I hope you are having summers full of sunshine, nature, cool water, frosty beverages, and yes, even a bug bite or two. I also hope you are able to stay chill in these fiery times.
This month, my newsletter is a bit of a departure from my usual format. As I’ve been working on some new non-fiction IP projects, I thought it would be nice to do a newsletter about non-fiction IP because finding information about writing it can be like searching a dark void. That said, my literary agent, the inimitable Eric Smith, has an excellent guide to writing both fiction and non-fiction IP and you should definitely read it. I figured I’d share more about my experiences, keeping in my mind they are my experiences and your mileage will absolutely vary.
What Is Non-Fiction IP?
IP is intellectual property, or any world you’re writing in or about that you didn’t create. So we’re talking Star Wars, Marvel, video games, etc. Non-fiction means reference books, encyclopedias, behind the scenes books, art of books, guides—sometimes you do add new details to the universe’s canon in these books but usually you’re writing about the existing storytelling universe.
Nearly all my published books are non-fiction IP. That includes books like Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy, The Jedi Mind, The Art of God of War Ragnarök, and my upcoming MCU Timelines book.
How I Got Started Writing Non-Fiction IP
Keep in mind that my path to get into non-fiction IP will probably not be yours. My first non-fiction IP book (also my first published book period) was Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy from 2018. That book came about because someone at Lucasfilm gave my name to the editor working on the book at Chronicle Books. Subsequent non-fiction IP books have come through doing the work on time/listening to notes/establishing myself, working with the same editors at different publishers, building a catalog of non-fiction IP books, expressing interest in certain kinds of projects, and from kind folks at Lucasfilm and, in one case, Imagineering, passing along my name for consideration.
I talked about this for Eric's guide to writing IP, but I believe being very loud and enthusiastic about Star Wars set me up for success in being mentioned for Women of the Galaxy. I wrote about The Clone Wars on my own blog circa 2009, wrote about Star Wars for other outlets, connected with the person in charge of the StarWars.com blog, and approached the editor for Star Wars Insider magazine at Star Wars Celebration. Writing for the official blog and the official Star Wars magazine for years put me in a good position to be considered. I also knew folks in Lucasfilm publishing by nature of covering Star Wars for my then-freelance entertainment writing work. Even with all that, I had to write samples for Women of the Galaxy before I got hired.
Still: you do not need to be a published author to write non-fiction IP.
While being loud about your fandom and even your goals and dreams to write things for it (I did that once with Star Wars and it paid off with Elee and Me and The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge!) is good, I do not always have the energy for social media these days. I have many fandoms I’m wildly enthusiastic about (Strange New Worlds, Wheel of Time, Rings of Power, things I’m forgetting!) but there are only so many hours in the day for social media and everything that comes with it. So are editors and folks who could hire me as likely to know I’m interested in that IP? Probably not. You can only do what you can do and if you’re already writing non-fiction IP and you know a particular publisher has a license for IP you like, you can reach out to express interest.
Networking is hard and I don’t have helpful advice, I’m sorry. It is not my best thing. Back in the day, Twitter helped me smooth over a lot of awkwardness of getting to “know” people so then I could be awkward in person and be like, ‘So I’m amy_geek on Twitter and we talk a lot on the internet?” I don’t think I would have the writing career I have without Twitter and I don’t know what the replacement is or if there is one.
I’d just say set yourself up for success so that when you have the fortune to come into the right person’s path (or you make that fortune), you are ready to make the best possible impression. I do not recommend sharing unsolicited pitches or writing samples or anything with said person.
Non-Fiction IP Contracts and Rates
Let me first say I am happy and grateful for the work I’ve received and published. It’s rewarding and fun. I want to continue writing non-fiction IP!
But let’s clear something up. Some folks may think that when you write about some of the biggest IP in the world, the pay must be really good. Well… Sometimes it is! Other times it is Not Great. Often, it is somewhere in the middle. Remember to realistically consider the time you will put into research, writing, and editing when you look at the rate and not just the word count. (I do not always do this because I get excited about the work. Do not be like me!) Yes, writing non-fiction IP is fun! Yes, it is still work and you should be paid fairly for it!
The rates vary hugely depending on the publisher. The pay is variable enough that I could not make a living only writing non-fiction IP. I would have to get several non-fiction IP contracts per year and get the payments from those contracts within the year, which is extremely unlikely—but when you see non-fiction IP writers publishing many books within a year, it’s probably because they need to hustle and write that many to pay bills.
Plus, here’s the main thing you need to keep in mind with non-fiction IP (and a way it differs from most fiction IP): it is almost always done on a work for hire contract. A work for hire contract means the publisher pays you a flat fee with no options for royalties or any further money from the book’s sales. The flat fee is often split up into at least two payments. Once you receive the final payment, that’s it.
Can You Get a Literary Agent with Non-Fiction IP?
Probably not. You may have a different experience. But in general, not a lot about non-fiction IP work for hire contracts is up for negotiation. Your agent wouldn’t be negotiating percentages, rights, or any of the complex things they and their agency would normally handle for fiction IP or original works. Additionally, the rates for non-fiction IP are so-so enough that an agent may not want to decrease your fee by taking a percentage.
I got my wonderful literary agent through writing A Kid’s Guide to Fandom, not through any of my other non-fiction IP, work for hire books.
Can You Pitch Non-Fiction IP Ideas to Publishers?
The answer to this is sometimes. Yes, you can pitch ideas—though I’d make sure whoever you’re pitching has said it’s okay first—but will you get approval? That’s where the sometimes comes in. I know of more than one established non-fiction IP author who has pitched an idea to a publisher and moved ahead with it; I do not know if pitching the idea meant additional pay.
In my own experience, publishers seem to have schedules, or buckets, to fill for the various IP licenses they hold and they make a plan for the types of books they need or plan a full slate complete with synopses, get the book ideas approved by the licensor, and then approach authors. Or sometimes the licensor sends the idea to the licensed publisher and once it’s developed, they approach an author.
Regardless, it is not like submitting a nonfiction proposal like you would for an original idea.
In other words, there’s no set answer.
What’s the Writing Process Like for Non-Fiction IP?
It depends.
You’re playing in someone else’s sandbox with non-fiction IP. Various stakeholders will need to give approval on the text. That will likely take time. Sometimes you’ll need to interview people, so coordinating schedules will come into play. That will take time. You might be in direct contact with the licensor’s publishing team or all communications might go through your book editor. Sometimes your book editor will be part of the licensing company’s publishing team.
Projects will sometimes take a while to become real; don’t start work until you have a contract! Some publishers treat a written offer as the first step of a contract, so if you get a written offer, you should bug them about the contract or ask if accepting the written offer means you should start work. Sometimes, even when you have a signed contract, the project will either fall through or will experience delays. That is more likely to happen when the contract is not one that issues an initial payment upon signing.
Be flexible. Be patient. Roll with the punches. Understand you cannot control it. Know that a project that has been moving slowly will probably, all of a sudden, need to move very quickly. Speak up if a deadline is unrealistic or if you have any concerns. Ask your editor a lot of questions.
I tried to cover a lot of ground, but if you have questions about anything else when it comes to writing non-fiction IP, comment below. I’ll try my best to answer!
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A very informative post, thanks Amy! I've done a few steps similar to your journey and we'll see where that goes! I'm very much looking forward to your book clearing up the MCU's timeline. And yeah that guide from your agent is very good - I read it, along with some security his other helpful tips, before submitting to him earlier this year.