The Book Bible: How to Sell Your Manuscript—No Matter What Genre—Without Going Broke or Insane

Shapiro (The Forgiveness Tour) offers a soup-to-nuts survey of how to get published in this accessible assemblage of publishing principles. All are animated by the notion that those who want to land a book deal “have to be hungry, determined, and desperate enough.” For scribes who meet those prerequisites, Shapiro lays out the basics, organizing her program by the type of book—nonfiction, poetry, fiction, children’s books—and keeping her tongue firmly in cheek. Each section begins with a list of what not to do (“Refuse to Read Similar Books: Write in a total vacuum”; “Expect immediate success”) and is loaded with practical guidance, as in a section on querying agents in which readers are advised to give a description of their project in “two lines, not twenty.” Shapiro’s track record, which includes published works about her struggles with addiction, and coauthoring a memoir with a Bosnian refugee, lends plenty of authority to her advice. Even if there’s some repetition, as when she repeatedly reminds that though Facebook and LinkedIn are regarded as passé by younger writers, many in the book industry still rely on them, Shapiro succeeds in dishing out hard-earned wisdom with plenty of verve. Would-be authors, take note. (Jan.)