So you have written your non-fiction book and you feel ready to have it published - what is the next step? How do you go about getting it published?

One really good piece of information is that many book publishers of non-fiction will accept an author simply through their book proposal and not their manuscript. In essence, you can sell the book simply through your idea as they will know if there is a market out there for your book or not, an area which has not yet been tapped into. Many publishers of non-fiction will also accept submissions without a literary agent so this is good news indeed.

The difficult thing really is finding a book publisher in the first place. One excellent way of doing so is by simply checking your bookshelf. If you are writing about a specific subject, the odds are that you have several books in your bookshelf on this very subject and they will be firm favourites. Flick through and find the publisher and make a list of all the publishers that you find. Then you can go about approaching them.

Then of course you can visit bookstores and carry out a similar search. This is also excellent research for your book proposal when you have to write what books are currently available on your chosen topics because the publisher wants to find out if there is a niche for your book.

Once you have a list of publishers, you then need to evaluate their credibility. Look at the cover; does it make you want to buy it? Is the actual content interesting and make you want to read more? Is the writing style similar to your own? All of these elements give little clues as to who the publisher works with, the type of author, and therefore gives you an idea if they could work with you.

If you happen to find a book which is very similar to your own then don’t bother approaching the publisher, as the likelihood of them accepting your work is minimal; carry on down the list.

Once you have chosen your publisher, the next step is to find out what their requirements are. This can often be found on the publisher’s website. Details should include what the submission process entails, if they need a complete manuscript or a proposal. Most will also specify the number of chapters to include. Following guidelines is extremely important; if you cannot follow their specific rules to begin with they will not consider you a serious contender.

You also need to consider how long it will take for them to publish your book. If you want your book to be published quickly and they give a time frame of up to two years, then they may not be right for you.

In essence, you need to be happy and feel that you can work with the publisher; it is, after all, a partnership. If you are not happy with their terms, then just keep on looking.