Author: Terry Whalin

Why to Never Submit Your First Draft

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date November 26, 2024
1 Comment on Why to Never Submit Your First Draft

Your first draft is only the beginning, not polished enough to send to a publisher. When your proposal is completed, lay it aside for several days before you send it. You will then be able to read it with fresh insight and make valuable improvements. Remember the old adage “Haste makes waste.” This is particularly true when it comes to writing book proposals. You want to make sure that every single word and sentence of your proposal and sample chapter are excellent. Never rush the process, because it will result in less than your best work.

From years of working in magazine production, I’ve learned one of the most difficult things to find in any publication is something that is completely missing. Yet if something is missing, it will clearly stick out to the reader (in this case, the editor and publishing executives).

Before you send the proposal is the time to catch any errors.

I’ve had fearful authors call me and request that I discard their first submission because of some missing element or incorrect element or poor format. You can only imagine the sloppy impression these calls make on your editor. It’s not the type of glowing impression an author wants to leave.

I’d encourage you never to forget the relational side of publishing. Often your relationship will be more significant than your printed work with a publisher—especially when it comes to what the editor will remember. Editors will move from publisher to publisher, and when this happens, they remember the authors they enjoyed working with on a project at their former publisher. You want to be an author in this particular category. Occasionally editors will brainstorm a particular book they would like to publish and approach an author. When these editors are tossing out names, they will include only those authors who made a professional impression. While this list will not be written anywhere, your editor will recognize excellence and want to take that excellence to a new publisher.

Here are some last-minute questions to ask yourself about your proposal and sample chapter:

Have you hooked the editor with your opening sentence?
Have you included a solid overview or the big-picture concept of the book?
Have you created a catchy title and subtitle, along with some alternatives?
Is your chapter outline logical, and do your chapter summaries address the various points of your book in clear and concise language?
Have you clearly outlined your vision for the book in terms of length or word count, overall appearance, and any special features? Also, have you included the estimated time to deliver the entire manuscript?
Have you listed names of well-known experts that you can secure through your personal relationships who will supply endorsements or a foreword?
Have you detailed your credentials for writing this book in the “about the author” section and shown without a doubt that you are the best person for this task?
Have you provided a detailed analysis of the competition for your proposed book and shown how your project is distinct from this competition?
Have you written a thorough marketing section about the projected audience and how you will join the publisher in a partnership to reach this market?
Have you highlighted any special marketing and sales opportunities you can bring to the project when it is published? For example, is there a special sale with thousands of books that you can create for the project?
Have you created a dynamic sample chapter that is compelling and clearly shows your writing style?

There is no right or wrong way to create a book proposal. The proposals that sell, however, are the ones in which the author thoroughly presents the concept and includes all of the necessary information.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Get a free copy of his proposal book (follow the link). Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Tags book proposals, book proposals that sell, editing, writing a book proposal

Don’t Trust Your Spellchecker

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date October 26, 2024
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As writers, many people choose the course of least resistance. It’s easy to leave the spelling and grammar in your manuscript to your computer. Then the machine can mark any of these errors, you can go through each one, save it and be finished with that process. In this article, I want to give you some additional actions to make sure you submit the best version of your material before hitting the send button to that editor or literary agent.

Book proposals require a lot of work, and anything you send to a publisher should be completely error- and typo-free. Here’s some additional steps every professional writer will take to make sure your submission is in the best possible shape. First, set it aside for a period of time—a day or even a few hours before returning to it and then read every line carefully and aloud to yourself. Why take this step to read it aloud? Because the ear is less forgiving than the eye.

I will print my manuscript, grab a pencil or pen and read through it aloud. As I see something that needs to be changed, correct the paper version of my manuscript. Take the time to read every page of your proposal aloud. I encourage you to review it multiple times, rewrite and make sure every area is complete and your proposal is error free of typos. Also don’t completely trust the spelling checker and grammar features of your word processor. Yes, these feature help but you should not completely trust them.

Recently an author sent a manuscript that I read. When I informed her that it had numerous typographical or spelling errors, she instantly became defensive and said she had spellchecked it numerous times. The English language has many similar words, which your word processor program will not catch. You will have to read and reread your proposal aloud, in order to catch these types of errors.

Here is an example of two sentences that only a person can fix:

The red book was read.

The read book was red.

Each sentence is technically correct, but which one did the author intend to use? Only a person can make this decision and not a machine.

Throughout the publishing industry, there is all this talk about artificial intelligence. In my view you can use it for some things like research and possibly some initial drafts but at the end of the day, the words have to be done in your writing voice. I encourage you to drastically revise and rewrite anything generated from artificial intelligence to avoid any potential conflict.

Consider also taking your proposal to a critique group of other writers. (If you want to learn more about this topic, read my detailed article at terrylinks.com/critique.

Be careful who you let read your proposal, and always take the feedback of family members with a grain of salt.

Ultimately, you are the only person whose opinion on the proposal counts before you send it to a publisher and get their feedback. Some people tend to absorb every positive and negative word from other people. They need to evaluate the comments, take the good ones, and discard the poor ones (purely a subjective call on your part).

After receiving this feedback, make sure you’ve corrected and rewritten every sentence of your proposal and sample chapter to the best of your ability. This type of detailed approach to your proposal will aid in the reception of your materials at the publishing house. Too many proposals and cover letters arrive with missing and misspelled words. Your proposal will rise above the others if you have handled this concern with care and professionalism.

Tags book proposals, book proposals that sell, Grammar, proposals, spell check

Book Proposals

The Hardest Element to Find on Your Proposal

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date September 26, 2024
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The most difficult element to find in your book proposal is something that is missing or not there. I encourage you to read this article to the end because in my conclusion, I’m going to give you a free tool to make sure your book proposal isn’t missing any elements.

Currently most submissions to editors and agents are electronic.

One of the consistent failures of authors is to include their physical address and phone number. At Morgan James Publishing, we receive over 5,000 submissions a year and each one are sent a letter of acknowledgement in the US mail. Countless times I have to ask authors for their address and phone number because it is missing from their proposal submission. If you are missing this information, you could be asking for rejection.

Some submissions are still sent through the mail.

It is presumptuous to assume because you invested in an overnight package that the publisher is going to put postage on your manuscript and return it to you. A publisher who receives thousands of unsolicited proposals and manuscripts each year will not invest in the expense of returning such documents. Instead they will be discarded. Only if you include return postage for a letter response or an email address will you be able to receive the rejection or personal feedback from the editor.

Because of the volumes of proposals, publishers are not going to devote their financial resources to returning those without a SASE. The cost is too prohibitive and unnecessary. It is the author’s responsibility to provide the publisher with an email address or return postage for their submission. Neglecting this detail is a dead giveaway that you are unpublished.

Also don’t expect a personal response—even if you met an editor at a writer’s conference and used that information in the introductory paragraph of your cover letter. I have taught at many writers’ conferences, sometimes almost one a month. I have met literally thousands of new people. It’s hard to keep all of those details straight. My schedule was fairly typical for an acquisitions editor in the publishing industry.

No editor likes to write rejection letters, yet it comes with the job description.

Remember also that the editor isn’t running a critique service for your proposal or manuscript when it is rejected. They would like to give a personal response with each rejection, but with the volume of submissions, it simply isn’t possible. If you do get a handwritten note or any sort of personal feedback, realize the encouragement and positive nature of this small sign from the editor—and do take it to heart. If they write, “This one isn’t right for us, but you should keep trying,” then keep trying with a different book proposal.

It is ironic to me that year after year at writers’ conferences I see the same writer trying to sell the same book proposal to the same editors. I admire persistence, but in some cases persistence is taken to ridiculous lengths. If a publishing house turns down your proposal, move on to another publishing house. Some writers work hard on marketing a single nonfiction or fiction book proposal or manuscript and repeatedly walk with great anxiety each day to their mailbox to see if it is accepted. Instead of this single focus, I suggest you turn your attention to another book proposal or a magazine article (something shorter where you can be successful and published). As you take this type of action it will make waiting much easier.

During my years in publishing, I sent proposals to a variety of publishing houses, either personally or through an agent, and some of these proposals have not been sold or contracted. Instead of continuing to push them into the market, I’ve tucked them into a folder and pressed on to another proposal or idea. From my perspective, the world is not limited to a single idea or a single project. You will have far greater success as a writer with multiple projects in the works, instead of continually focusing on a single proposal. When you mail a stack of proposals to publishers or agents, give yourself a few days of rest, then begin writing another book proposal to send out into the market.

During my years of running my own freelance business, I commonly had five different books contracted at any given time. This idea made some writers’ heads swim. They wondered how I kept track of the various projects. I simply staggered the deadlines for the various books and worked on a new proposal and a current manuscript all the time. It gave me a steady stream of work and income. It also meant that when I completed a manuscript or a proposal, I started on another one. You may work differently, but I encourage you to have multiple ideas and multiple proposals in various stages of completion so you will increase your chances of success and publication.

Understand the importance of including a self-addressed, stamped envelope or an email address for a response.

And if you don’t want your proposal or manuscript returned, then be sure your cover letter clearly states this information. It’s a key secret to your success.

In the opening to this article, I promised to give you a free tool to send a complete proposal and not miss a critical aspect. I’ve created a free book proposal checklist. Just follow this link, get it but most importantly read it and use the information for your submissions. I wish every author the greatest success.

