Ancillary Publishing Book Service
Gordon Burgett
________________________________
Welcome!
I presume you have just read
“Ancillary Publishing Book Service” which explains, globally, why this service exists,
how it works, and that once here you are indicating an interest in exploring an
initial one-hour project evaluation, which costs $175. (If your book, as sent
to me, simply cannot be analyzed or reviewed, any part of that money not used for
initial reading, reviewing, and responding will be immediately refunded.)
Anything sent is kept in
total confidence between you and me.
What I need to know from you
here, in written form sent by email or standard mail, is
precisely how I can help you.
I can only guess at anything
not said, so being more explicit rather than less is to your advantage. Here
are the kinds of questions that help me help you:
1. Why are you writing,
styling, publishing, and (to the degree you wish) helping promote this book?
What results do you wish or expect once it is in print and buyable? What’s its
purpose? Why would others buy it?
2. Have you published books
before? (If so, list the titles, page length, publisher’s firm name, year, and
theme in one phrase.)
3. What other non-book
writing have you published, like articles, reports, theses, etc.?
[Comment: you needn’t have written or published
before. If you have, it lets us jump from the beginner to intermediate level.]
4. Is this a singular book
or do you plan to produce a series or other, similar books about the same
topic? If the latter, explain please.
5. Where would I go to find
your book in a library or bookstore? Category and age level /
sex of readers?
6. Briefly, what experience
or credentials (if needed) do you have to write this book? (Or how, in a short
sentence, can you convince potential readers to buy it because you wrote it?)
7. Please give me the titles
of three books that are very similar or closest to what you propose publishing.
(Also, the respective authors, publishers, number of pages, and date of
publication of each book.) How will your book differ from each of the three?
[Comment: you leap ahead in the prep stage if you
closely study other, similar books so you can outline how your book will look
and what it will do in what order.]
8. Give me a rough outline (better,
a table of contents) of what your book will include and in what order. Do you
propose the book be published as an ebook, a bound
book (paperback or hard cover), or both? Which format first? And will you
please give me a 100-word max description of your book, as it would appear in
the publisher’s catalog.
9. Which of these do you see
your book including—it may, in fact, include none or all of them: table of
contents, index, glossary, author’s biography, dedication or acknowledgements,
photos, graphs, charts, other interior artwork [excluding cover art], anything
not listed?
10. What is your rough
completion schedule for (a) outline and layout, (b) initial research [facts,
quotes, and anecdotes], (c) first draft [full book, no editing], (d) second
draft [adding, trimming, initial editing], (d) artwork inclusion [photos,
charts, etc.], (e) final draft [word-by-word editing, final tweaking], (f)
getting your book proofread, (g) last, pre-publishing editing, (h) completion
of cover file [artwork, text, back cover copy], (i)
file submission. [Comment after (i), add: 7-10 days for bound book proof to return from
publisher, be approved, and OKed for publication.] Modify this process if you wish.
11. Do you have a preference
for publishing with one, any, or all of these firms: Lulu, CreateSpace,
Blurb, LightningSource, Scribd,
Smashwords (mostly for
Kindle and iPad)? Don’t worry if you don’t know—I can
(and will) suggest the best publisher(s) from the other information in this
questionnaire. (I have no bias toward or inducement from any publisher.)
12. If you have already
written segments of this book (or the whole book), please submit the table of
contents and a maximum of 1,000 words from the book’s strongest (best written)
chapter, consecutive from and starting with a chapter opening—please, without
commentary. No other attachments will be read, nor will any artwork or the
cover be reviewed here.
13. If you could magically
have your completed book arrive by mail (or courier), tell me what it would look
like, why folks would be hurrying to buy it, how it would change others’ lives,
and how a book with your authorship would change your life—and the readers’?
14. How, specifically, can I
help you? Is there anything else you want to know? Remember, we have an hour,
and the more I must read the less time I have to reply by email, so keep all
responses as tightly written, to the point, and clear as your book must be!
15. Sorry, no calls or
attachments other than the two requested. Again, it’s a time issue (ultimately,
yours and your wallet’s). I’ve been helping others publish for almost 40 years.
If the first 14 items are clear, that’s enough. If I have a question that needs
answering before I reply, I will send a quick email (so please include that
address in the information below.)
Ancillary Publishing Book
Service
Submission Process
My name is Gordon Burgett
and I am now offering the Ancillary Publishing
Book Service to fill a badly needed
gap for writers, speakers, and publishers eager to create, publish, and promote
their books through the ancillary publishing houses.
1. Please respond to the 15-step questionnaire above so
I can best help you realize your book's goals.
2. Do so either by email or standard mail. Send the responses to the 15 steps
above, plus (if you wish or they are available) the two attachment items
mentioned in #12. This is a one-step
submission; that is, everything I will review must be included in this mailing.
Please number the items so I have more time to reply!
3. The fee is $175. If you wish to pay by check,
please include the signed Letter of Agreement, the check, and the items above, printed
out, in the same package. Mail it to me at: Gordon Burgett,
4. I will give the submitted items one focused hour of reading and review. In
my response I will evaluate the book as outlined to suggest the most
appropriate AP publisher(s) to pursue, does the title “work,” how the book
might be strengthened for greater sale, the best format publishing order
(digital or bound), if there are ways your project can be magnified before or
after the core book’s publication—enough
to see what's solid, what isn't, and how it can be improved before time is
spent writing and submitting. In short, the specific advice I would want from
an expert in the field before I launched a book project so the end result as
submitted to the ancillary publisher(s) has the best chance of realizing my
hopes (and dreams).
