Many of you have been to a writers’ conference this summer. It was a fabulous experience where you met new friends, learned new writing and marketing tips, and (hopefully) received requests for your Work in Progress (WIP). Now you’re back and home and real life has set in. The excitement is treasured memory, you’ve had time […]
Author Resources – The Synopsis
Thank you so much for the great input last week on advice for the new author. If you missed out, please feel free to post your best advice in a comment here. We’ll add it to our list. Make sure to include both your name and a link to your website or blog. This week […]
Proposals Part 10 – Formatting
Formatting Your Proposal You will spend a great deal of time creating your proposal, so you want to present it in a professional manner. Before you send it off, check the website of each agent or publisher you plan to contact. If they have posted guidelines for writing and/or formatting a proposal. If they list […]
Proposals Part 9 – The First 3 Chapters
First Three Chapters The first three chapters is the section of the proposal where you can wow the agent or editor with your writing ability. Your platform is very important, but the writing and the story supersede everything (writing is king!). They are looking for something that grabs their attention and holds it—something they can […]
Proposals Part 8 – The Synopsis
The Synopsis A synopsis is like a mini-book report, except stylized to meet the need of agents and editors. You must summarize the storyline in a manner that makes the reader want to read the book. Think of it as telling a friend about a movie you just saw and you’re trying to convince […]
Proposals Part 7 – Comparable Books
Publishers will want to know that there are other books on the market that are similar to yours that have sold well. This underlines the fact that there is an audience they can sell your book to. Spend some time doing research to come up with four or five novels similar to yours in some […]
Proposals Part 5 – Market Analysis & Audience
This section has numerous titles, but basically what the publisher wants to know in this section is who your audience is? What segment of the marketplace will be interested in reading your book? Who are your potential readers? It would be nice if we could simply say that we’re writing for everyone. Or maybe we […]
Proposals Part 4 – Author Biography
The purpose of the author bio is to showcase your writing experience and show that you’re serious about your writing career. The biographical section of the proposal should include your: Publishing History – Mention the title of any books you’ve published, the year it was published, the name of the publisher, and any awards the […]
Proposals Part 3 – The One-Sheet
The One-Sheet Also known as a pitch-sheet or sometimes a sell-sheet, the one-sheet is an overview about both the author and the book being pitched. It is an easy-to-read, one-page information sheet which includes much of the basic information in the proposal. An editor can pull this one sheet out and use it at a […]
Proposals Part 2 – The Cover Letter
Cover Sheet/Title Page & Table of Contents Cover Sheet – This is where you put all the details about your book (title, genre and wordcount) as well as your contact information (name, phone no., e-mail address). The general format for this can vary. Some people prefer to center all of the information. Others center the […]