Tags book proposal, book proposals, book proposals that sell, submissions

Book Proposals

A Practical Example at Getting Endorsements

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date August 26, 2024
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Last month I told you about how you can gather high profile endorsements for your book proposal. Check this link if you haven’t read it. In this article I want to give you a detailed example of how to get a high-profile endorsement.

A while ago, I was honored to work as the writer with Vonetta Flowers on her first-person story, Running on Ice. Vonetta was the first African American to win a gold medal in the Winter Olympics (2002 women’s bobsled). In an interview with her coach, he gave me a terrific quotation from Bob Costas at NBC Sports in his wrap-up of the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake. I wondered if I could get a printed endorsement from Costas. From experience, I knew how to give this endorsement its best possible chance.

To my surprise, a few hours later I received a brief email from the manager saying, “Terry Whalin, I know that name. We’ll get back to you.” I thought, Know my name. Who knows my name? Within the next day, the manager fulfilled her promise and came back with the revised wording on the endorsement, plus permission to use it. My publisher was thrilled to have such an endorsement to use in the publicity for Running on Ice. Here’s the endorsement from Bob Costas at NBC Sports:

First, I drafted a possible quote or endorsement and made it tied in a general way to my book manuscript. My real challenge was to reach Bob Costas. I searched the Internet, but my search was futile. Then I called the newsroom of NBC in New York City and explained my request and my credentials (I touted my journalism credentials). Whoever answered the phone gave me the email address for Costas’ manager. I drafted an email of introduction explaining my request for an endorsement—including the possible wording, hit send and waited.

“One of the best stories of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake came in women’s bobsled. Vonetta Flowers and her partner, Jill Bakken, won the Gold Medal. Vonetta thus became the first African American to win a Gold Medal in the Winter Games. In Running on Ice, Vonetta tells the story behind her achievement. To finish first and be the first, that’s Vonetta’s singular distinction.”

Everyone has to determine at what point to put their energy into endorsements.

It might be at the end of the project right before publication—or before you even get a contract.

Why? One reason is the sheer work involved in gathering them. Few people want to expend this sort of effort for their books, wondering if the effort is worth it. I’ve been publishing long enough to know that some books sell better with endorsements. Book buyers will look at a book in a bookstore or on a conference table and make an instant buying decision. Sometimes they purchase the book because of the endorsement. The endorsements or foreword for the book can also influence the store buyers (the people who make decisions whether to carry your title in their stores or chain of stores).

A longer endorsement is called a foreword. Note the spelling of foreword, which is one of the most misspelled words in publishing—not forward. In general, a foreword is like a short magazine article or about 1,000 to 1,500 words. I’ve drafted forewords for a number of well-known people. Why? Because it is easier for the personality to adjust or edit what you have written than to create it themselves. If you put in the work to send a “draft” foreword and it sounds like the person, then you are more likely to get a “yes” or acceptance from this person.

Consider the audience who will influence the purchase of this book—which names saying positive things about the book will draw the reader to your book. I understand why some authors don’t bother with endorsements—because they do take more work and effort. I know from working in the publishing business, however, that endorsements can make the difference as to whether a publisher takes your nonfiction or fiction book proposal and offers you a book contract. I recommend that you consider how you can get endorsements for your proposal.

I encourage you to put the effort into gathering endorsements.

The first step is to create a list of potential endorsers. As you write this list, dream big and list celebrities, bestselling authors, sports figures, businesspeople and pop culture. Select people who will be connected to the topic or subject of your book. Then begin your research process to pitch them. Create a short paragraph pitch and offer or even include a draft endorsement. Finally, be persistent in taking action and working on these endorsements.

Every day books are sold and purchased because of an endorsement on the cover or back cover of a book. As an author who takes action, you can get these endorsements for your book. It will take a measure of persistence to get them, but they will help you in many different ways.

https://dl.bookfunnel.com/aq5j0acu9o

Tags book proposals, book proposals that sell, endorsements, high profile endorsements

Book Proposals

How to Get High Profile Endorsements

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date July 25, 2024
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Do you know a well-known person who will agree to write an endorsement or foreword for your book? Resist saying that you will seek endorsements from Beth Moore, Max Lucado or former President George Bush—unless, of course, you have personal access to these people. Well-known public figures are besieged for endorsements and forewords. Several of my best-selling author friends receive requests such as these each week from publishers and their author friends. If they receive these requests, you can imagine how difficult it would be for an unknown person to receive an endorsement.

Many of these people will want to read the entire book manuscript before associating their name with it because of poor experiences in the past. Others will just reject you up front and still others are prohibited from endorsing or writing forewords for books by their nonprofit boards.

As an editor, I’m almost cynically amused when I receive a proposal from an author who suggests endorsements from Dr. James Dobson at Family Talk, Rick Warren and other well-known figures with whom they have no relationship or means to get such an endorsement. Yet in some cases with a completely unknown author, I’ve seen publishing executives vote to publish a book because the proposal included a foreword from a well-known Bible college professor or someone else with instant recognition. If you can collect such a foreword, include this information in your proposal. Make sure this person is well-known in the broadest possible circles of influence. Some beginning authors include endorsements from their local pastor who is virtually unknown. It’s better to omit these types of endorsements from unknown people as it brands you as an amateur.

One of the best articles I recommend to writers in this area is an article titled, The Elder Rage Success Sage written by Jacqueline Marcell. An unpublished author, Marcell collected 57 rejections with her book manuscript. She decided the only way publishers would seriously consider her topic was to gather numerous celebrity endorsements before the manuscript was contracted. After nine months of work, she had impressive quotes from celebrities such as Leeza Gibbons, Dr. John Gray, Mark Victor Hansen and many others. As she writes in this article, “Polite persistence turned out to be the key.”

Think about the potential reader for your book. What person’s endorsement would influence that reader to purchase the book? With this list in hand, can you possibly reach this person and get an endorsement?

This article shows the power of persistence. Sometimes you will not receive an endorsement simply because you didn’t ask. Make sure you allow several months for the person to meet your request. If you expect the endorsement or foreword to be completed in a few days, you are bound to get the easiest response and the one you don’t want to hear—no. Instead, I recommend you follow the persistent pattern of Jacqueline Marcel and make your proposal standout from everyone else.

Tags book proposal, book proposals, endorsements, publish book proposal, submit manuscript

Book Proposals

Email Your Pitch Before Sending Your Proposal

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date June 28, 2024
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Before you fire off your proposal to a literary agent or an editor, get permission to send them your book proposal. You will probably email the proposal as a Word document or PDF as an attachment. Publishing professionals are often reluctant to open unknown attachments because they can have computer viruses. Every writer needs to craft a one- page email, you pitch to the agent or editor about your proposal.

Don’t send a book proposal via email unless you first secure permission from the editor.

Send a short regular email first asking about submission before sending any attachment.

First, create an interesting subject for your email. Then begin your email with a compelling question or a statistic or an intriguing statement. Your first paragraph can be the opening paragraph to the overview of your proposal—but your first use is in the pitch to get permission to send the proposal. Editors receive a great deal of email from their authors and publishing colleagues and other people inside and outside of their company. One publishing executive told me that he receives over 300 emails a day. Because this executive occasionally travels and doesn’t check his email for several days, you can imagine the backlog of information he must wade through upon his return. The same situation is true for editors and agents. Many publishers have stopped accepting unsolicited proposals and manuscripts due to the overwhelming flood of poor proposals.

If you do mail your submission, here’s another no-no: do not use colored paper or fancy fonts. No one wants to read material in Bookman Old Style or Lucinda Sans Typewriter—even if your computer has these fonts. You would be surprised at the lengths some people go to get attention with their mailed manuscript. These writers get attention but it’s the negative type. Stick to something standard such as 12 point New Times Roman font.

There is no need to include your graduation certificates or your PowerPoint presentations (yes, people send these items to publishers. I’ve seen it firsthand). Also you don’t have to send your proposal by priority mail, Federal Express or overnight delivery. Some people send proposals using this method so they can track it and know that it has arrived on the editor’s desk. This is an unnecessary expense.

While it is completely obvious to me, I need to tell you that your manuscript must be typed.

I had always heard about handwritten manuscripts but despite the hundreds I have reviewed, I had never seen one—until recently. I received an entirely handwritten manuscript (fiction). I found it almost frightening to be holding the single copy of another person’s work—especially in this electronic world. I read it and returned it promptly to the author, so it did not stay long in my possession. Most of my recent book contracts will say that the manuscript is to be delivered to the publisher in an electronic format to save keyboard time. The overall key point is for your submission to be professional and normal—not to stand out because of something unusual. It is your concept, your writing and your storytelling that will make the greatest difference to the editor.

The editor has many other tasks and will not read your material any faster if it is sent overnight. This may gain you a negative reaction instead of a positive one. Only send something rapidly if you have been in touch with the editor in advance and they request it. Frequently email is the best way to submit to editors. If you use the regular mail, print your proposal on plain white paper. It is critical the writing be the focus and not some strange, attention-gathering method which could easily backfire and lead to rejection.

Before you hit send for your one-page pitch, pause and re-read it.

Make sure every word and story is targeted to the right editor or agent. You only get one chance to make a good first impression and it will happen with this pitch letter. I wish you great success to find the right agent or editor.

