a few years. If you're a recent graduate and you're considering writing a book, the best thing to do is wait a few years. The insight gained from just a few years in the Real World, is enough to change almost every perspective you have on information work.
Work with the publisher. Some people think that writing a book first increases its chances of being published, and I don't believe that is the case. When you write a book (any kind of book) you are working directly with a publisher and to a certain extent your book must meet their expectations. It is easier to know those expectations before you begin to write than it would be if you have to go back and rewrite or redevelop ideas.
Develop your skills. Writing a book places great demands on your rhetorical skills. Without a clearly defined voice and a solid command of written language, you will find the work difficult, if not impossible, to complete when you need to fill 200 to 300 typewritten pages of manuscript. Write articles first, work on web site ideas, receive feedback and constructive criticism, and develop your written communication skills. This is best done by spending a year or two (or three) writing articles that explore the same kinds of issues you want to explore in your book.
I didn't forget the personal reasons. I think these are important. For most of us writing is something done on the side. It's not a full-time thing, and as a result, we need to make time for it in our personal lives and balance our need to write with our daily responsibilities. However, when it comes to personal reasons, writing for library and information professionals is not that much different from writing for any other audience. You have to come to the conclusion that writing is something you want to do for the joy and personal satisfaction that comes from seeing your ideas in print.
Marisa Urgo is the Knowledge Manager at the Office of Minority Health Resource Center in Rockville, MD. She is the author of Developing Information Leaders: Harnessing the Talents of Generation X (Bowker-Sauer, 2000). Visit her web site at http://www.marisaurgo.com.