Get Published! How to Establish Credibility as a Publishable Author



Posted: Monday, November 22, 2010

by Carmen Berry
http://www.carmenberry.com

As an aspiring self-help book author, you need to prove to agents and publishing houses that you know what you're talking about. A publishing house will invest thousands of dollars into your book. Your job is to convince them that you and your book idea are worth their time and money by establishing your credibility.

Credibility depends on your ability to demonstrate to publishing professionals that you are an expert in your field. It's important for you to believe in yourself. But if no one else does, then you'll not land a publishing contract. Credibility is something other people bestow on you. There's no one-size-fits-all to establish your credibility. Successful authors on the same topic might be credible in different ways.

Your credibility is summed up in the "Author Bio" section of your book proposal. Don't know what goes into a book proposal? Then take a look at my free article, "What's in a Proposal Summary?" Typically, an author bio is one paragraph long, at the most two. If you want to go into more detail, it's a good idea to write out an extended bio and attach it separately to your proposal. Keep the bio you put into your proposal cover sheet as short, but as strong as possible. Cover the following areas in your bio:

1. Education and Training

Summarize your formal education, training and other educational experiences. Include any advanced degrees if they apply to your topic area. If your book is on how to grieve the loss of a loved one, including your degree in counseling is relevant. However, if your book is on how to create beaded handbags, your Ph.D. won't make much difference. However, the training you received at a crafts and jewelry conference would be important to mention.

2. Professional Experience

The same rule of thumb applies here: Only include experience that's relevant to what you'll be writing about. Also consider experience that you might not think about at first, like your involvement with professional organizations, internships, or mentorship programs (either as a mentor or a mentee). Describe your volunteer work and involvement in community service groups such as the Rotary Club, The Soroptimists, Chamber of Commerce, or participation in city-based celebrations or events.

3. Personal Experience

Include all personal experiences that relate to your topic. If you want to write a book on how to travel on a budget, include your travel experiences. If your book is about training puppies not to chew your house shoes, then include description of your dogs or specific events that contribute to your credibility.

4. Promotional and Writing Experience

This category includes any way you've engaged in advertising, campaigning, or publicizing yourself, anyone, or anything else. Maybe you've been interviewed by a local newspaper or written press releases to advertise your service club's upcoming event. Perhaps you appeared on a television program, or spoke at a conference. If you have a Web site or blog (and you should), you can demonstrate how popular your site is due to your savvy online promotions.

Collect evidence such as news clippings, videotape, DVDs, conference programs, letters of appreciation, and so forth. This information won't make it to the cover of your book, but it will help convince agents and editors that you can handle the media.

5. Writing Experience

Becoming a self-help author is as much about writing as it is about the topic you'll address. Your writing expertise can be shown in the quality of writing in the proposal and in the writing sample.

You can bolster your writing expertise by listing anything you've published-even if the kind of writing you've published is completely different from the one you'll use in your book. When I started, I had just published an article on issues related to child sexual abuse in a professional journal. Though the article wasn't right for the popular press, simply having written something publishable helped establish my credibility as a writer.

Remember, it's okay to be a first-time author as long as you don't act like an amateur. Start where you are. So if you've published short stories or a travel log, if you have a blog, contributed to a Web site, or write blurbs for your church's newsletter-include it all.
To learn how to get your book published download your free article, “The 3 Most Important Questions You Must Answer to Land a Book Contract a the www.carmenreneeberry.com/untitled16.html

Carmen Berry, MSW is a New York Times bestselling author who has taught aspiring authors how to get published for 10 years. She draws from her successes but also the many mistakes she has made over the past 25 years so that her clients can avoid making common-sense blunders that many first-time authors make. She works with clients who love helping people such as mental health professionals, educators, medical professionals, pastors, fitness experts and craft enthusiasts.

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