Tags book proposals, book proposals that sell, proposals

Book Proposals

Why I Simultaneously Submit My Proposals

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date May 26, 2024
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In the early days of my writing, I wondered if I should submit my material one at a time or simultaneously. In general, professionals are slow to respond and could take months to respond. It’s best to simultaneously submit but you need to disclose this practice in your cover letter.

Do not send your submission electronically unless the editor specifically requests it. In trying to cut costs, many writers prefer to submit their proposals via email attachment, but many editors do not prefer this format. They receive a great deal of email from their authors and publishing colleagues and other people inside and outside of their company. One publishing executive told me that he receives over 300 emails a day. Because this executive occasionally travels and doesn’t check his email for several days, you can imagine the backlog of information he must wade through upon his return. The same situation is true for editors and agents. Many publishers have stopped accepting unsolicited proposals and manuscripts due to the overwhelming flood of poor proposals.

As someone submitting a nonfiction or fiction book proposal, you want to remain above this fray. Don’t send a book proposal via email unless you first secure permission from the editor. In these times of computer viruses, editors are hesitant to open an attachment from someone they don’t know. Send a short regular email first asking about submission before sending any attachment.

Also, there is no need to put your proposal in a three-ring binder or use any extra folders or presentation materials. I once received a large manuscript in a notebook binder. The author had punched three holes into every single page of the manuscript, then placed it into the binder and shipped it overnight to my address. There is no need to include your graduation certificates or your PowerPoint presentations (yes, people send these items to publishers. I’ve seen it firsthand). Also, you don’t have to send your proposal by priority mail, Federal Express or overnight delivery. Some people send proposals using this method so they can track it and know that it has arrived on the editor’s desk. This is an unnecessary expense.

While it is obvious to me, I need to tell you that your manuscript must be typed. I had always heard about handwritten manuscripts but despite the hundreds I have reviewed, I had never seen one—until recently. I received an entirely handwritten manuscript (fiction). I found it almost frightening to be holding a single copy of another person’s work—especially in this electronic world. I read it and returned it promptly to the author, so it did not stay in my possession for very long. Most of my recent book contracts will say that the manuscript is to be delivered to the publisher in an electronic format to save keyboard time. The overall key point is for your submission to be professional and normal—not to stand out because of something unusual. It is your concept, writing and storytelling that will make the greatest difference to the editor.

The editor has many other tasks and will not read your material any faster if it is sent overnight. This may give you a negative reaction instead of a positive one. Only send something rapidly if you have been in touch with the editor in advance and they request it. Frequently email is the best way to submit to editors. If you use regular mail, print your proposal on plain white paper. It is critical the writing be the focus and not some strange, attention-gathering method which could easily backfire and lead to rejection.

The first step for any writer is to create an excellent proposal and submission, then to send it simultaneously. Finally, you need to keep track of the submissions and if you get a book contract, then contact all of the pending submissions and let them know your book is now under contract. These actions as a professional writer make a difference how your reputation is in the marketplace so you can write for years ahead.

Tags book proposal, book proposals, writing a book proposal

Book Proposals

Create a Compelling Title

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date April 25, 2024
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One of the biggest errors I see with book proposals is the author has put little or no effort into the title for their book. They have thrown some words on the page or even submit with the words “working title.”

The title for your book should be three to five words that snap the editor’s head around and hook them into reading your proposal. It should also tell the editors what the book is about. Many first-time authors are concerned when they read the standard book contract which normally says the publisher selects the title for the book. If you have a great deal of personal attachment to your own idea for a book title, I’d encourage you to get over it. The book publisher has a far greater financial investment in the actual production costs of the book; thus, he is the final authority on the title. I always tell beginning writers that if you create a great title, it will stick throughout the consideration process. As you write your book proposal to sell, your task is to find the perfect title for your book—along with several alternative titles.

For example, I created the title Lessons from the Pit for our original book proposal that eventually received a book contract. The publisher added a lengthy subtitle, but the original short title stuck throughout the entire process.

Many times, I’ve created the title for my book and it’s been ultimately used—even though in my contract I gave the final authority over to the publisher. In particular, my nonfiction children’s book titles have remained the same. For one of these books, I wrote a short-retold Bible story about Paul and Silas in jail entitled A Strange Place to Sing. You have to admit that singing when you are thrown into jail is a strange reaction, but it’s exactly what the apostle Paul and his traveling companion Silas did in the book of Acts. A short story about Jesus and the children was titled Never Too Busy. This title illustrated the central theme that Jesus Christ is never too busy for a child (or an adult). Simple titles usually will stay throughout the entire publishing process—particularly if they are central to the content of your book.

Another factor to consider in choosing titles is whether any other book already has this or a similar title. The book publisher will look at your title with this perspective in mind. It doesn’t make sense for salesmen to present a new book to a retailer, only to have the retailer say, “Isn’t that like this book over here?” Because you can’t copyright a title, two different publishers can issue a book with the exact same title.

Years ago, I found an example of this in the fiction area. (It also happens in nonfiction.) One of the popular genres of fiction is called “Chick Lit.” Kristen Billerbeck’s novel, What A Girl Wants (Thomas Nelson), was released on March 7th in an original paperback. Later, while reading a monthly newsletter at a bookstore, I spotted the same title—from a different author and a different publisher—What A Girl Wants (NAL Trade) by Liz Maverick—a paperback novel released on March 2nd. As much as possible, publishers attempt to avoid this confusing situation.

Even without the same title, you can count on readers to confuse your book title and sometimes recall a wrong word or two. Yet you still want the retailer to be able to locate your book and sell it. Put the necessary time and energy into researching and creating an excellent title but offer several alternative titles as well.

Book publishing is not a solitary task; rather, it is a matter of consensus building. As the author, you have to convince an editor to believe in your book and champion it internally. This editor then has to convince a room full of publishing executives that they need to publish your book. In the title process, give your editor the ammunition he needs to convince the others.

An excellent title is a factor you need to consider thoughtfully before you submit your proposal. Brainstorm a series of possible titles. After years at working for Morgan James Publishing, I know your title ideas will be much more valued and accepted than at most traditional publishers. A key part of your book proposal creation is a compelling title.

Tags book proposal, book proposals, compelling title, titles

Book Proposals

Write a Spellbinding Sample Chapter

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date March 26, 2024
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One of the most important parts of every book proposal is the sample chapter. The sample of your writing must be compelling because it is a taste to the agent or editor of what will be written in the book manuscript.

When I presented a book proposal at the publishing house, several of the executives didn’t read the first part of the proposal that included the overview, chapter summaries, author bio or the marketing plan. Instead, they turned to the sample chapter and read it first. If the sample was excellent, they read the rest of the proposal. If the sample was poor, then they had formed their opinion (and likely a final decision) regarding the suitability of this book to add to our publishing list.

In many ways, this type of reading pattern is smart—because the writing should be what sells the publishing executive on a particular project. It’s why they have to publish your particular project, so make sure you invest a substantial amount of energy and excellence into your writing. It should be compelling, and the stories should make the reader (editor) turn the page to learn more. You need a combination of personal experience and how-to information in a nonfiction book that is appropriate for the particular publishing house.

And what are you adding “extra” to the sample chapter? Beyond your storytelling (which needs to be excellent) and your information (which needs to be simple, yet profound), are you adding some questions for the reader to think about or sidebar articles to give additional tidbits of information throughout the book? What special feature can you add that will make your book stand out?

Here’s one caution as you add this “extra” feature to your sample chapter:

Make sure you consider the cost of this feature. Sometimes authors will create a plastic “gimmick” to go with the book without thinking how this “gimmick” will be produced and what it will add to the value of the book? If the feature is something that can be printed like the rest of the book, it will not be an issue. But if it involves artwork (read extra cost for the publisher) or design work (again more production cost), then your “extra” may be a cause for rejection rather than help your proposal.

Children’s authors tend to lean more toward using gimmicks.

I once met with a new author who was also an artist. She had produced a series of removable Christmas tree ornaments in a book format that would celebrate the days leading up to Christmas. While the concept was interesting, the production costs would be astronomical. This author looked at me like I was crazy when I asked, “And what will be the retail price of this book? A hundred dollars?” I’m certain she thought I was trying to blow off her idea, but I was simply trying to get her to realize the cost of such a feature. The idea wasn’t a practical one that a publisher could execute without a high retail cost or a huge volume of printing.

You may have noticed that best-selling authors’ books have some very nice features.

Possibly beautiful artwork or the author’s signature is embossed into the hardcover underneath the paper book jacket. These features are possible if you are going to print two million copies at the same time and are able to gain strong economic discounts and economy of scale. In most cases, however, new authors can’t ask or expect such features as the publisher will be taking enough of a risk in simply printing their book. Adding the “extra” feature has to pay off for the publisher.

Take extra time to polish your sample chapter so every member of the publishing committee will be eager to get your book under contract and become a part of their forthcoming publishing plans.

This is something you can do as the author to help build enthusiasm inside and outside of the publishing house.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Get a free copy of his proposal book (follow the link). Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Tags book proposal, book proposals, sample chapters, writing a book proposal, writing samples

Book Proposals

Make an Irresistible Proposal

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date February 25, 2024
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Every author has a challenge with their submission to an agent or editor. How can your proposal become irresistible? Other proposals can be passed over but yours must be presented and kept. One of the magic keys is to include special sales in your marketing plans. I guarantee it will separate your book from others because almost no one talks about this important area of the book market.

