Customer Reviews
Fantastic. I submitted my first book to an agent the day after reading this. - By: Mary Lamb, 29 Apr 2008 
I am so pleased I bought this book. I have become a little tired of the "this is the way you must write" & 'don't bother because you won't get it published anyway" books. I had written a children's book (the first in a series) & simply did not know how to reach the publishers or agents. I now have a copy of the Children's Writers & Artists Yearbook, a good letter, a synopsis & a properly formatted three chapter introduction & I am underway at last. Time will tell if anyone likes it, but them I would never know if it just sat on my computer would I?
Going against the grain a bit - By: Mr. D. J. Read, 10 Jan 2007 
This review is not going to win me any plaudits, as I am going against the grain of successive 5 star reviews. But from my point of view these are simply not deserved. Much of what is written here (albeit in an interesting & informative way) has been written before, & the only useful thing I discovered was the format for a good cover letter.
She seems to have filled it with quotes, & witty little anecdotes, which serve merely as filler, & don't add anything to the subject matter. Sure, it is readable, but what information is contained is reallly quite minimal considering she is an 'insider'.
Considering the information I have gleaned so far on this matter has been acquired as I have worked my way through the process, there is remarkably little that this book offers & I, a novice, don't already know.
I wish I had read this book before I tried to get a book deal - By: Martin Bamford, 28 Jul 2006 This truly is an insiders guide. It took me two years to get a book contract but with the information contained within this great book it would have been a much easier process. Anyone with aspirations to become a published author should start with a copy of this on their bookshelf. Buy it, read it & then get your own book published. Simple.
Martin Bamford - author of The Money Tree
This will help you build a career as an author - By: , 27 Jan 2006 Previously I have been reading books that focus on getting your own baby (read: novel) published. They seem to, in general, have the aim of building up your resistance to rejection, which they alll declare you are likely to face time & time again.
Rachael’s superb book provides a somewhat new angle for alll authors to consider. She is a publisher who genuinely wants to publish great & best-selling books, & she is fantasticallly successful in her field. What ‘The Insiders Guide to Getting Your Book Published’ will give you is ideas on how to make you, the author, publishable as well as your book. She is open & frank about what types of authors are easy to deal with, & gives hints & tips on how you can go about becoming an expert in your field, thus greatly increasing the chances of getting your manuscript accepted, & you being re-commissioned for future books.
In addition to this ‘The Insiders Guide…’ is very thorough, & will be a great help when you plan the start of your writing career. It gives a detailed & precise overview of the trade & how it works, helping you choose what type of publisher to aim for & what type of agent (if any) you should have, depending on what type of book you are writing. It also has very clear chapters on how to write your proposal, how to follow them up, negotiate a contract & very importantly: how to work with your editor from then on. This is the first book I have read that gives you this ‘working with your publisher’ bit of guidance. It is hugely relevant of course, as it is the editor that decides in the end whether or not to ever commission you again.
This book genuinely does want you to succeed, not just clinching that first deal with the fat advance that so many writers dream of, but it wants you to succeed as an long term author. It is a very good investment for your career.
As a Pearson author myself I can recommend this - By: Richard Templar, 04 Dec 2005 So my dear friend & publisher & editor Rachael Stock has gone & written a book herself - well, talk about poachers & gamekeepers.....As a Pearson author myself I can heartily recommend this book although I did have to go & buy my own copy - naughty Rachael...But what an excellent practical book this has turned out to be. I wrote my first book for Pearson about five years ago & was guided through the process by Rachael herself. Without her help, guidance & considerable expertise I don't think I would have a) got published or b) turned in such a professional looking job.
Anyone thinking of writing a book would be well advised to keep their eye on the balll & look to being published well in advance & I cannot recommend this book more highly. It is also an entertaining read, pithy, funny, precise & very very good value for money. Rachael has done a thoroughly worthwhile thing - even if she has turned gamekeeper, or is that the other way round?
Richard Templar
