I like my audiobooks. But for some unknown reason, I can’t focus on fiction in audio. My mind wanders and I miss sections of the story, so I’ve learned to stick with non-fiction for audiobooks.

A recent listen was How to Publish Your Book by Jane Friedman, available through The Great Courses. This is available through Audible and you’ll also receive the accompanying lecture notes in PDF.

how-to-publish-your-book-by-jane-friedman

What a damn fine resource for the new author! In 24 lectures, Friedman takes you through the process of getting published from both a fiction and non-fiction perspective. Friedman also has a brilliant blog where she discusses the state of the publishing nation.

This is for those writers who are done with the manuscript and ready to move from the art to the business side. She starts off talking you through understanding your genre and your audience then to the process of

  • finding agents, publishers and editors,
  • sharpening your pitch, query letter and synopsis,
  • contracts,
  • the need for marketing and building your author platform.

Friedman also tackles the interesting subject – “when to self-publish?” A controversial topic indeed. Are you being impatient? Is self-publishing really for you? Is your market too niche for a mainstream publisher?

I’m currently querying agents with my Return to the Monolith manuscript and the course provided information on what to expect and importantly, how to cope with rejection.

The information is up-to-date and discussed many of the players in the current market. This is the best all-in-one resource I’ve found on publishing.

Do you have any recommendations for great publishing resources?