• Where agents and publishers are currently acquiring and where deal activity is declining—and your options if the trends aren't in your favor
• How to identify your genre or category, which categories are hardest and easiest to place, and why some common labels, such as "women's fiction" and "historical fiction," mean different things to different people
• The critical differences between pitching fiction and nonfiction, as well as differences in pitching narrative-driven works, information-driven works, illustrated works, and children's books—plus why memoir faces a tougher market than fiction
• Whether you need a platform, what that platform needs to look like to impress an agent or editor, and how to build that platform
• The full range of traditional publishers: Big Five, mid-size and independent houses, small presses, university presses, and digital-first imprints—which ones require an agent, plus how to evaluate a publisher and avoid scams
• How to tell a good agent from a not-so-good agent
• The best free and paid resources for identifying agents and publishers that are receptive to your work
• Tried-and-true pitch formulas for novels and memoirs, and how to write a nonfiction hook that focuses on the reader
• How to choose comparable titles and which kinds of comps to avoid
• Why nonfiction requires a book proposal (even if the book is already written)
• How to evaluate how close you are to getting a traditional deal—and if you're really ready to start submitting your work to agents and editors
• How to identify flaws in your approach, submission materials, or concept

• Writers with finished novel manuscripts who are starting to consider submitting to agents and editors
• Nonfiction writers with a book concept who need to know the next steps to take
• Writers who are currently submitting their work and not getting the responses they expected or hoped for
• Anyone who needs a primer on how the book industry works
• Previously published authors who have been out of the game and need to get up to speed on the current environment

The webinar is broadcast via the internet with live audio delivered through your computer speakers or over your telephone. The live webinar’s visual presentation is displayed directly from the Presenter's computer to your computer screen. The Q&A is managed through a chat-style submission system with questions being read and answered by the Presenter for the entire class to hear. In the event some questions are not answered during the live session, an e-mail with questions and answers will be sent to all webinar attendees.

By attending the live webinar and/or asking questions, your full name may be stated during the live event and captured in the recording.

If you have questions about the program or have any technical difficulties, please contact writingwebinars@aimmedia.com.

Writer’s Digest does not offer any refunds for the webinar. All sales are final.