Erin Brenner of Right Touch Editing on How to Get a Publisher to Publish Your Book
An Interview With Teri Gault
Craft a well-organized outline and writing sample. Publishers want to know that you have the skills to write your proposed book, including having a well-developed thesis or premise and a solid argument. Take your time and revise, revise, revise. Then get feedback from other experts in your field and potential readers of your book, and revise some more.
Navigating the publishing industry can be a daunting task for many aspiring authors. From crafting a compelling manuscript to understanding the intricacies of book marketing, the journey to getting published is filled with important decisions and steps. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Erin Brenner of Right Touch Editing.
Erin Brenner is the owner of Right Touch Editing, a boutique editorial agency that specializes in helping authors of business books reach their publishing dreams. Their clients work with editors who are advocates of conscious language and goal-oriented books.
Erin is the author of The Chicago Guide for Freelance Editors: How to Take Care of Your Business, Your Clients, and Yourself from Start-Up to Sustainability, a step-by-step guide that helps editors launch a freelance business and grow it to a sustainable level. She is also the 2024 winner of the editor-of-the-year Robinson Prize from ACES: The Society of Editing. She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute for Editing and Proofreading and a Full Member of ACES.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you tell us a bit about you and your backstory?
Happy to! I’ve been editing for 30 years and running an editing business for 20. I love the written word. I was the kid who would read the cereal box at breakfast just because it had words on it. I’d stay up late reading novels (Nancy Drew was an early favorite). After college, I stumbled on editing as a career and have loved helping authors find their voice and reach their audience. I expanded my company, Right Touch Editing, into agency a few years ago so that I could stop turning away work when I became too busy. The ability to help more people while helping fellow editors has been invigorating for me.
What inspired you to become an expert in the publishing industry?
Publishing is a tough business: the barriers to entry are high and the potential to sell a lot of books is low. Many first-time authors are shocked to learn how much goes into publishing a book. Editing your book increases its potential to sell, but that’s not enough. It’s frustrating to put so much effort into a book project and have it not do well. The more I learned about publishing, the more I could guide our clients to realizing their goals with their book.
Can you share a story of a client’s publishing journey that you guided from the genesis of an idea to the fruition of becoming a published author?
Many of the book authors we work with are business professionals who want a book to promote their unique approach to their work or their professional brand but who are just too busy to do all the work that a book requires. We worked with a writing duo who were in this situation. They spent most of their time running their business and writing the content for the business. They were struggling to find time to write a book about their business.
We worked with them to flesh out the idea of the book, creating an outline that laid out their argument in a persuasive, engaging way. We then pulled together their past writings and identified the gaps for the authors to fill in. Once we had a completed manuscript, we were able to refine the writing with editing until the writers’ voices were pitch perfect, the overarching metaphor flowed through the work without overwhelming it, and errors in grammar, spelling, and the like were removed. It was a long process, as all book publishing is, but watching the manuscript take shape over time and see the writers grow their publishing skills was rewarding. And when the book launched, it became a cornerstone of the client’s marketing.
Let’s break it down into steps. Based on your experience, what are 5 main steps that you would recommend for someone to get their first book published with a publisher?
We focus on nonfiction at Right Touch Editing, which is different from fiction. If you want to pitch a nonfiction book:
1. Thoroughly develop thesis of your book. Let’s say you want to write a book about relationship selling. You want to describe your specific approach to relationship selling: what problem it solves, why it works, what the benefits are, how readers can approach it, and so on. Answer who, what, where, when, why, and how. Then distill all that down into a few succinct sentences.
2. Do your market research. What other books out there cover your topic? How would your book be different? Who would buy your book? What kind of marketing platform do you have and how will you use it to help sell your book? Publishers want to publish books that will sell. Your job is to explain to them why your book will stand out and how you will help sell it.
3. Craft a well-organized outline and writing sample. Publishers want to know that you have the skills to write your proposed book, including having a well-developed thesis or premise and a solid argument. Take your time and revise, revise, revise. Then get feedback from other experts in your field and potential readers of your book, and revise some more.
