Name: Sunyi Dean's review of Before and After the Book Deal by Courtney Maum
Item: Before and After the Book Deal
Rating: 5
Author: Sunyi Dean

Courtney Maum

Everything you've ever wanted to know about publishing but were too afraid to ask is right here in this funny, candid guide by acclaimed author Courtney Maum. Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer's Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book has over 150 contributors from all walks of the industry, including international bestselling authors Anthony Doerr, Roxane Gay, Garth Greenwell, Lisa Ko, R. O. Kwon, Rebecca Makkai, and Ottessa Moshfegh, alongside cult favorites Sarah Gerard, Melissa Febos, Mitchell S. Jackson, and Mira Jacob. Agents, film scouts, film producers, translators, disability and minority activists, and power agents and editors also weigh in, offering advice and sharing intimate anecdotes about even the most taboo topics in the industry. Their wisdom will help aspiring authors find a foothold in the publishing world and navigate the challenges of life before and after publication with sanity and grace. Are MFA programs worth the time and money? How do people actually sit down and finish a novel? Did you get a good advance? What do you do when you feel envious of other writers? And why the heck aren't your friends saying anything about your book? Covering questions ranging from the logistical to the existential (and everything in between), Before and After the Book Deal is the definitive guide for anyone who has ever wanted to know what it's really like to be an author.

A Writer's Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book

Before and After the Book Deal

Erin Darlyn

Sunyi Dean

Brilliant, funny, brutally honest. If you're at all anxious or confused about the querying and publishing process, I would highly recommend as it's full of a comprehensive breakdown and lots of practical tips not only for surviving publication, Submission, querying, and writing, but for keeping your shit together whether things are going badly or very well (both have challenges and pressures and disappointments).

In addition to her own input there is a lot of detail from editors, other writers, and many useful anecdotes from all sorts of publishing staff, eg publicists and booksellers. 

I found this book by listening to the Track Changes podcast, a podcast series of 10 episodes or so that will dismantle the trade publishing world and discusses your favorite (lol) industry in depth.

Erin Darlyn &
Before and After the Book Deal by Courtney Maum

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Erin Darlyn &Before and After the Book Deal by Courtney Maum

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Join the club

Erin Darlyn &
Before and After the Book Deal by Courtney Maum