Can you come up with a special market for your book that will sell 10,000 to 100,000 copies from the first printing? Does this sound impossible? It’s not. According to Jerrold Jenkins, president of the Jenkins Group in Traverse City, Michigan, the majority of special sales (a special sale is anything outside of the traditional bookstore setting) for books originate from the author who turns up these leads and creative ideas to sell thousands of books. Could your book contain a special back cover with the symbol of the organization and be used as a membership renewal gift? Could it contain a special letter from the president on the first page of the book? These books with a special cover or special inserted letter are called “special sales.”

Book sales have a fundamental problem that has been around since the Great Depression.

Retailers can order your book into the stores (good news for that to happen). But it doesn’t remain on their bookshelves forever. If your book doesn’t sell after a period of time, they can return the book to the publisher (not good news). These returns are charged against the earnings of your royalties. Special sales are never returned! They are guaranteed sales for the publisher and the author. I would encourage you to take some time at the Jenkins Group website and study the various examples of special sales. While these examples might not be exactly like your idea, be creative in your plan and potential for sales and include this plan into your proposal under the category of promotion.

As an editor, I love to locate an author who understands it takes more than excellent writing to sell large volumes of their book. I’ve discovered a book that is a valuable resource for writers in this area called How to Make Real Money Selling Books (Without Worrying About Returns): A Complete Guide to the Book Publisher’s World of Special Sales by Brian Jud (One Square Pub). This book documents that more than half of the books sold are sold through non-traditional channels such as mail order, warehouse clubs and other means.

Have you ever read the sales numbers of a particular book and wondered how that particular book ever sold in the bookstore? Some of those big sales numbers have been outside the bookstore.

How to Make Real Money Selling Books is a valuable resource for any writer to think outside the box.

Jud covers many specific strategies for generating special sales. As you read these strategies, determine which ideas are appropriate for your book, then incorporate them into your nonfiction or fiction book proposal. Including this type of information at the beginning of the publishing process will show your publisher your intention to be proactive in the sales process. Proactive authors who understand how to sell books are attractive authors to any publisher.

Jud’s earlier book, Beyond the Bookstore and his newer title are loaded with current statistics and contact information such as, “Today, the worldwide book market approximates $90 billion. Almost one third of those sales occur in the United States. Over the past ten years, the amount of sales through traditional outlets is decreased by 11 per cent (down 19 per cent without factoring Internet sales), and sales through non-bookstore outlets have increased by 8 per cent.” Three major advantages of special sales include control over your destiny, customization potential and nontraditional market segmentation. If you utilize the information in this book to generate a detailed marketing plan for your book proposal, it will help your proposal stand out from all the others on the acquisitions editor’s desk. Only the author has the passion and intense interest in their book. Use this book to increase your sales and strengthen your book proposals.

If you include even the beginnings of an effective marketing plan in your proposal, you send the following messages to the publisher.

Publishers are looking for authors who have connections to their readers—either through an email list or an active social media platform. In a few seconds, any editor or agent can check your social media on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or any number of other platforms. If you blog, have you added recent entries? If you podcast, do you have recent programs? Your active involvement in these platforms will be an important part of your proposal. Make sure you include the links and numbers in your proposal. Those numbers with the right publisher could translate into book sales and readers.

Never forget that there are thousands of proposals circulating at a publisher. Your goal is to make your proposal irresistible—and something they have to publish—before a competitor snaps it up.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Get a free copy of his proposal book (follow the link below the image). Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Tags book proposal, book proposals, marketing, marketing plan, proposals

Book Proposals

Create a Fascinating Marketing Plan

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date January 25, 2024
No Comments on Create a Fascinating Marketing Plan

Many would-be authors are surprised to see this element in the component of an excellent book proposal. They think to themselves (and some of them verbalize), “I’m not self-publishing my book. Isn’t the publisher supposed to be putting together a market plan with a specific commitment of dollars?”

Here’s the problem

Every publisher has limited marketing and publicity dollars to promote their list of books. The bulk of the money will go to the top authors, and if you are a new author, you can expect that your book will receive minimal treatment—unless you show the publisher that you deserve something different.

I met Jacqueline Deval, publisher at Hearst Books, who has also been a director of publicity at several publishing houses. One of the best resources for authors is Deval’s book called Publicize Your Book!, An Insider’s Guide to Getting Your Book the Attention It Deserves (Perigee Books). From the opening paragraph in the introduction, Deval provides authors with the following realistic expectation:

The reality of book publishing is that there are too few resources to support every book.

This means that some books will get publicity campaigns and budgets while others will go without. Additionally, most publishing houses are not staffed with enough publicists to mount a full-fledged campaign for every book. Because of this, editors must compete with one another to lobby the publisher, and the marketing and publicity departments, for the funds and staff attention to promote their books.

What type of marketing ammunition can you include in your book proposal so your editor can champion your cause? Because of the expense of publishing a book, a publisher will expect you to actively work at marketing your book to your connections. Many writers are stumped about what to include in this section of their proposals, so they write, “I’m willing to do radio, television and print interviews to promote my book.” Of course, you will be willing to do these interviews. If not, you have no business even taking the steps of creating a book proposal and writing a book. Publicizing your book comes with the territory after the book is published.

Other authors will write, “My book should be featured on The Today Show.” Every publisher long for their books to be featured on The Today Show because these appearances help drive books to the bestseller list. The reality is few authors get this opportunity—even though their publisher may try. The producers at The Today Show (or Good Morning America or any other talk show) are bombarded with literally thousands of new books. It’s not realistic to include such plans in your proposal.

To achieve success in your marketing plan, you need to get into a different mind-set.

As Deval says in the first chapter, “An author who thinks like a marketer, and who starts thinking about marketing before the book is even completed, will help the book toward a successful publication. The author is in the best position to offer suggestions for marketing that the house might have overlooked and sometimes to help bridge any difficult internal relationships among the publishing team that might impede the book’s success. (In-house squabbles do happen in business, and while in a just world they shouldn’t interfere with a book’s progress, sometimes they do.) Most important, the author can be the catalyst to motivate a house’s enthusiasm about a book (page 4).”

Deval’s perspective in her book is valuable to anyone writing a book proposal or with a book to be published. As an insider, she understands the stresses and limitations within a publisher. She helps the author come alongside the publisher with creative and cost-effective ideas without being a pushy, high maintenance author (yes, they exist).

Take some time to creatively think about the topic and the book that you propose.

Which specialty groups are potential targets for this book? Do you have a connection to these markets through an organization or network to reach them with your book? If you don’t presently have a connection with the target group, how can you acquire one? You have the passion and drive for your particular topic, and you need to pass this passion on to the publisher. Through the marketing section of your proposal, show the publisher that you understand the marketing for your book and your willingness to be involved.

Tags book proposal, book proposals, marketing books, marketing plan, Marketing while waiting for publication, proposals

Book Proposals

Cast a vision of Your Book

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date December 25, 2023
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As the writer of the proposal (and eventually the book), it is your responsibility—not the editor’s or publisher’s—to create the basic vision for the book. It’s much easier to change a suggested format or length than to create it in the first place.

Many people fail to include this specific information in their book proposals.

What does your book look like? Is it 40,000 words or 140,000 words? When I’ve called authors and asked for this information, they often reply, “Well, what size of book do you need?” As an editor, I hesitate to give this size or cast this vision. I’ve been a writer for too many years and know that whatever vision I would cast, the author would tell me, “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” whether they were thinking such a thing or not, because of their eagerness to sell the manuscript.

It is the responsibility of the author to cast the vision for the book and project a word count and finished length. To help you cast this vision, let me tell you that most standard 200-page paperback books are about 50,000 to 60,000 words. Many beginning writers are hesitant to give such a number because they’ve never written a long book. Others include a smaller number like 25,000 or 30,000 words. This size is not attractive to many publishers as it produces a small, thin book.

Why is thickness a factor? Walk into any bookstore and look specifically at the number of books displayed with the cover face out on the bookshelf. You’ll find only a few. It’s mostly a space issue with the bookstore owner. More books can be stocked if they are spine out from the bookshelf. A 25,000-word nonfiction book will not have much of a presence in the store with the spine out and it will easily be lost on the shelf.

Your proposed vision for the book should be something a large number of publishers could produce.

Many writers tell me, “I want the publisher to decide how big the book will be.” Then they say with pride, “I’m flexible.” To be “flexible” will not cut it with the editor. You are the expert on this particular topic and subject matter; it’s why the publisher is paying you an advance and investing a great deal of money to produce your book. You have a responsibility to envision the length of your book. How many words will you need to completely cover your selected topic?

This number is critical to a successful book proposal as the editor uses this proposed word count to project the number of pages in the published book. Then he works with the production personnel to run the production numbers. These numbers are put into the Performa or spreadsheet document that gives the complete financials on the book. The author never sees these numbers, but based on these figures, the editor has parameters for offering an advance on the royalties of the book and the percentage for royalties.

Without the author’s word count, the editor can’t accomplish this important function—or he takes a wild guess at the number which could be substantially wrong. These financial figures are used for much more than simply your project inside the publishing house. They are used for annual budget projections for the editorial area and other places. While seemingly a small issue, these financials figure into other areas inside the publishing house.

Beyond the word count or length of the manuscript, you also need to provide a delivery date.

