Writing Books I Recommend: Before and After the Book Deal

Cover of BEFORE AND AFTER THE BOOK DEAL by Courtney Maum

Before I say anything else about this book, I want to say one thing: when I assign Maum's book in a creative writing class, students looooove it. I have had probably a dozen students tell me that this is one of their all-time favorite creative writing books. It's another book that wouldn't be assigned in a traditional MFA, but if your goal is to be a published novelist, this book gives you a candid look behind the scenes, and in my opinion, is not to be missed.

WHO IT'S FOR:

It's for novelists who want to know what happens at every stage of the publication journey. This is less a craft book than it is a guide to becoming a professional. 

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: 

The book is divided into two parts: Book One: Before the Book Deal and Book Two: After the Book Deal. In Book One, Maum covers developing and revising the project (including a discussion of sensitivity readers and the utility of an MFA), submitting and pitching (including a conversation about self-publishing), the financial details of getting paid as a writer, and a lengthy, super useful conversation about finding representation and handling book advances. 

In Book Two, Maum covers the prepublication process, including editing, publicity and marketing, and planning the launch. She has a long chapter about publication, and here, I want to stress how friendly this book is -- she's treating the reader like an insider, calming the writer's nerves. She talks about the book tour, and she has a super helpful section about what to do next. At the end of Book Two, she collects the advice of publishing professionals and authors.

WHAT'S USEFUL:

This book treats you like you're a serious writer who wants to learn the ropes, and I absolutely love that tone. Many craft books act like the reader is just starting out, but Maum takes your hand and brings you into the conversation as a fellow practitioner.

She also talks about topics that nobody else really seems to address. There's a very real phenomenon of post-publication malaise, and Maum has a frank discussion about this issue. In a section titled "When Trump happens to you," she talks about what happens when your book pubs in a major news cycle, and how that can completely re-orient plans. (My first novel published in May 2020, when the world was on lockdown, and though people were buying books by established authors, debut novels were extremely hard to market and sell.) She talks about adaptation for film and TV, a topic which many writers would like to see discussed more. 

Her explanation of the business side of being a writer is excellent, as well. Want to know how advances work? She tells you in great detail. Want to know how to get your book into a book club? She addresses that topic, too. Want to know how writers get health insurance? Yep, that's in the book, too. (Spoiler alert: that particular section isn't great news for writers, by the way.)

WHAT TO READ FIRST: 

You can start with this book or with Jane Friedman's THE BUSINESS OF BEING A WRITER (review here). I also recommend Jane Friedman's website.

WHAT TO READ NEXT: 

Ricardo Fayet’s How to Market a Book was recommended to me by students, and I found this book fascinating. It goes into great detail on this very niche part of publishing, but there’s a lot to learn here. This is a part of Reedsy’s platform, if you’re familiar with this editor-for-hire site.