Tag: Blog to Book

Writing

What are literary agents looking for in a non-fiction submission?

As most of you know, I’m currently studying for an MA in Professional Writing at Falmouth University. I’m in my last year and am preparing for my final project. Our last module before we are set free for six months to write our final project has been a Research and Development module. The module is to prepare proposals for our books and to conduct an … Continue reading What are literary agents looking for in a non-fiction submission?

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Blog to Book, Writing

Blog to Book (Part 10) – Lessons Learned

I think the most important thing I’ve learned throughout the whole Blog to Book process is to write what you love and love what your write. If you’d have said to me six months before I started the Bailey Boat Cat blog, that in a year’s time I would have a book deal with a huge publishing house, writing from the perspective of my cat … Continue reading Blog to Book (Part 10) – Lessons Learned

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Blog to Book (Part 9) – The Book Launch

The book promotion got so much more exciting the closer we got to the book launch. I was very aware that I couldn’t solely promote the book on Bailey’s blog, or people would lose interest. I continued to blog about our life and other things of interest with sailing and pets as the subject matter. In the week running up to the book launch however, … Continue reading Blog to Book (Part 9) – The Book Launch

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Blog to Book, Writing

Blog to Book (Part 8) – Advance Copies

Even though I’d seen the BLAD and of course the final proofs in a PDF format, the book still didn’t feel 100% real until I received the advance copies through the post. I knew what size the book would be, the number of pages and what the cover would look like, but I still really struggled to imagine it as a REAL book! When the … Continue reading Blog to Book (Part 8) – Advance Copies

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Blog to Book (Part 7) – Marketing and Publicity

The marketing and publicity for Bailey Boat Cat – Adventures of a Feline Afloat was one of the most fun aspects of the whole Blog to Book process. Bloomsbury have offices in London, Sydney and New York and each team had people dedicated to marketing and publicising the book in their area. Bailey Boat Cat – Adventures of a Feline Afloat was the first Adlard … Continue reading Blog to Book (Part 7) – Marketing and Publicity

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Blog to Book (Part 6) – The BLAD and First Proofs

Until the Bailey Boat Cat Blog to Book process began, I’d never heard of a BLAD. I didn’t even have a clue what a BLAD was! As I’ve said before, I was so lucky that my editor and the team at Bloomsbury were very patient with me and they kindly explained that a BLAD is a printed sales tool. (BLAD = Basic Layout And Design) … Continue reading Blog to Book (Part 6) – The BLAD and First Proofs

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Blog to Book Series (Part 5) – The Book Cover

One of the most exciting moments in the whole of the Blog to Book journey was when I first saw the cover. I’d been asked to provide a choice of full body shots of Bailey. The designer could then choose an image to use for the cover. I was told that the designer would likely cut out Bailey and position the various photos of him … Continue reading Blog to Book Series (Part 5) – The Book Cover

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Blog to Book Series (Part 4) – The manuscript

Once the contract for Bailey Boat Cat had been approved by all parties and signed, I got to work on the actual manuscript. During the contract stages we’d discussed deadlines, and initially I was quite surprised by how quickly Bloomsbury wanted the manuscript written. In total, I had about two months to get the manuscript of around 10,000 words written. I also had to do … Continue reading Blog to Book Series (Part 4) – The manuscript

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Blog to Book Series (Part 3) – Understanding the publishing contract

Once the Bailey Boat Cat book proposal was accepted and signed off by the Bloomsbury sales and editorial team, the figures and costings had to be calculated before the book idea was put forward to the acquisitions team. Once everything was approved at Bloomsbury’s end, we discussed and agreed on the terms of the publishing contract and then my contract was signed and everything became … Continue reading Blog to Book Series (Part 3) – Understanding the publishing contract

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Blog to Book Series (Part 2) – The Proposal

Even though I was contacted by the publisher asking if I’d be interested in turning the Bailey Boat Cat blog into a book, I still had to prepare a proposal that the editor could present to the sales team. I had no idea what I was doing or what was expected for a proposal, and of course no agent to guide me, so I was … Continue reading Blog to Book Series (Part 2) – The Proposal

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