Publishing a Non-Fiction Collaboration by Wendy H. Jones

As well as being a writer I also have my own publishing house, Scott and Lawson. So far I have only published my own books under this imprint but I am all about pushing literary boundaries at the moment, so I decided it was time I published other authors. I'll be honest and say this is quite scary as I now have a responsibility for authors as well as myself. Let me tell you the journey and how it is being managed in case you would like to try it yourself. 

The first step in the process was to come up with a concept for the book. I decided I wanted it to be a non-fiction book and that different authors would contribute chapters. This was not a particularly difficult process as it fits in with my existing Writing Matters Series and is the third book in the series - Creativity Matters: Find Your Passion for Writing. I would advise you to pin this down before you proceed as you can then be clear as to what you require from contributors. 

The next step is to work out a timeline for chapter submissions, editing, and publication. Again, this allows contributors to know what is expected of them before they agree to join the collaboration. I had a four month deadline from start to publication giving contributors time to write the chapter, me time to edit, and contributors time to make changes and resubmit. Whilst this may seem tight, all the authors were clear up front and felt they had adequate time to complete each stage. 

Find contributors. This can be done by putting out an appeal or approaching individual authors. I made the decision to approach individual authors as I had a firm idea of what I wanted each chapter to be about. The invited authors were already writing in that field so had the experience and the expertise to bring to the project. I also knew they would be willing to meet the deadlines and produce their work in a timely manner. This was important as the timescale was tight. I will personally be writing four chapters for the book. 

It is important to give a clear and full brief. Once the author had signed the contract I sent  a letter outlining the following:

• Word count.
• Font type and size.
• Formatting.
• Ideas for what could be included in the chapter, although I did say this was up to the individual and not rigid. They had creative license. 
• Timings for each stage of the project.
• Fees (I would pay them, not them paying me).

As it is non-fiction I also included the chapter heading in the contract and the brief. One thing I would say is, don't get hung up on these at the early stage. They will change but it is up to the publisher to decide the final chapter titles to fit in with the overall theme of the book.

Cover design was important to me as it had to fit in with the overall series branding. I paid for the cover design by the designer of all my books. I then asked for some adjustments to make it more writing focussed before showing it to the group as a whole. Fortunately, they all loved it but ultimately it is down to the publisher to make the final decision. If everyone had hated it I would have found out why and discussed appropriate changes with the cover designer. 

I kept the marketing tightly controlled until 7th July when marketing will start in earnest. I asked the authors to announce certain things at certain points as teasers. I also have marketing graphics, produced by my cover designer, but these are not rigid. The authors are creative and know their audience, so they will create graphics which reflects their own audience and allows for creative flair. Whilst I will provide all the authors with the graphics they can use these only, use them alongside their own graphics, or not use them. Again my advice would be allow for flexibility. 

As this is the ACW blog, I should say that there are several ACW Members in this non-fiction collaboration:

Lorraine Smith

Allison Symes

Andrew Chamberlain

Janet Wilson

Fay Rowland

Maressa Mortimer

Joy Margetts

In addition, the following authors are also joining in:

Kirsten Bett

Elizabeth Power

Sheena McLeod

Nanette Fairley

Jennifer Ngulube

I am delighted that they are on board and they all bring something unique to the collaboration. I set up a Facebook Group so they could all get to know and support each other and they really are a fabulous group of authors. I am honoured to be working with them as they have made my first foray into publishing authors other than myself, simple and an absolute pleasure.

I will finish by saying, if you are thinking about doing something similar, do it. Step out of your comfort zone and you never know what you can achieve. In fact, if you are doing something similar or thinking of it, give it a shoutout in the comments. I would love to hear about it. By the way, I can't share the cover quite yet as it's too early. I've been hoist by my own petard.

About the Author 

Wendy H Jones is the Amazon #1 international best-selling author of the award winning DI Shona McKenzie Mysteries. Her Young Adult Mystery, The Dagger’s Curse was a finalist in the Woman Alive Readers' Choice Award. She is also The President of the Scottish Association of Writers, an international public speaker, and runs conferences and workshops on writing, motivation and marketing. Wendy is the founder of Crime at the Castle, Scotland’s newest Crime Festival. She is the editor of a Lent Book, published by the Association of Christian Writers and also the editor of the Christmas Anthology from the same publisher. Her first children's book, Bertie the Buffalo, was released in December 2018. Motivation Matters: Revolutionise Your Writing One Creative Step at a Time, was released in May 2019. The Power of Why: Why 23 Women Took the Leap to Start Their Own Business was released on 29th June, 2020. Marketing Matters: Sell More Books was released on 31st July 2020. Bertie Goes to the Worldwide Games will be released on 5th May, 202,  and the third book in the Fergus and Flora Mysteries will be published in 2021. Her new author membership Authorpreneur Accelerator Academy launched in January 2021. Creativity Matters: Find Your Passion for Writing the third book in her Writing Matters Series will be published in September 2021.

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