It is important to remember the word count with nonfiction because the entire manuscript is not complete. You have written only the proposal and a chapter or two of the project. How long will it take you to write the remainder of the book?

When I have approached authors about this question, they ask me, “When do you need my manuscript?” It’s a trick question that your editor cannot answer for you. You are the only person who knows the demands on your time and energy during the coming months and how quickly you can write the book. This timeframe is different for every person because one person writes several thousand words in a day while others may only be able to write several hundred words a day.

Why is the completion date important?

Because whatever date you tell the editor for completion, will go into your book contract. This date sets off a chain of events throughout the publishing house (production, marketing, sales and editorial). A detailed schedule of events and benchmarks to produce the book is created and various people are held accountable for the scheduled events—events that are unknown to the authors. Authors are notoriously late; however, a late manuscript can cause delays that could hinder the success of your book.

If during the contract process, you agree to submit your manuscript in six months or eight months or twelve months, then your editor will be expecting your manuscript on time. If you deliver your manuscript a month late or two months late (it happens more often than you would know), you will throw off all the internal plans the publishing house is making for your book, plus the assigned freelance editor will have their schedule thrown off. You will set off a chain reaction that can and will influence the effectiveness of your book sales.

Also, the marketing will be affected regarding your manuscript delivery date. The publishing world has several trade magazines such as Publisher’s Weekly, Library Journal and Christian Retailing. Each of these publications has a slightly different audience, but they all select books to be reviewed and highlighted to booksellers (always an important market for authors). The submission deadlines are months in advance of the release date for a review of your book to appear in these key trade magazines. If your publisher doesn’t have your manuscript, then your book will not be one of those submitted to the trade magazines for review and you will miss a key marketing opportunity. Almost every magazine works four to six months in advance of the cover date printed on the magazine. The marketing department of your publisher is aware of these due dates and needs to have your book manuscript in order to make the greatest possible impact.

You don’t want to bear the responsibility of your book not being properly marketed or sold into the stores because you missed your book deadline by one or two or even three months. Be thoughtful about it and don’t give yourself a deadline for delivery that will be impossible to achieve. Set a reasonable due date which will work for you. It’s a key part of your responsibility with the vision casting for your book.

Tags book proposals, completion date, vision of your book, word count

Book Proposals

Understand and Know Your Competition

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date November 25, 2023
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After reviewing countless book proposals, you would be shocked at the large number of authors who include a competition section that begins, “This idea has no competition because it is unique and has never been done before.” Or they say, “There is nothing like this in the marketplace. No competition.” Wrong. If you have this type of language in your proposal, remove it. The acquisitions editor or literary agent will know that you are an amateur who has no real sense about the realities of the book publishing marketplace.

While your material is unique and will fill an exclusive unique place in the market, every new book will compete with other books. King Solomon had it right when he wrote, “there’s no end to the publishing of books” (Ecclesiastes 12:12 The Message).

You are the expert on your particular topic, so it’s important that you include which books will compete with your product. I often tell writers to imagine their book in the bookstore. Which section of the bookstore will contain your book? Now think about the books that will be next to your book. Who are these authors and what will make a customer select your book instead of a competitor’s?

In this section, you need to list half a dozen books that will be direct competition to your proposed book. In particular, make sure you examine the bestselling books in your specific category such as self-help or religion. You need to do more than simply list the titles. Now, here’s the key: Explain how your book is different and distinct from these books. Give a one or two sentence summary of the contents of the competing book, then a couple of sentences about how your book is different.

Many writers are surprised to learn that researching the competition is the responsibility of the author, not the publisher. No editor can be an expert in every aspect of the book market. You are the author who is asking the publisher to invest in your proposal—so you have the obligation to locate your competition, understand the content of the competition, then distinguish those books from the new product you propose.

When you list the competition, make sure you list the title of the competing book, the author, the publisher and the publication year. Many authors neglect at least one of these aspects in their competition section of the book proposal. As an editor, I would have to ask them to revise their proposal and include it. To make this request, I had to locate a phone number or email address for the author (your proposal should include both elements), ask for the additional information and give them a deadline. To make these types of requests require the editor’s time which is in short supply. This lack also gives your proposal another reason for that dreaded form rejection letter.

As the writer, you may never know the true reason your proposal was rejected; thus, your objective should be to “rejection proof” your book proposal and eliminate this type of simple omission.

If a particular competing product has been on the bestseller list or has sold many copies and you have this information, then include it in this section about the competition. Such information will affirm your expertise in the topic for the editor (or agent). Your book proposal is your business plan and the competition section is an important part of your research.

Tags book proposals, comparative titles, competetive analysis

Book Proposals

Why Are You The Author?

As an acquisitions editor and a former literary agent, I’ve reviewed thousands of book proposals. For any writer who wants to catch the attention of an editor or agent, one of the basics is to understand a critical aspect for them to include in their proposal. One of those critical elements is your proof about why you are the best person to write the book that you are pitching. In the proposal, this section often has a simple title: “About the Author.” In this article, I’ll detail some questions that you must answer in an engaging fashion to gain the attention of the editor or agent.

As you write this section, don’t be shy.

It’s the time to roll out your authority and credibility. Publishers give increasing importance to the author and their connections in their particular area of expertise. Six key areas should be included in this biographical sketch:

What are your credentials in this particular subject area?
What are your career credentials to write about this topic? Begin with your most professional credentials related to the topic, and then list other careers in descending order of importance.
What is your educational background to write on this topic? In general, a Master’s degree and higher carries weight independent of the subject area, although some agents and editors avoid academicians and their writing. Academic writing is completely different than the popular type of writing which is most broadly published. Often someone steeped in academia has learned to write in convoluted sentences and difficult syntax. If you have a higher degree in a particular area related to your topic, it can help you if your writing does not sound like a textbook. Be aware that touting a higher degree can send a message that the editor or agent should be cautious.
What credits, awards, publications and memberships can you highlight that relate to your topic? If you have published in magazines, then list some of them, particularly if the titles are familiar to the editor or agent. Leave out anything that would diminish your proposed work or you as the author.
What promotional skills have you shown through your past books or publications? Not everyone has something to put in this area so don’t panic if nothing comes to mind here. If you have had success promoting other products, be sure to include them in this section.
What personal data can you include? Some authors choose to leave off this final section, but it’s the one paragraph or opportunity for the author to show that they are an interesting human being—someone that the editor (or agent) would like to meet. This personal information will separate you from a mass of qualifications and credentials the editor sorts through as he or she makes a decision about an author.

Editors and agents will appreciate the energy and effort that you pour into this section of your proposal.

Tags about the author, agent, book proposal, book proposals, editor

Book Proposals

Why Publishers Prefer Proposals

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date September 26, 2023
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When you submit your materials, editors, agents and publishing executives prefer to read a well-crafted proposal instead of a full-length manuscript. For several years, I’ve been an acquisitions editor or the first person to read the proposal or manuscript that comes into the publishing house. I’ve interfaced with the publisher’s existing authors and talked with them about new projects. I’ve also championed many first-time authors’ proposals inside the publishing house, presented them to the publication board (the decision-making body in most houses), worked up the financial figures (an internal document which no one sees outside the publishing house), then negotiated with the author or their agent on the final contract. I have firsthand, insider knowledge about the consideration process and can give you a glimpse at how your proposal will be processed and handled.

As you think about approaching a traditional publisher, keep these points in mind:

If the publisher has been in business for some time, a key and regular part of their acquisition’s strategy is to return to their existing authors (provided these books are selling well) and ask these authors for additional projects.

If a publisher has a book with an author who has been consistently selling in the market, they have less risk of publishing another book from this same author and sell it to the audience. Like many other businesses, publishing is about managing risk. To take a completed 60,000-word manuscript and produce it into a book will cost the publisher anywhere between $25,000 and $50,000. This number isn’t a typographical error. Recently I attended the annual conference of the American Society of Journalists and Authors in New York City. One of the participants on a panel about book proposals was Brian DiForio, a New York literary agent who is a former editorial director for some major publishers. He presented to the conference some even higher production numbers, saying,

“Even with a modest advance of $20,000 to $30,000, the overall costs for the publisher are between $75,000 and $100,000. You are proposing a business decision like any proposal to a bank.”
Brian DiForio

These numbers do not include marketing or advertising expenses nor do they account for a large advance for the author (which increases the risk for the publisher). The number is pure production costs, editorial expenses and design costs for the cover and interior pages of the book.

Publishers make this type of financial investment in an author with care, forethought and wisdom—especially if they want to stay in the book business for many years.

If you are writing nonfiction children’s books, the above figure doubles. When I mention this information at a writers’ conference, I can hear the visible gasps in the room. Many parents have read stacks of 24- or 32-page full-color books to their children. They’ve seen few words on the page and probably believed they could have easily written a better book. They don’t realize, however, that the production numbers for these books can vary from $150,000 to $200,000. The reason for these costs is because when it comes to children’s books, the publisher normally purchases full rights from the artist to whoever owns the artwork in these books. In general, these artists/illustrators do not receive a royalty for their work, only a flat fee, and that price adds to the production expense.

Before I began working inside a book publishing house, I had written more than 50 nonfiction books, ranging from children to adult books. I had always worked through traditional publishers. However, I was unaware of the financial production numbers for book production, and I found it shocking—and something critical for potential authors to understand. The author never sees these figures for their books as the publisher doesn’t reveal them throughout the contract negotiation process. A publisher will produce these financial calculations as simply a part of good business practices. As an author, understanding this helped me see publishing as a business. Authors have huge amounts of time and emotional investment in their words. When I saw these production numbers, I understood that the publisher, not the author, has the largest out-of-pocket cash investment in a book.

