This month we have Expert Advice from Simon Whaley on success with a series, Ten Top Tips covers how to create interesting characters, our Student Story should inspire those who don’t speak English as a first language and Useful Websites and Inspiration are, imho, as fascinating as usual!

• Editor's News
• Successes
• Expert Advice
• Top Tips
• Useful Sites
• Inspiration

Success With Series

By Simon Whaley

In 2009, there were 133,224 books published in the UK alone, mine happened to be one of them (The Bluffer’s Guide to Hiking). For anyone hoping to have a book published, that figure should give you immense hope because it means that 2,562 new books were published every week. Of that 133,224, roughly 25,000 were novels, meaning the remaining 108,000 were non-fiction books. So, statistically, you stand more chance of getting a non-fiction book published, than a novel. However, you can increase your chances even further, if your non-fiction book happens to slot nicely into a publisher’s existing series.

What is a series?
A series is a collection of books that follow the same format and style, although they deal with different, albeit loosely connected topics. For example, my first book was 100 Ways For a Dog To Train Its Human. The publisher had already published 100 Ways For a Cat To Train Its Human. A friend of mine wrote 100 Ways For a Chicken To Train Its Human and another writer produced 100 Ways For a Horse To Train Its Human! Can you see the trend?

(Don’t think of new titles, because I know the publisher has no plans to extend the series any further!)

The sad fact is, as far as publishers are concerned, books are units to be sold. They are like widgets churned out by a factory, for sale. The decision to publish is based upon many things, including how much it costs to produce each copy of the book, how many copies they need to sell in order to cover their costs (which includes any advance payment you may be able to negotiate) and how many copies a bookstore may buy from them. And this is why a series is useful. When a publisher decides to produce a series of books, many of the unknown costs of book publishing can be quantified. They know how many pages a book will be, what font size and font type will be used, and whether pictures or illustrations are required. With information like this, costs can be better determined, which means the risk of producing a book and losing money is reduced. It’s not eliminated, but it is reduced.

Identifying a Series
Unlike a novel, which has to be completed before it can be submitted, a non-fiction book can be sold on a proposal containing:

• A breakdown of each chapter,
• A clear business case as to whom the book is targeted at,
• The reason why you are approaching these particular publishers, (perhaps they already publish books on your subject)
• And also the first chapter, so a publisher can assess your writing style.

This means that a non-fiction book writer has the opportunity to identify potential publishers much earlier on in the process, than a novelist would. When looking for suitable publishers, you should investigate those who publish books on similar topics to the one you want to write. When you think you’ve found one, look for their latest catalogue. A catalogue is a sales brochure; listing the books the publisher will be publishing over the next six-month period. (Most publishers produce two catalogues a year.) Look on the publisher’s website for their latest catalogue. An example catalogue (Summersdale) can be viewed here.

Some publishers even allow you to search their website by series. Frances Lincoln Publishers do this, and you can view the complete Best Walks series here.

A publisher’s series will usually have a common front cover image or style that will set these books apart from the other books in their catalogue.

Buy A Book From The Series
When you’ve found a series that you think your idea could fit into, then you need to buy a book from that series and scrutinise it. This is because you need to study the format, in the same way that a magazine writer will study the magazine they are targeting their article at. When I was looking for a publisher for my walking book (Best Walks in the Welsh Borders), I came across the publishers, Frances Lincoln, and saw from their catalogue that they had a series of books called Best Walks in … So, I bought two: Best Walks in North Wales and Best Walks in South Wales. My idea was for a book of walks along the English / Welsh border. Not only did I want to examine the style of the books, I also wanted to check that the walks I wanted to propose were not already covered in these existing books. Here’s what I noticed, when I studied the books:

• Each book carried 35 walking routes.
• Route lengths varied from 3 miles (5km) to 12 miles (19km).
• Each route had a basic hand-drawn map.
• Each route was accompanied by a selection of 3 or 4 colour photographs.
• There was some historical information about things to see along each route.
• Every route has the same information: Starting point grid reference, details of public transport, which maps to use, nearest refreshments etc.

Armed with this information, I was able to put together my proposal. I hadn’t decided on a title, but because every book in the series was began Best Walks in... I made sure that mine did too. So, I pitched the following idea to the publishers:

• A book entitled Best Walks in the Welsh Borders.
• To contain 35 walking routes of various lengths between 3 miles and 12 miles.
• It would contain a simple hand-drawn map, with a selection of colour photographs.
• There would be some historical information, along with the standard information as in the other books, such as which maps to use, where refreshments were, public transport options etc.

Targeting a series does not guarantee publication, but it can improve your chances if your idea complements the existing books in the series. Think about it: if a publisher produces a series of 30,000-word books, split into ten chapters of 3,000 words each, with two illustrations per chapter, and you offer them an idea that complements their series, which is 30,000 words long, with ten, 3,000 word chapters, each with two images, a publisher will think, “here is a writer we can work with.”

You still need to demonstrate that there is a market for your book, but if you can adapt your idea to fit their style it is also easier for you to produce the book. Targeting a series gives you a template to follow. Don’t re-invent the wheel, if you don’t have to! I’ve successfully targeted the following publishers’ series:

• 100 Ways (Hodder & Stoughton) 100 Ways For A Dog To Train Its Human, 100 Muddy Paws For Thought.
• Pet Talk (Hodder Childrens) Puppytalk: 50 Ways To make Friends With Your Puppy
• Best Walks (Frances Lincoln) Best Walks in the Welsh Borders
• Bluffers Guides (Oval Books) Bluffer’s Guide to Banking, Bluffers Guide to Hiking

So, find a series for your book idea to fit into and who knows, next year’s grand total of books published could include one of yours too!

Simon Whaley is a tutor for the Writers Bureau and the author of over 400 articles. He has also written several short stories and nine non-fiction books, including the bestselling “100 Ways For A Dog To Train Its Human.” You can follow more of Simon’s advice at his ‘Simon Says!’ blog: http://simonwhaleytutor.blogspot.com and on Twitter.com.