4. Put all of this together into a persuasive proposal. Follow all of the publisher’s guidelines for writing and submitting a proposal. Have someone edit it. If the publisher doesn’t permit simultaneous submissions, don’t do it. Acquiring editors get an overwhelming number of proposals each year and they need to weed out as many as they can in order to choose the handful they will publish. Give yourself every chance to make it to the next stage.
5. Accept the fact that you will be rejected … a lot. If you receive feedback (a rarity, given the volume of proposals), take it seriously and apply it to your book idea and your proposal. Then try again.
What are your thoughts about the pros and cons of signing with a Literary Agent?
Whether you sign with a literary agent depends on your book goals. If your ultimate goal is to do nothing but write books or publish with a major publisher, then signing with a literary agent can help. They’ll invest a lot of time in getting your manuscript into good shape, represent you with the publisher, and help you promote the book. In return, they’ll take a cut of your profits. But book publishing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. You’ll need to publish multiple books and keep selling them to make your living and make the literary agent’s cut worthwhile.
Most of my book clients want to write a book as part of their marketing strategy. They don’t need to sell millions of copies, and they don’t need to publish more than one book (though some do). Instead the book needs to reach their potential customers, educating them on their unique approach or the need for the product they offer. Such authors can work with a small publisher or publish the book themselves. They don’t need the help that most literary agents offer.
What are your thoughts on the pros and cons of self-publishing versus traditional publishing?
Again, it depends on your book goals, as well as your preferences. If you want to sell thousands of copies of your book, going the traditional publishing route makes sense. The publisher has the means and processes in place to get books to booksellers around the world. They know how to market books on a grand scale.
There are tradeoffs, though.
With traditional publishing, you partner with the publisher, sharing the work, the risks, and the rewards. The publisher will pay for a lot of the work up front, such as editing, designing, and printing. You may even get an advance on predicted royalties from your book. If the book doesn’t sell, the publisher loses the money it invested, including any royalties they paid you. You give up some control and profits in return for sharing that risk and getting your book into as many bookstores as you can.
With self-publishing, you control everything: the text, the format, where you sell the book, how much you sell it for — everything. But you are also responsible for everything. You are the publisher. You make all the decisions. You hire professionals to do the work beyond writing the book or you do the work yourself. You decide on the budget and fund your book project. You take all of the risk but keep all of the profit.
This works well if you don’t need to distribute books at scale. It also works well if you want more control over your book than traditional publishing will give you. Many of our book clients choose self-publishing because they’re seeking a smaller audience and want the control that self-publishing gives them.
Can you share a particularly thrilling moment you’ve experienced while helping a client get published? Was it when they signed with a publisher or received a box of their books? Something else? Please share the story with us!
My favorite projects are the ones where we help the client over a big hurdle to publishing. A few years ago, we worked with a client who was a leader in his field. He understood the technology he worked on in his job like no one else. He had helped various employers make company-evolving changes and was a frequent speaker on his topic. But English wasn’t his first language. Though he spoke and wrote it very well, he struggled with the challenges of writing a tech book in an additional language.
We were hired to do a language-focused edit, something that was outside of the publisher’s usual process. That edit made all the difference to the project, ensuring the book’s publication. When the book released, it was number one in its category on Amazon, and we couldn’t have been more excited for our author.
Thank you for sharing that fun story! Do you have any new or exciting projects coming up?
We love books that will help readers make real changes in their businesses and lives. We recently worked on an insightful book about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and company management that promises to help company leaders make lasting improvements in DEI within their management ranks. We’re eagerly waiting for publication!
Can you share some of the most surprising things you’ve learned about the publishing industry?
In my editing life, I’ve learned a lot about publishing from that side of the project. But I recently published my own book with the University of Chicago Press, The Chicago Guide for Freelance Editors: How to Take Care of Your Business, Your Clients, and Yourself from Start-Up to Sustainability, and I learned a lot from the author’s side of things.
One of the most important things I learned was how much “hurry up and wait” there is for the author. After I submitted my completed manuscript, I was prepared for all the review stages, but I wasn’t prepared for the amount of time between those stages. Why couldn’t things just move along already? Why did my manuscript sit between stages?