Inside the publisher, the editor will gather a sales projection about how many copies the sales department believes they can sell of your title the first year.

That sales figure will be used to calculate the production costs of ink, paper and binding for various amounts of printing (5,000, 10,000 or 15,000 copies). As the initial print number is raised, the cost per book decreases. You may ask, so why not print a large volume each time? The answer is, if the publisher prints a large number of copies, then he has to store those copies in their warehouse (read cost and expense), plus make sure they actually sell those copies within a year’s timeframe. The cost of tying up financial resources in storing and warehousing books can become expensive. Also, the federal government taxes publishers on each copy in storage. These tax rules have forced publishers to think long and hard about how many copies of each book to print.

Inside my former publisher, we calculated the overall printing details of the book (paperback with general publishing look or hardcover with jacket) and the number of books to print before offering a book contract. In short, publishers pour a great deal of work into their books and financial projections before they call you and offer a book contract. Understanding this process helps you see some of the reasons it takes such a long time for an author to receive a publishing contract.

I know I took a brief aside to explain about the inner workings inside a publishing house. Now let’s return to my original point about book acquisition. Often the publisher returns to an author with whom they have already published a book. If the publisher takes a second or third book from the same author, they are investing in that author’s career and trying to build that author’s audience and market. If the author’s books are selling well, then the publisher will be eager for another project. Each week, publishers monitor sales numbers on their books to see if particular authors merit another book contract.

Many writers focus only on the creative aspects of writing a book and getting it published, but the executives inside a publishing house are businesspeople who want to sell books and turn a profit at the end of the day. It’s a delicate balance between creating the best possible product and assuring that each product has the best opportunity to sell into the market and reach the target audience. Book proposals are a critical tool in the decision making process and every writer needs to create one.

WW. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Get a free copy of his proposal book (follow the link). Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Tags book proposals, proposals, publishing, publishing industry, publishing tips

Book Proposals

A Practical Story: Why A Proposal Is Important

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date August 25, 2023
No Comments on A Practical Story: Why A Proposal Is Important

At a small coffee shop, I met Joe Leininger who had traded for ten years in the Eurodollar Pit of the Chicago Mercantile. In that incredible greed-centered environment, Joe thrived and made a million dollars every year for ten years and then retired. He had some strange and fascinating stories about his experiences on the Merc floor, which he began pounding out in a nonfiction book manuscript. While the writing experience was cathartic for Joe and lots of fun, he wanted a regular publisher to produce his book manuscript.

Unlike the average author, Joe had a few personal connections with some book publishers. He thought this would give his manuscript an advantage for publication, so he submitted it for their consideration. After several weeks, each package was returned with a rejection note. Without professional guidance, Joe was unsure how to get his book published and into the traditional bookstores. Because of his personal resources, he could self-publish his book and have a garage full of his work, but he was wise enough to understand that, in general, book publishing is a closed system. For your book to be sold in the bookstore, it needs to go through a traditional publisher who has a distribution channel for these stores. To test this, pick any self-publisher, go into your local retail bookstore and search for any title from this publisher on the shelf. You will be hard pressed to find much (if any) of this type of product.

I met with Joe, and he gave me a copy of his manuscript. From my reading, I could see potential, but I also spotted a key flaw. Joe included fascinating stories about his experiences in the pit, but these stories had no takeaway information for the reader. He missed passing along the lessons from his experiences to other people—whether they ever saw the crazed action on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile or not. Readers approach books from a selfish viewpoint. Every book has to answer the key question, “What’s in this book for me?”

With some prodding on my part, Joe produced a series of 16 lessons about life and success from his work in the Pit. These lessons became the backbone of the book proposal that I wrote. Eventually Broadman and Holman published our book entitled Lessons from the Pit. Each lesson became a single chapter in the book.

Every reader approach nonfiction books with the desire to learn something for himself and take away some information or insight from their reading. The material has to be told in an engaging manner, but every sentence must be written with the reader in mind. The same approach is necessary when writing a book proposal. You are writing the proposal to attract an agent or editor, and eventually the publisher. If you focus the entire book manuscript on what you want to say without thinking of the reader, it will not be a book a publisher will want to print.

Always remember one basic lesson about nonfiction book publishing: In general, publishers buy book proposals for nonfiction—not book manuscripts. I know Joe has multiple ideas and hopes to write other books. The last time I checked, he was pounding out another complete manuscript. I trust he learned this basic lesson. Certain people are doomed through their stubborn persistence to repeat the lessons from the past. If you follow the advice in Book Proposals That $ell, however, you can benefit from my long-term experience in the publishing world.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Tags book proposal, book proposals, publishing, publishing industry, self-publishing

Book Proposals

The Difference Between a Fiction or Nonfiction proposal

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date July 25, 2023
No Comments on The Difference Between a Fiction or Nonfiction proposal

Possibly you are an author who writes nonfiction and fiction. Because I’ve worked in both areas of the market—fiction and nonfiction—it’s valuable to clarify the distinction. In simple terms, nonfiction is factual whereas fiction is a created story. Sometimes new authors get confused about what they need to market their fiction or nonfiction materials to a publisher.

Two of my published author friends referred someone to me. Often it takes several email exchanges to figure out why I am corresponding with a person and what they need. In this situation, the individual had a proposal for a publisher. If it’s a fiction project, then I want to correspond with the person using my publisher email address and because of my position with the publisher. On the other hand, if the proposal is a nonfiction project, then I will probably correspond with them through my personal email address. On a rare occasion, I help people get their nonfiction proposals into shape to show a publisher. On other occasions, I will co-author a project with someone and other types of combinations. It takes some exploration to determine what a person needs and if I can help this person.

I began to exchange emails with this unpublished writer who had received a sample book proposal from my published author friends. The writer followed their example and submitted it to a major publishing house which rejected it. This person wondered whether or not he needed my help with the proposal creation. To sort out what needed to be done, I asked the writer to send both proposals to me—the one from the published author friend and the unpublished proposal. I received them within a short period of time.

First, I looked at the proposal from my published author friends. I was a bit surprised at the simplicity and lack of completeness of this book proposal. As an editor, I’ve seen many book proposals and can quickly evaluate them. Some published authors, after achieving a particular level of book sales and market success, don’t have to produce a complete book proposal to get a publishing contract. Because of their track record of book sales or the ready-made audience and market for their writings, their submission process is much more simplified than the unpublished author.

Next I looked at the unpublished author’s proposal to see if it needed to be reworked before he sent it out to other publishers. At a glance I could see the problem. This author used a nonfiction proposal format for a fiction proposal project. He was wasting his time, and energy to market the wrong project in the wrong format. No wonder the publisher rejected his submission.

When I wrote and asked him about it, he quickly responded, “Is the proposal for a fiction proposal different from a nonfiction proposal?”

I told this potential author that the forms were radically different. You are doomed if you follow a nonfiction book proposal format for a fiction submission. I assumed this author was a first time novelist. In general, publishers require these authors to have completed the entire 80,000 to 100,000 word manuscript. It takes a great deal of time and energy to write 100,000 words (typically about a 300-page novel). Usually driven from the need to tell the story, these writers work long hours at their computer to complete the manuscript. For the book to be published, these pages need to be polished, fast-paced and generally excellent. If the novel requires a great deal of work, then it’s almost certain to be rejected. Many authors have heard the story of Max Perkins, the editor for Thomas Wolfe. Perkins would pull a little of this and a little of that and from his editorial skills create a classic novel. Those editors are long gone in this business. Instead, the publisher expects the novelist to complete the entire work on speculation—without any certainty of a publishing contract. Why?

I’ve heard numerous horror stories from long-time editors who contracted a novel because of a dynamic chapter or a terrific plot. Often fiction will change as the story is written. An inexperienced novelist writes their plot into a place where they are stuck and they don’t know how to complete the story. This type of situation becomes ugly for both the author and the publisher. From these experiences, publishers have learned to ask for the entire manuscript from first time fiction writers. In addition to the completed manuscript, first time fiction authors need a dynamic synopsis, combined with an outstanding marketing plan, to explain how you are going to personally sell your book. Finally you need to tell the editor a bit about yourself in a short personal bio. Novelists will send out shorter pieces, such as a couple of well-done sample chapters, synopsis, marketing plan and bio, and then ask if the editor wants to see the entire manuscript. An excellent book on this process for fiction authors is Your Novel Proposal From Creation to Contract by Blythe Camenson and Marshall J. Cook.

The story for nonfiction is totally different. You can write a nonfiction book proposal and get a publishing contract. From my experience an excellent proposal is critical for nonfiction and fiction. Several years ago, literary agent Jennifer Rudolph-Walsh was interviewed in a writers’ newsletter. Over ten years earlier Rudolph-Walsh was an agent with the Virginia Barber Literary Agency and pulled in a $400,000 advance for Ethan Hawke’s first novel. She said, “A well thought out proposal with an outline and a table of contents and maybe one to three sample chapters is enough. A friend of mine had a whole nonfiction manuscript and couldn’t sell it.” Rudolph-Walsh had the author chop off the first three chapters, then she sent it out and got $550,000 for something that couldn’t be sold for any price only four months earlier.

