Sports publishing is a unique genre in the market. Like most other forms of publishing, you will need to consider if you will self publish the book (paying out a fee to a publisher to publish the book for you) or if you will work through an agent and publishing company (where they choose who to work with and sell the books themselves, giving you royalties.) Ultimately, in the sports world, there is a large audience and there is always something attractive about a good old fashion rags to riches story.
Who Should Publish?
Most sports publishing is done by athletes, trainers or others involved in the game, but that is not to say all of it is. In fact, anyone that has a passion or a unique topic to write about can. Publishers are often seeking those types of books that inspire, motivate, tell a story or offer advice in this genre. In some cases, that information can come from any facet of the industry. The key is to be unique, interesting and to have something marketable to sell.
All types of sports are covered in books. Sports publishing covers everything from professional to little league, sledding to NASCAR, horseback riding to flying. The options are endless when it comes to the various fields you can write about. Choose the field you know about and most likely there will be a market for it.
How To Publish?
If you have crafted your unique manuscript and are searching for the best way to publish it, you have options. A good place to begin is with determining if you will self publish or find an agent to publish. At first, you can send query letters to publishers inquiring about their willingness to publish your book. On some topics, such as a famous sports person writing their autobiography, there will be an instant reaction from publishers (especially if there is a draw from the consumer already.) In these situations, hiring a publishing agent is often in your best interest.
Self publishing is an option for many, too. Here, you have the ability to contact a publisher and pay them for the services they will perform. This may include editing, marketing, printing the book and other aspects, or not. Print on demand services and e-books are also an option for those who want to self publish their works. Self publishing allows you to keep all of the rights to the work but you may have to market it yourself to gain any monetary payback from it.
Sports publishing is one of the fields where there is a constant demand from consumers. Nevertheless, having a unique angle or something out of the norm to write your book about is critical to the success of it. Within sports, the market can be susceptible to change too. Once an athlete’s name has been forgotten, for example, there may not be a market for books about him. On the other hand, an inside story can always be acceptable.