Of course, my book was one of many the press was working on and quality takes time. But as the author, I was focused on just my book. I understand better now why our clients seem to be in a rush so often and can coach them through what’s happening with more empathy.
What do you think are the most important qualities of a successful author?
Determination and discipline.
It’s a long road from book idea to book sales, and the successful author doesn’t just write their book. They revise it. They receive critiques and revise it some more. They build an audience who wants to read the book. They nurture that audience before and after publication. They seek out marketing and promotional opportunities.
If an author is self-publishing, they hire professionals to help with the process, at least an editor, a cover designer, and a book interior designer. If it will be a print book, the author needs to know as much as possible about the printing process in order to make sound choices about the physical nature of the book, logistics of getting it printed and shipped, where to sell their book, how to price it, and so much more.
To be successful, you’ve got to be determined to complete the project and disciplined enough to follow through on all the many tasks.
How do you advise your clients to handle feedback and criticism about their writing?
When you review feedback on your work, you will have feelings. This is your work, and someone is pointing out what needs improvement, not just what works. That can be a difficult thing to accept. Take your time with the feedback. After your first review, walk away from it. Let it sink in. Really think about it. If you’ve asked for feedback, then the person giving it wants to help you make your book the best it can be. Take that feedback in the spirit it is given in.
Not every piece of feedback will be appropriate, of course. I will remind clients that all edits are suggestions, not just comments we offer. Consider them as objectively as you can. Does it improve the text? Does it clarify what you’re trying to say or support the reader so they can follow your thread? Take the edits and comments that work and leave the rest.
Have your reactions to the feedback, but then put them aside and evaluate usefulness of the feedback.
Many authors experience writer’s block. Is there any particular book, quote, or concept that you recommend to help them overcome obstacles along the way?
Don’t get caught up in the vague notion of a “writer’s muse.” That’s a fiction we reach for when we don’t know why we’re struggling with our writing.
Instead, step back and try to discover what the obstacle is. It could be that your ideas aren’t developed enough to build sentences yet. It could be that you have too much information and not enough of a clear thesis to identify which information would best develop that thesis. It could be something else. Or it could be as simple as being physically or mentally tired or emotionally out of sync.
Take a break from your writing so that you can re-energize and refocus on your work.
How do you help your clients stay motivated and disciplined in their writing practice?
Staying motivated over a long project can be challenging. We work with our clients to create achievable milestones throughout the project so that they stay engaged and feel like they’re making progress. Sharing positive feedback and talking about the ultimate goal of their book helps them stay engaged as well. Regular communications help keep the project moving along.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person or a memorable story about someone who helped you or your client achieve success?
I’m grateful my mastermind group, the Quad (Katherine O’Moore-Klopf, Adrienne Montgomerie, Sarah Grey, Lori Paximadis, Laura Poole, and Amy J. Schneider), for always supporting me in my work. Whenever I’m unsure of how to handle a situation or what advice to offer a client, I can check in with these women for trustworthy advice. They’re all editors, working in different niches and with different skillsets. It’s exactly that variety that we depend on from each other to move each of us forward in our careers.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I would start a movement for increased civic engagement. Regular, informed voting, yes. But also participating in local meetings, staying better informed about topics we care about, volunteering to help run our communities, and otherwise participating in democracy. The amount of engagement now is so low that extremists are able to push through their agenda, even when the public is against it.
We’re all busy with our lives, of course. Social media and easy-access entertainment take a fair chunk of our time, as well. If we could put some of that time toward civic engagement, we’d have a more representative democracy and maybe even solve some of our most pressing issues. If we don’t do it, who will?
How can our readers follow your work online?
You can read my blog, The Writing Resource, at righttouchediting.com/, and check out my posts and newsletter on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/erinbrenner/.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
About the Interviewer: Teri Gault is a published Author of Shop Smart Save More with Sheryl Berk, published by HarperCollins. As founder of The Grocery Game, Teri has been seen on Good Morning America, Today Show, ABC 20/20 and more. Teri is currently a Publicist and a Purveyor of Hope and Health at www.Unite2020Pandemic.com
