nonfictionFAQs

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - NON-FICTION
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We hope this website covers most of what you need to know, but if it doesn’t, don’t worry. Please just phone or email and we’ll tell you whatever else you need to know.

Further info on how to submit your MS / payment options / etc can all be found on our Fees and How to Submit page.

See also: Non-Fiction Home | Sample Report

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If I want to go ahead and submit a manuscript, how should I do this?
Easy. Just send manuscript and payment to us at: The Writers' Workshop, Pritchards Cottage, Steeple Barton, Oxfordshire OX25 4QP. As soon as we receive this, we will send you an email confirming receipt. For more, please see Fees & How to Submit.

How long will it take before I get a report?
Almost never more than four weeks. We usually average more like two to three. Reports are sent by email, unless you request otherwise.

How do I arrange to discuss the report with my reader?
Your reader will contact you to sort out a time. Discussions are held by telephone (Face to face meetings are hard to arrange, and not always productive).

Discussions work best when you are well-prepared. We suggest you read the report a couple of times and note down any queries. Also give yourself a few days to mull the report before discussing it. That way, your questions will be more thought out.

Do I get a set amount of time for the discussion?
No. The discussion will last as long as it takes for you to understand and absorb where the reader is coming from.

Will I get my manuscript back?
Yes, if you want it back. If so, you should send your manuscript out with a self addressed envelope and sufficient postage.

On the other hand, if you don’t need it back (and bear in mind you’re probably about to start revising it) then you can save yourself the postage.

How should I protect my copyright?
You really don't need to. You automatically have copyright protection under UK law, without you needing to do anything to register it. Professional authors seldom worry about copyright at all.

Do you handle overseas submissions? You bet. We have a large proportion of overseas clients. We can take manuscripts by email and offer many different ways to take payment internationally. For more see: Fees and How to Submit.

What should I put in my covering letter?
The covering letter is your chance to address your editor directly. Sometimes we get a one-line covering letter - basically, "Here's my MS. What do you think?". Other times we get two pages. Either way, it's up to you.

But if you've told us stuff on the phone that you want your editor to be aware of, then do repeat it in your covering letter. We get a lot of phone calls and we can't always pass on all that we've spoken about.

Can you guarantee to get me an agent?
Of course not! The only way to secure an agent is to write a gob

smackingly good book. We'll do all we can, of course, but getting an agent is very tough. Your best bet, always, is to write the very best material you can.

Do your fees cover as many rewrites as it takes to get an agent?
Alas, no. We charge a fee each time we read and report on a book - though second and all subsequent reads are charged at a discount to our first read prices. We simply can't reduce our prices any further. Sorry!

I've just started a book. Can I sell it now, or do I have to finish it first?
There's no easy answer to this question. Some sorts of non-fiction must be 100% complete before an agent will be interested - this would include travel, memoirs, some popular non-fiction. For more factual subjects (history, how-to, biography, etc) it may be possible for authors to get away with a proposal that contains (i) an introduction, (ii) some sample chapters, (iii) a detailed outline of the entire project, and (iv) an explanation of your own expertise on the subject in question. The more obviously expert you are, the more willing will publishers and agents be to consider incomplete manuscripts. Previous publications are also a major help.

		I've written the whole book - but can I submit the first few chapters only for a reduced fee? Yes, and this approach works better for non-fiction than for fiction. All the same, all successful creative non-fic-tion has a 'story' - a theme that develops through the course of the book, with a beginning, middle and end. This is a crucial part of the jigsaw, and the only way for us to see if it's working is by reading the whole darn book.
	Are there common mistakes you can warn me about? Admittedly this is the sort of 'frequently asked question' that no one ever asks, but we'll give you the answer anyway. YES! The major problem with the non-fiction we receive is that writers often aren't thinking hard enough about the market. You've been on a big travel adventure? Good! But no publisher will be interested in just a collection of emails to friends. You've had a tough life and want to write about it? Fine, but remember that you have to hold the interest of a reader who doesn't know you. You've got things to say about politics / religion / philosophy? Excellent, but you still need to keep your reader gripped If in doubt, go to a bookshop and make sure there's a market for your book. Do I need an agent? Why can't I go direct to a publisher? In nearly all cases, writers do need agents - publishers just won't take you seriously unless your MS comes via an agent. (Really specialist non-fiction is an exception. Koi Carp Fishing in Northern Thailand, say, may as well go straight to specialist publishers.) What do you think about self-publishing? While there are legimitate self-publishers and can be good reasons for self-publishing, the industry is also strewn with bandits making wholly implausible claims about what they can do for you. Want to know more? See: Bandits