What counts in a nonfiction proposal is the promise of what’s to come with the finished manuscript and the editor’s potential to push the manuscript slightly in one direction or another. My experience says that the editor doesn’t push it much in the process, but because a proposal is in more of an “outline” format, it has the illusion of the editor pushing it. Normally I’ve written each of my nonfiction books exactly like I wrote them in the proposal—chapter by chapter.

Keep these statistics in mind as you think about your nonfiction book proposal. At any given time, 500,000 proposals and manuscripts circulate across the United States. With good writing skills and using the secrets in this book, you can beat these odds and get a contract. One major publisher received over 6,000 unsolicited manuscripts and proposals in a year, yet didn’t accept a single one. These thousands of proposals weren’t written well and didn’t include the necessary elements of a proposal, nor were they appropriate for this particular publisher. The writer has to fulfill every expectation in order to stand out from the other submissions.

Book Proposals That Sell can save you hours of effort and potential heartache. As you write, keep in mind this important statistic: nine out of ten nonfiction books are sold from a nonfiction book proposal.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Tags book proposal, book proposals, fiction, nonfiction

Book Proposals

Begin at the Beginning

You have a burning desire to write a book. Join the crowd. You might be surprised to learn how many people are writing a book. According to a survey from the Jenkins Group, Inc., a Michigan publishing service firm, 81 percent of Americans feel they should write a book. Jerrold Jenkins, CEO of this group, estimates that more than 6 million Americans have actually written a manuscript—just over 2 percent of the population. As Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts told me, over 4,500 new books are published every day which amounts to a massive amount of new material entering the marketplace. If you have this desire, how do you begin?

The majority of inexperienced writers will sit down at their computer and pound out their entire manuscript—no matter if it is 40,000 words or 140,000 words. They will begin on the first page and write until the end. It’s a major mistake and wasted effort to follow this course of action. On one hand, these writers should be commended because they took the time, energy and discipline to complete their entire book. Many writers begin with good intentions but stop after completing several chapters, deciding that it’s too much work. If you fall into the category of a person who has completed a manuscript, you should be congratulated on that large amount of effort and energy.

I’ve taught at a number of writers’ conferences around the U.S. and Canada, and I’m often surprised at the number of people I meet who have invested the time and energy to produce an entire nonfiction manuscript—even some people who “should” know better. Several years ago, during a writers’ conference, I arranged a meeting with a leader in a large nonprofit organization (outside of the participants at the conference). We were discussing a possible book project and how we would work together. I explained to him about how the majority of nonfiction books are contracted from a book proposal, not a full-length manuscript.

After our hour-long meeting and just before we ended our session, he turned to me and said, “I have a book manuscript that I wrote last year. How do you suggest I get a publisher?” It was as though he didn’t listen to the previous conversation. Like many people he had found a subject and a need to address in a book. Not locating a book on this subject, this writer began to doggedly write the entire manuscript from first page to the final page. You have to admire his determination but this type of effort is mostly futile. A book manuscript doesn’t contain much of the information or the format for a publisher to make a decision and issue a book contract.

If you are one of those readers who has written a full-length manuscript, then don’t despair. You need Book Proposals That Sell more than ever. With your manuscript in hand, you can use the details in my book to create a book proposal. This proposal becomes the tool you will need to sell a publisher on your manuscript and convince them that they should publish your book.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Tags aspiring author, book proposal, book proposals, writer, writing books

Book Proposals

Brainstorm An Excellent “Working” Book Title

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date May 26, 2023
No Comments on Brainstorm An Excellent “Working” Book Title

“The publisher will never use my title.” Or “It doesn’t matter what I call my book because the publisher will change it.” Writers often make these statements but they are not true from my decades of publishing experience. Repeatedly, if the author has an excellent title, then these words will make it through the publishing process. The best publishing is a consensus building and team approach if you want the best title for your published book. I’ve been in meetings inside publishing houses where a white board is filled with possible titles for a book. Representatives from marketing, editorial and sales are in this room for brainstorming the title of a book. The one person who is not in that room is the one who has the most information about the content of the book—the author. The only way this author is represented in the room is through their book proposal. Yes this business plan document is important and something every author needs to create for their book—even if they self-publish.

Every author needs to put a lot of energy into finding the best “working” title for their book. If you do, then your proposed title could be the published title for your book.

Here are some basic guidelines:

The main title should be three to five words long. It has to fit the spine of a book and most books are spine out. Select short, punchy and active words.
Test the title with friends and relatives to get their feedback and reaction. You can even brainstorm titles with a group of friends. In your proposal have a main title but also include a section with other possible titles.
Check the title on Amazon (the largest online book catalog). Do other books use the same words? You can’t copyright a title and often other books use the same words. Possibly the title was used years ago and that book is out of print. Or your research may restart your title search to the beginning.
Create several possible subtitles for your book (particularly nonfiction). The subtitle highlights a benefit for the reader. For example, Book Proposals That Sell (title), 21 Secrets to Speed Your Success (reader benefit).

Pour the right effort into your title and you will be rewarded with your working title becoming the name of the printed book in the bookstores.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. Get Terry’s recent book, 10 Publishing Myths for only $10, free shipping and bonuses worth over $200. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. The revised and updated edition released in October. You can get a free book proposal checklist. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Tags book proposal, book proposals, book title, brainstorming, working book title

Book Proposals

The Missing Author Document

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date April 26, 2023
No Comments on The Missing Author Document

Most authors are focused on writing the best possible manuscript—an important task. While your writing is important, there is another document many writers miss—yet you need to create: a book proposal. This document is your business plan—even if you self-publish or write children’s books or fiction or nonfiction. Originally I wrote this book as a frustrated editor to get better submissions. Yet it is much more

Throughout my decades in publishing, I’ve written many different types of nonfiction books: biographies, how-to, diet, self-help, co-authored books, children’s books and others. I’ve interviewed more than 150 bestselling authors and written their stories for various magazines. It’s not that I’m the best writer in the room but I am one of the more consistent, persistent writers.

I attend conferences and pitch my ideas to editors.

I listen to their response and sometimes they say, “That’s a good idea, Terry. Write that up and send it to me.” I make a little note, then I go home. write and send it. Now that doesn’t mean I get published, but I did give myself a chance to get published because of my submission.

Now I go to conferences as an editor and listen to writers pitch their ideas.

I listen carefully and if I hear a good idea, I encourage them to send it to me. I’ve been to conferences across the United States and Canada listening to writers and encouraging them to send me their material. Here’s a startling statistic: probably only about 10% of those writers actually submit their requested material. I follow up through email and often a phone call to encourage them to send it—but they don’t submit.

There are several other key factors from my experience:

Professionals continue to work at learning the craft of writing. I’m constantly reading books and taking online courses and learning. The authors who disappear off the bestseller list figure they have arrived at their craft and don’t have anything else to learn. Yes, I’ve met some of these writers.

Professional writers keep in touch with readers through an email newsletter and have invested the time to learn about their audience (readers) then write what they want and expect. These professionals also understand the importance of gentle follow-up. Notice the word “gentle” because if you are too pushy, the easiest answer to give is “no thank you.” Yes, often takes patience, persistence and time.

These professional writers also understand the importance of continual pitching to decision makers (editors but also radio show hosts, podcast creators, and others of influence). Authors who succeed in the publishing world are looking for opportunities. When they find the open door, they have the boldness to move forward and seize it.

Also professional writers understand the importance of deadlines and meet those deadlines with quality writing. As an editor, I’ve fielded calls from writers who are not going to make their deadlines. They have many reasons—some of them even reasonable. Writers are notoriously late so publishers often build some room for such excuses into their schedule—but don’t be one of those writers. I’ve taken some crazy deadlines from publishers and sometimes stayed writing at my keyboard all night to send my manuscript on the deadline. It’s another key for those writers who succeed in the book business.

The path is not easy for any of us and takes persistence, consistency and discipline.

But it is possible for you to find the right idea and the right book and the right publisher at the right time. I understand there are many rights which need to align. It simply will not fly if you don’t try.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Tags book proposal, book proposals, manuscript

Book Proposals

Authors Who Succeed in The Book Business

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date March 29, 2023
No Comments on Authors Who Succeed in The Book Business

I attend conferences and pitch my ideas to editors. I listen to their response and sometimes they say, “That’s a good idea, Terry. Write that up and send it to me.” I make a little note, then I go home. write and send it. Now that doesn’t mean I get published, but I did give myself a chance to get published because of my submission.

Now I go to conferences as an editor and listen to writers pitch their ideas.

There are several other key factors from my experience:

Professional writers keep in touch with readers through an email newsletter and have invested the time to learn about their audience (readers) then write what they want and expect. These professionals also understand the importance of a gentle follow-up. Notice the word “gentle” because if you are too pushy, the easiest answer to give is “no thank you.” Yes often takes patience, persistence and time.

The path is not easy for any of us and takes persistence, consistency and discipline.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Tags author advice, biographies, book proposal, book proposals, Co-authors, nonfiction

Book Proposals

Will An Editor Fix All My Mistakes?

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date February 25, 2023
No Comments on Will An Editor Fix All My Mistakes?

Among writers in the publishing community, there is a false belief that my submission does not have to be perfect because the editor will fix any mistakes. After all, isn’t that what editors do?

