65: How to Research and Write a Non-Fiction Book That Publishers Will Love

Today I’m pleased to share a conversation I had recently with Dr. Simon Targett, the co-author with John Butman of the new book, New World, Inc.: The Making of America by England’s Merchant Adventurers.

Dr. Targett holds a PhD in History from the University of Cambridge. He was a  journalist and editor with the Financial Times for over a dozen years, and later headed up the publishing arm of Boston Consulting Group before founding Thinking Cap Communications, a London-based strategic thought leadership and reputation management consultancy.

Soon after its publication in March by Little, Brown and Company, New World, Inc. was named a “Best History Book of the Month” by Barnes and Noble.

New World, Inc. tells the story of English merchant adventurers in the 16th and 17th centuries. In their search for China, where they hoped to trade woolen cloth, England’s chief export at the time, for China’s silk and other luxuries, they ended up establishing trading outposts and colonies in America. These adventurers, backed by a new breed of investors in England, were the earliest founders of America; not the Pilgrims, as the widely accepted narrative goes.

This meticulously researched, well-written, and beautifully designed book tells the fascinating and largely untold story of the earliest days of globalization, of innovation and entrepreneurial risk-taking, and of the creation of some of the earliest venture-financed companies in the world.

In our conversation, Dr. Targett explains the process he and John went through to research and write the book. He tells how they prepared their book proposal which led to a bidding war for their manuscript and eventually a book deal with a major publisher. And he offers advice for writers seeking to take on large non-fiction, “big idea” book projects like theirs.

You can find links to the book and information about Dr. Targett over at writewithimpact.com/episode65.