FileMaker Pro for Dummies - WIP

3 Chapters to go till I hit my 50% milestone. Yea, I know it's technical non-fiction - but hey, at least it's writing and I'm getting paid for it. What's keeping me going? Coffee, Monster drink, Joe Satriani in the headphones, and that next advance check!

Yes, getting to the contract stage was a bit of work. Not only did I have a couple revisions to the TOC (along with estimated page counts), but I also submitted a sample chapter as well. Then we finally got to the contract stage. Even then, I had to stick my Agent on them (Wiley) to get the ball rolling.

It seems to me that they are very busy with titles and that the editors are swamped with work. Plus, there is the general attitude that it's an honor to be an author writing for the Dummies titles. So, if you can get past that, then you'll do fine.

Let me know if you need any tips. The toughest part for me was getting into the flow of the Dummies style. But, I'm 50% through the book now and things are going well.

I will say that I've got a pretty good editor, who's offered some great suggestions. She helped me get into the swing of things and provided all the guidelines and the writing template for MS Word.

Much success on the book. Keep in touch.

Well, I know that the royalty rate is based on net, not on gross. So, if a book sells for $29.95, then chances are that your royalty is going to be based on around 50% of that. And sometimes even less, if it's a book club deal or some other type of discount distribution. So, when you do book signings or readings, be sure to do them for the major book stores who sell your book at full retail or at a slight discount.

I did have to negoiatiate the contract about 3 times. I didn't get what I really wanted but I did manage to reach a good compromise. Having an Agent helped with that phase.