From Concept to Contract

Over 83% of Americans plan to publish a book at some point in their life. The majority of Christian nonfiction writers are filled with passion yet they have no experience in how to navigate the book publishing world. In Writing The Christian Nonfiction Book Concept to Contract, Fessenden writes, “Any good book is the result of inspiration, followed by hours of grueling work. I don’t know about you, but for me, inspiration is not a problem (except it comes at the most inconvenient times, doesn’t it?). It’s the prospect of the hard work that gets to me—it shuts down my brain, wiping away any shred of creativity. No wonder most authors have no idea where to begin when they sit down to write a book.” (Page 2)

In the pages of this book, David Fessenden boils the process into eight steps:

1) Brainstorming

2) Researching

3) Outlining

4) Preparing the Proposal

5) Writing the Rough Draft

6) Revising

7) Fine-tuning the Manuscript

8) Getting the Contract As the author of more than 60 nonfiction books (many of them Christian books and from traditional publishers), I've repeatedly been through this process. I resonated with Fessenden's insight and instruction which are mixed with humor and honesty. He is a skilled communicator who has written Christian nonfiction books and guided other authors as a book editor. That experience shines in these pages.

Each chapter includes three tips for the reader to apply the teaching to their own plans for book publishing. If you study and apply the information in this book, it will take you down the path to getting your Christian book published.

I recommend you get this title, read it carefully and highlight the pages. Then take it one step further. You will need to apply the information to your writing life. It will push you down the road to achieving your goals in the nonfiction book world.