Sending partial manuscripts of novels is pretty much limited to when you’re trying to land an agent. Even then, if they decide they’re interested, they’ll nearly always insist on seeing a complete draft before they commit to working with you, and they won’t pitch it to a publisher until it’s been through most of the revisions and is pretty close to final form. I speak not from my experience — haven’t gotten this far yet — but the experience of my professors. According to them, you have to be a superstar to get paid anything up front for a novel you haven’t finished writing. The advance, if you get one, is to seal the contract while your book goes through the final stages (which may include further revisions, if the editor requests them).

With nonfiction (which is where the money is), you pitch the idea with a summary or synopsis, a sample chapter or two, and an outline covering the remaining chapters. Or your agent does. Even then, advance money or funding for research is likely to be paltry unless you’ve got a proven track record of finishing manuscripts, and the publisher has to be pretty certain there is going to be a market for this book by the time it goes to press, which can take 12–18 months from when you finish writing and revising.

It sounds harsh, but I’d rather have it this way. Imagine the pressure of trying to write a story you’ve been paid for. What if the plot blows up on you and the inspiration dries up and your personal life goes south 6 months before your deadline?

Yeah, I’m pretty stoked about this platform. I just hope I can write regularly enough to keep building without falling behind on my school responsibilities. Grad school was grueling at 24, and it’s no less so at 68.