You want to get paid money money money? You have got to do the work ahead of time. 
Here is a look at the actual contract I received and signed. It is 13 pages in length and it came with a nice advance check.
I have blurred it out for privacy.
It is very simple - Do the work ahead of time
Like I said, I landed an actual book deal with a real publisher (for thousands of dollars). And I did it by doing almost all the work ahead of time. I didn't write the actual book until I was under contract. But I did a whole lot of work over the course of years that got me to the point where I was suitable for a book deal. You don't have to spend years on it. This article will outline the basic steps to take in order to increase your chances of getting the deal.
An editor, most likely an acquisitions editor, will be looking for several things when choosing someone to write a book: 1. Do you have the knowledge to cover the subject?
2. Will you deliver?
3. Will you promote and help with the sales of the book?
And you have to be the best candidate for the job. You have to fulfill all these requirements ahead of time. This way the editor will choose you over other potential writers.
So this is what you do:
Start a blog about your chosen subject. And get to writing articles about the subject. In my case the book is about telescopes. I didn't start a blog. I started a website. And I post regularly to it. Here is the website: The Telescope Nerd
I am a webmaster so I created a website. It has more authority than a blog. But that's ok. You can do a wordpress blog nowadays that is just as nice as a website.
There are four very important reasons to do this step. First off you will be establishing yourself as a bit of an authority on the subject. You will show that you have knowledge about it. Second, the blog will be a portfolio of your writing about the subject. The editor can look over and read your writing. And show it to others within the publishing company. And third, you will actually develop, deepen, and broaded your knowledge of the subject. Finally, the editor will find you through the blog.
So, get yourself a website or blog. Start here: wordpress.com
Next step:
Either write a proposal and send it to publishers or wait for a publisher to contact you. The wait technique probably will take much longer. And if you write a proposal you have the proof the back it up (Your blog). Finally:
Over deliver:
In the initial stages, where an editor contacts you through email or telephone they are going to ask for things like a 1,000 word summary, or some sample work. Over deliver that work! Give them good work, more than expected and of the best quality you can do. Once again this is all on speculation. You are doing the work ahead of time to increase your chances of getting the actual job. And get it done ahead of time.
The time line is very very sensitive. A lot goes on at a publishing house when it comes to getting a book published. There are a lot of moving parts between departments like editorial, design, layout, cover design, marketing and even payroll. They need to be confident that you will stick to a time line.
Ok, thats about it.
My publishing contract was to write a book about telescopes. I had six months to do it and the final manuscript was for 50,000 words in that time frame. And along the way there were landmarks of word counts I had to make. Be sure to make all your deadlines. It's important. Because at this point you will be thinking about getting another book deal!
My contract has been completed and the book is published. You can check it out on Amazon.com here:
See It with a Small Telescope: 101 Cosmic Wonders Including Planets, Moons, Comets, Galaxies, Nebulae, Star Clusters and More - Available in paperback and kindle on Amazon right here
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