How to write a business book and be a published author

So you’ve started 2017 with a great idea for a business book and the urge to turn it into the next Business Book of the Year. How do you go about becoming a published author?

Do you need a literary agent? Is it worth self-publishing your book? How much does the working title matter? What should authors do to engage readers before publication?

In this bonus episode of the FT Business Book Challenge, agents, publishers and editors offer their tips to budding business authors.

I chair a discussion about the path to publication with: David Young, former chief executive, Orion Publishing Group; Joel Rickett, publisher, Viking & Portfolio, Penguin Random House UK; and Lorella Belli, owner and founder of the Lorella Belli Literary Agency.

We are joined by Nora Rosendahl, winner of the latest Bracken Bower Prize, and finalists Scott Hartley and Igor Pejic, who pose their questions direct to the panel.

The Bracken Bower Prize is a £15,000 award, backed by the FT and McKinsey, for the best business book proposal by a young writer. The 2017 award will open for entries in the spring.

The FT Business Book podcast will return in February. Do you have ideas for books that should be tackled in the new series, or would you like to take part in the podcasts?

If so, please email businessbookclub@ft.com or tweet #FTBizBooks.