While I’ve been an editor for decades, I’ve also been a writer. I believe it is important for writers to understand some of what editors’ face. A key responsibility for every editor is to produce the best possible magazine or book for their company. They want every publication to be as excellent as possible. In their search for content, they are looking for the best possible writing for their particular audience. To catch their attention, you want your submission to be a fit for what they need and as enticing as possible.

“You only get one chance to make a good first impression.”
An old yet true saying,

The first impression from your submission is a critical factor. As a writer, you do not want to be missing some crucial element for the editor. The hardest missing element to find with your submission is something that is not there.

Another important element for you to know about editors is many editors are not writers. Yes, they write emails or guidelines but they do not write for publication (magazine or books). Their expertise is in management of workflow and excellent editing skills. Also, a number of my editor colleagues do not teach workshops at writers’ conference. It is simply not in their skill set. These individuals can recognize excellent writing and can adjust your writing but not create it in the first place which is a different skill.

Recently I spoke with a bestselling author and asked about her forthcoming books. She admitted that she had no forthcoming books because she had not written a book proposal or made a pitch through a query letter. If you want to be published at a magazine or publisher, you have to learn how to craft an enticing book proposal or query letter then be pitching it consistently until you find an editor who is interested. Every magazine and publisher has expectations about what they need. They spell out these expectations in their guidelines which are often on their website. The simple steps are to study their guidelines and what they publish, and then send the editor what they need.

While writing is a creative endeavor, publishing is a business.

As you understand the business, marketing and selling aspects of publishing, this information will feed into your submission and you will become more of the type of writer that editors want to work with and publish.

I’ve been in some of the top literary agencies and publishers in the United States, the good news is every one of these professional colleagues are actively looking for quality writing—whether they send you a response or not. Each personal is actively reading their email and their physical mail looking for the right fit. If you write what they need, you could be the next person that they publish.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Tags book proposal, book proposals, edits, Publisher, publishing, publishing industry, publishing tips

Book Proposals

Make Your Proposal Stand Out

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date January 26, 2023
No Comments on Make Your Proposal Stand Out

Recently I met one of my long-term friends, a publisher of a well-known book company. Speaking about how I manage author expectations, I said, “I tell every author it is 80% up to them to sell the book.”

“That 80% is the same thing we tell authors, “He affirmed. Are you taking your responsibility for selling your own book? This attitude is critical in any proposal because it will shine through your words.

Editors and literary agents receive hundreds of submissions. You have seconds to catch their attention before they move to the next one. How can you distinguish your book proposal? Consider these seven keys:

stereotype metapher leadership or exclusion

Create an Unforgettable Title

For example, I recently received a proposal from a former nun who wrote a marriage book. The juxtaposition of “nun” with “marriage” caught my attention. While the publisher usually controls the title, I’ve found if you pitch an unforgettable title, it will stay throughout the process. You are the best person to create this title.

Begin With a Great Story

And continue with thoughtful well-organized content. You don’t just throw the words on the page to have this dynamic. Your writing and rewriting will capture attention. Your first sentence and first paragraph must draw the editor to read more. Otherwise, they will go on to the next submission.

Target a Specific Audience

A specific audience that you know and knows you. Books are not written for everybody but to a particular audience. Your proposal identifies this audience.

Write a detailed marketing plan to reach your audience

Practical author plans get attention from literary agents and editors. The operative word here is practical. Eliminate any exaggerated statements or hype because it is an instant turn off to publishing professionals. For example, I’ve seen proposals saying they will have endorsements from Chuck Swindoll and James Dobson when the author had zero connection to these bestselling authors and it was not going to happen.

Identify Five or Six Competitive Books in Your Proposal.

Every book competes and if you understand your competition, you will stand out.

Carefully Craft the First Few Chapters

Craft the first few chapters of your book and include these chapters with your proposal. The sample chapters showcase your writing to the literary agent or editor.

Use my proposal checklist (http://terrylinks.com/bookcheck) to ensure no critical elements are missing.

A standout proposal takes hard work, but you can do this work. This important tool will snag a top agent or get an editor’s attention.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Tags book proposal, book proposals, Great story, stand out, target audience, Unforgetable title

Book Proposals

When Your Book doesn’t Sell

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date December 26, 2022
No Comments on When Your Book doesn’t Sell

I used to cringe when I saw the mail or email from one of my publishers. It probably contained a royalty statement and experience told me many of those numbers would begin with a minus (negative balance). I’ve written for many different traditional publishers and have had this experience from a broad spectrum of types of books including how-to, self-help, biographies, gift books and children’s books.

When your book sales are off, it’s a natural tendency to want to blame someone. Maybe my editor has left and my book was orphaned inside the publisher with no champion or advocate. Maybe my publisher didn’t market the book to bookstores. Maybe they changed the title between what was printed in the catalog and what was published. Or _(fill in the blank). I’ve had all of these things happen to my published books. Good publishing involves a cooperative process and working with many different people. Much of this process is outside of the author’s control.

I’ve also learned there are many pro-active steps authors can take to change their situation.

1. Take 100% responsibility for your own success.

In The Success Principles, Jack Canfield makes this the first principle. Over ten years ago, I heard this
principle and adopted it in my publishing efforts.

2. Be active in the promotion and marketing of your book.

As the author, you have the greatest passion for your book—way beyond anyone else including your publisher. The great promoter, PT Barnum said, “Without promotion, something terrible happens—nothing.” Consistent promotion of your book is important.

3. Be Generous with your book.

Reviews sell books but many authors have few reviews for their book on Amazon or Goodreads or Barnes & Noble. Give books to people who are willing to write a review. If they’ve never written a review, give them a tool to help them like with this form.

4. Ask for others for help.

“You do not have because you do not ask.”
New Testament, James 4:2-3

If you need endorsements, ask but make it easy for them to say yes (offer to draft it). If you need social media promotion, ask but create possible posts. Here’s an example of a page, I created to help others help me spread the word on my latest book.

5. Take the long view of publishing.

Publishing and promoting a book is more like a marathon than a sprint. With the huge volume of published books, someone has to hear about your book seven to twelve times before they purchase it. What actions can you take every day to give your book this exposure? My Billy Graham book trailer has been seen over 11,500 times in the last five years.

6. No matter what happens in your life, keep going.

In Perennial Seller, New York Times bestselling author Ryan Holiday writes,

“The hard part is not the dream or the idea, it’s the doing.”

If there were a simple formula to create a bestseller, every book would be a bestseller. There are practical actions every author can take. Each part of the publishing process has challenges and as writers your persistence and consistency is critical. As #1 New York Times bestselling author Jerry B. Jenkins wrote in the foreword of my book, 10 Publishing Myths, “Only one of a hundred writers literally make their deadlines.” If you meet deadlines with quality writing, it’s an easy way to stand out from the crowd. I wrote 10 Publishing Myths to give writers realistic expectations and practical steps every author can take to succeed. Today, you can get the 11th Publishing Myth as a free e-book.

When you point a finger at others because your book is not selling, just
remember: when you extend your pointer finger, four more fingers are bent back
toward you. Take action today.

What actions can you take today to continue to build your sales potential?

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your
Success. Check out his free e-book, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His
website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Tags book proposal, book proposals, publish, publish book proposal, publishing, publishing tips

Book Proposals

A Simple Proposal Formula

Post author By Terry Whalin
Post date November 26, 2022
No Comments on A Simple Proposal Formula

I wrote about 50 books with traditional publishers and even crafted two proposals that got six figure advances—before I began working inside publishing houses over 20 years ago. At this point, I’m acquiring books for my third publishing house, and I have reviewed thousands of proposals and manuscripts (no exaggeration). There are many different templates and models to create a book proposal. Yet there are some consistent elements that need to be in every proposal to capture attention and get published.

After reviewing this wide variety of proposals and manuscripts, I’ve decided attractive proposals boil down to a simple formula. Your proposal needs to contain the standard sections detailed in my free book proposal checklist http://terrylinks.com/bookcheck This formula works no matter what you are writing (nonfiction or fiction).

Passion + Sales = book contract

Every writer must have a passion about their story or their subject. Possibly you are passionate about the life-changes from people reading your book. Or maybe the story is in the forefront of your mind, and you are driven every day to write more pages. Whatever the topic you will be thinking about this topic not only during the writing but the marketing process and without passion you will not be motivated to complete the writing or work on the marketing of the book. Maybe you’ve specialized in a certain skill or topic that you are writing about. This expertise is something you are ready to tell others about and its key to your success. An editor or skilled professional can improve the writing, but passion can’t be instilled and must be in the heart and mind of the author. This passion shines through your storytelling in your proposal.

Sales or potential sales is the second key ingredient for your proposal. Who will buy this book, and do you have a reach to this reader? If not, can you create this reach? In some areas of publishing, this sales potential is called “platform.” There are many different ways to build this audience. Whether you have a large or small publisher, in today’s market the author carries 80% of the marketing responsibility. Publishers create attractive books then they sell your book into the bookstore. Here’s the “catch” related to getting your book into the bookstores: without the author’s marketing activity, every retailer can return the books for a full refund. You must have this reach or the ability to generate this reach or you will not have sales. Thousands of new books (no exaggeration) are published every day. To get a book contract, you must have these crucial elements. What actions can you take today to continue to build your sales potential?

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Tags book proposal, book proposals, formula, Passion