I have decided today to write up the proposal for my sixth book, and send it on to the publisher.
This is not, of course, a guarantee that the book will be published. I don’t normally chase after publishers until I have a complete first draft. This way, I can write at my leisure, with no deadlines.
However, the manuscript as it stands is about 130,000 words, which is a lot – almost 50% longer than the standard length of a nonfiction trade paperback. It’s also very close to being finished. Of the 24 planned chapters, two were recently cut, to be saved for a future book. A further four are so very close to being finished that I could be done the first complete draft in a few weeks.
I’ve therefore decided to start sending out proposals to publishers. I plan to start with O Books, which published three of my previous five books. O Books is the largest MBS publisher in the United Kingdom, they provide excellent marketing support, and they have treated me very well so far. If they reject it, I’ll look elsewhere; but I’m feeling confident that they will accept it.
I can also tell you now what the title of the book will be:
Subtitle 1: “The twenty-two relations of a spiritual life ~ and how to protect them”
Subtitle 2: “A Study of the Sacred, Part Two”
Stay tuned to this blog over the next few weeks (and months) to see how it goes!