Science under Cover: Breaking into Books

NSWA member Michael C. Bradbury reports on Wednesday's
panel discussion on the book business....

Getting the skinny on becoming a book author is a tricky business and requires a strong spine. There are countless books to read and a mountain of information--some helpful, most useless--on the Internet. Add an interest in science and the task takes a quantum leap toward complexity. But, the Northwest Science Writers Association attempted to sort some of it out on Nov. 16 at Science under Cover: Breaking into Books.

Sasquatch Books editorial director Gary Luke led an esteemed panel, including literary agent Elizabeth Wales, author David Laskin, and University of Washington Press science acquisitions editor Jacqueline Ettinger, as they shared their thoughts on finding a market for books with scientific topics.

Wales says her prejudice is toward the writing. Ettinger sees a lot of great ideas but if the proposal does not demonstrate both the passion that comes from knowledge of a subject and an ability to make it accessible for a wide audience, she will not acquire the book.

Laskin took a slightly different tack, having garnered success by delving into weather-related stories including his most recent, Children of the Blizzard. He uses two litmus tests to vet his ideas. First, he starts to write about the idea. “If it engages me it is a good sign,” he says. The second test is whether he could imagine reading a review of the book in the New York Times. “Would I read a review of my own book? If not, then it might not be a good idea.”

When it comes to science books, trade publishers often accept that the science in a proposal is accurate and thorough. Academic presses, on the other hand, are required to send all proposals to experts for peer review so there is no room for fudging the science.

Laskin calls the book proposal a well-crafted lie. "In it you can promise the moon if you deliver the swiss cheese in the end."

Wales suggests reading a book like Susan Rabiner and Alfred Fortunato’s Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction and Get it Published to learn how to write a winning proposal. For her, that includes a story with a beginning, middle and end. It must have conflict and obstacles overcome. But above all, the proposal must compel the reader. "Make 'em laugh and cry," she says.

That's the key to a book contract, a big advance and perhaps if an author is lucky, a New York publishers feeding frenzy where wild bidding can net a book deal with lots of commas and zeros.

But for the first-time author or someone without national recognition--AKA a platform--advances can range from zero in the academic press to $50,000.

The panel all agreed that narrative non-fiction science books are hot right now--ranging from Salt and Cod to The Great Influenza.

"History and science are areas that people can relate to," says Laskin. "I like to read books that have a good story but also books where I can learn something."