5. The purpose of this review is not to create
subsequent book consulting business. In fact, if I do not think the book you
are proposing has any chance of publishing success, as you describe it to me, I
will return the unused part of the one-hour fee immediately. .
6. If I suggest areas where it appears to me that
your book’s success could be magnified by specific attention, and those are
areas where I have experience and you believe my help would be beneficial,
please contact me after this review is completed for specific discussion. (I do
not do professional proofreading nor am I a qualified cover designer.) Otherwise,
I will assume you will either publish your book (or not), and in doing either I
wish you every success. (I’d be delighted to know once the book is being sold,
its final title, and which house[s] published it, so I
can add it to my public list of NEW AP BOOKS TO READ!)
The biggest
problems that book writers have are conceiving a book that could most fully
realize their vision, organizing that book's contents clearly and fully,
establishing a doable work schedule, writing at a level expected by a
first-class publication, infusing the necessary marketing into the text and
design from the outset, selecting a title that sells, and having the book
published or produced so that the end product not only achieves the vision, it
is a book that the writer can proudly show for a lifetime.
This initial
review for Ancillary Publishing helps you focus on those areas so when the
actual writing and submission occur, the book is complete, well structured,
professional in appearance, appealingly titled, and most likely to sell. I know
that it seems like a lot of work and thought before the book is actually
composed. It is, but you must do it anyway and by far the best time is before
the ready-to-go manuscript is out of your hands!
You do not need
this review to submit and sell through the Ancillary Publishers, nor will this
review per se enhance the book’s
acceptance or sale. That is why I describe the process in How to Get Your Book Published
Free in Minutes and Marketed Worldwide in Days, to make all of that
happen quicker and with greater certainty.
The review lets
your book, as conceived and shared in its conceptual state, be analyzed by a
grizzled publishing veteran editor and publisher so it can be blessed, strengthened,
modified, expanded, more tightly focused, and/or be the core of a much wider,
more profitable publishing venture. It intervenes at a critical point in your
book's development, and is why this service is unique in helping the writer at
the spot when time and money can best be saved by precise focusing. Or, rarely,
when the project can be significantly redirected before too much of either has
been poorly spent.
(If you are
writing a book that you plan to submit to a standard [not ancillary]) publisher
or you are going to self-publish, you should use my other book service, called Pathfinder. If you are
thinking of testing the book by ancillary publishing but are primarily
interested in standard or self-publishing, seriously consider the latter
service.)
Again, the cost here
is $175 for one hour of my consulting time (normally $200 an hour). How long
will it take me to reply? You should have your material back well within a week
from the time that I have everything in hand. (Or I will contact you with an
exact date if it must be longer.)
What's next? Get your
packet together, then email me (or write) to see if I
have openings at present. (Indicate whether your book is for the Ancillary
Publishing or Pathfinder program.) I will respond promptly.
It's your book
and your life. If I can help, great.
___________________________________________
Here's a brief biography as it pertains to
book review, commentary, and analysis:
I've owned a publishing firm since 1982 and
have also been offering four-hour seminars at colleges and universities
throughout
LETTER OF AGREEMENT
The page titled “Ancillary Publishing Book Service Submission
Process” just explained the
purpose of this service. Let me elaborate some upon it, and if what follows is
agreeable to you I ask that you sign and return this sheet, the information I
need to assist you, and the payment by the means suggested.
1. I will provide one hour's reading and consultation
concerning the project you will describe and the material submitted. Unless
otherwise agreed upon, that will be sent to you by email.
2. Every attempt will be made to have that
in the mail and, hopefully, back to you within a week of the receipt of the
items sent.
3. I will respond directly to the
information you have sent me, and attempt to answer the related questions
asked. If there is other information I feel you need to know, I will comment as
if I were seeking my own help with the material sent, to best help you prepare
a successful book.
4. My response is not the last word on the
subject; it is my opinion shared with you at your request. Nor am I a lawyer or
accountant; if such assistance is required, the services of a competent
professional in those fields should be sought.
5. Full payment of $175 should accompany
this letter of agreement. Payment can be made by check (payable to
Communication Unlimited) or by PayPal, VISA, Mastercard, or American Express. In the last three cases, I
need to know the full card number, expiration date, the name in which it is
issued (if other than your own), and the 3-4 digit number on the back of the
card. Please also include your full name, full address, email address, and
phone number.
6. Please make a copy of everything you will
send. We have yet to lose anything or fail to have it arrive here or back to
the client, but we ask you to protect yourself on the long shot that it might
happen. I too will make a copy of my report for the same reason.
7. I want you to create a book that meets
all of your expectations. Let's work together to let me help you do that.
If you are in agreement with the seven
points made above, please sign and return a copy of this "Letter of
Agreement" with the items stipulated by standard mail> If you submit be
email, please include a statement that you “have read the Letter of Agreement
concerning the Ancillary Publishing Book Service and that with this submission
you agree to the terms it states.” I shall begin the review, analysis, and
commentary as soon as the agreement is received.
Sincerely,
Gordon Burgett
Agreed to and accepted this date
( ) by _________________________________________