I haven’t asked many questions of my own on the Cocoon for a while, but today I have a few. I’m curious about the process for publishing a ‘trade book’, that is, a book pitched toward a general audience. I have a couple of ideas for one, but don’t know much about the process for actually pitching one successfully. I’ve heard anecdotally, for example, that one needs to obtain a literary agent first, even before approaching presses. Is that right? If so, how does one go about finding an agent? And, more generally, what is the process of securing a contract like? Does one need to actually have a manuscript drafted (or partially drafted), as is usually the case for academic books?

I could probably find out answers to many of these questions by searching the web, but I figured it could be good to hear from people who have experience in these matters to demystify these kinds of questions here. So, then, does anyone have any helpful experiences, tips, or other resources related to publishing a book for a general audience?

Originally appeared on The Philosophers’ Cocoon Read More