Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Fantastic. I submitted my first book to an agent the day after reading this. April 29, 2008
Mary Lamb (West Sussex, UK)
I am so pleased I bought this book. I have become a little tired of the "this is the way you must write" and 'don't bother because you won't get it published anyway" books. I had written a children's book (the first in a series) and simply did not know how to reach the publishers or agents. I now have a copy of the Children's Writers and Artists Yearbook, a good letter, a synopsis and a properly formatted three chapter introduction and I am underway at last. Time will tell if anyone likes it, but them I would never know if it just sat on my computer would I?
 Going against the grain a bit January 10, 2007
Mr. D. J. Read (Alnwick, Northumberland United Kingdom)
22 out of 28 found this review helpful
This review is not going to win me any plaudits, as I am going against the grain of successive 5 star reviews. But from my point of view these are simply not deserved. Much of what is written here (albeit in an interesting and informative way) has been written before, and the only useful thing I discovered was the format for a good cover letter.
She seems to have filled it with quotes, and witty little anecdotes, which serve merely as filler, and don't add anything to the subject matter. Sure, it is readable, but what information is contained is really quite minimal considering she is an 'insider'.
Considering the information I have gleaned so far on this matter has been acquired as I have worked my way through the process, there is remarkably little that this book offers and I, a novice, don't already know.
I wish I had read this book before I tried to get a book deal July 28, 2006
Martin Bamford (United Kingdom)
13 out of 15 found this review helpful
This truly is an insiders guide. It took me two years to get a book contract but with the information contained within this great book it would have been a much easier process. Anyone with aspirations to become a published author should start with a copy of this on their bookshelf. Buy it, read it and then get your own book published. Simple.
Martin Bamford - author of The Money Tree
This will help you build a career as an author January 27, 2006
28 out of 29 found this review helpful
Previously I have been reading books that focus on getting your own baby (read: novel) published. They seem to, in general, have the aim of building up your resistance to rejection, which they all declare you are likely to face time and time again. Rachael’s superb book provides a somewhat new angle for all authors to consider. She is a publisher who genuinely wants to publish great and best-selling books, and she is fantastically successful in her field. What ‘The Insiders Guide to Getting Your Book Published’ will give you is ideas on how to make you, the author, publishable as well as your book. She is open and frank about what types of authors are easy to deal with, and gives hints and tips on how you can go about becoming an expert in your field, thus greatly increasing the chances of getting your manuscript accepted, and you being re-commissioned for future books. In addition to this ‘The Insiders Guide…’ is very thorough, and will be a great help when you plan the start of your writing career. It gives a detailed and precise overview of the trade and how it works, helping you choose what type of publisher to aim for and what type of agent (if any) you should have, depending on what type of book you are writing. It also has very clear chapters on how to write your proposal, how to follow them up, negotiate a contract and very importantly: how to work with your editor from then on. This is the first book I have read that gives you this ‘working with your publisher’ bit of guidance. It is hugely relevant of course, as it is the editor that decides in the end whether or not to ever commission you again. This book genuinely does want you to succeed, not just clinching that first deal with the fat advance that so many writers dream of, but it wants you to succeed as an long term author. It is a very good investment for your career.
As a Pearson author myself I can recommend this December 4, 2005
Richard Templar
19 out of 21 found this review helpful
So my dear friend and publisher and editor Rachael Stock has gone and written a book herself - well, talk about poachers and gamekeepers.....As a Pearson author myself I can heartily recommend this book although I did have to go and buy my own copy - naughty Rachael...But what an excellent practical book this has turned out to be. I wrote my first book for Pearson about five years ago and was guided through the process by Rachael herself. Without her help, guidance and considerable expertise I don't think I would have a) got published or b) turned in such a professional looking job.
Anyone thinking of writing a book would be well advised to keep their eye on the ball and look to being published well in advance and I cannot recommend this book more highly. It is also an entertaining read, pithy, funny, precise and very very good value for money. Rachael has done a thoroughly worthwhile thing - even if she has turned gamekeeper, or is that the other way round?
Richard Templar
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