Contents -- Part I. How to Sell Your Book -- 1. A Publishing Primer -- 2. Can Your Idea Become a Book? -- 3. When, Why, and How to Look for an Agent -- 4. How to Approach a Publisher with Your Book -- 5. How to Package a Dynamic Book Proposal -- 6. Book Contracts: How to Read and Negotiate Them -- 7. Is Self-Publication for You? -- Part II. How to Write Your Book -- 8. How to Organize and Do Research -- 9. How to Collect First-Hand Information -- 10. Three Ways to Write Exciting Nonfiction -- 11. Five Ways to Write a First Novel -- 12. How to Edit and Prepare Your Final Manuscript -- 13. How and When to Prepare Illustrations -- Part III. The Business of Writing -- 14. What to Expect from Your Editor (and When) -- 15. How to Help with Book Sales -- 16. The Writer and the Law -- 17. Coping with the Writer's Life -- Index.