Tag: cherrilynn bisbano

Categories
A3 News

A3 Columnists in 2019 Selah Finals

It’s always fun to see who see the list of the Selah Award finals every year. Almost an Author usually has a good showing of columnists who have entered the contest and made the finals.

By far and away, Michelle Medlock Adams has run away with five Selah finalist submissions in the categories of: YA, Children’s Lit, Devotionals and Anthologies. In the Children’s Lit category, she had two entries: C is for Christmas, Little Lamb Books & Dinosaur Devotions, Thomas Nelson. Michelle is our #KidLit columnist. Congratulations, Michelle!

Our magazine columnist, Linda Gilden, made the finals of the Online Articles category with “Personality and the Writer,” published online with Southern Writers Magazine. Congratulations, Linda!

One of our book proposal columnists, (and I might add, former managing editor), Cherrilynn Bisbano, contributed to the Heart Renovation Bible Study, compiled by Katy Kauffman, Lighthouse Bible Studies. Congratulations, Cherrilynn!

And lastly, I’m proud to announce your current managing editor, Donna L.H. Smith, made the finals in the Western fiction category with her second novel, Rose’s Redemption, Hartline. I’m patting myself on the back. (smiles)

2019 Selah Award Finalist

We wish them well! The Selah Awards are prestigious and it’s an honor to make the finals.

The awards will be presented on May 22nd at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers’ Conference.

Categories
Book Proposals

Book Proposals for Different Genres

“What’s the difference between a fiction book proposal and non-fiction?”

“Do I need the illustrations when I submit my children’s book proposal?”

Join Cherrilynn Bisbano and Caleb Walton for an informative chat. As they answer these and other proposal questions.

 

Cherrilynn Bisbano is an award-winning writer.  She founded The Write Proposal after reading hundreds of book proposals with avoidable errors. These errors cost the author a contract or representation. As a submission reader and junior literary agent, Cherrilynn wants you to succeed.  Her desire is to help you present a professional and memorable proposal.  She has written proposals for Paws for Effect, a Hollywood movie company, and helped edit many proposals.  As the managing editor of Almost an Author, she helped the website earn the #6 spot on the Top 100 best writing websites for 2018 by The Write Life and Top 101 Websites for writers with Writers Digest.

Cherrilynn hosts Genre Chat where she’s privileged to interview expert writers like Jerry B. Jenkins, Cecil Murphy, Michelle Adams and Steven James.

She earned her associate’s degree in communications and continues to study business management.

She is a two-time winner of Flash Fiction Weekly. She’s published in many online magazines and blogs. Cherrilynn contributed to Chicken Soup for the Soul- Miracles, Breaking the Chains, and Heart Reno books.

Cherrilynn proudly served in the military for twenty years, earning the John Levitow Military leadership award.

HOLLAND WEBB

Holland Webb is a full-time freelance copywriter and digital marketing strategist living near Greenville, SC.

His clients are leaders in the online retail, higher education, and faith-based sectors. Holland has written for brands such as U.S. News & World Report, iLendX, Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, MediaFusion, Modkat, Great Bay Home, IMPACT Water, and BioNetwork.

He is a featured writer on Compose.ly, and his copywriting column appears on Almost An Author.

You can reach him at www.hollandwebb.com

CRISTEL PHELPS

Cristel is “Saving the world from bad writing, one project at a time, all while drinking copious amounts of coffee.”

Cristel is part of the Serious Writer team, lending her editing expertise to writers at conferences and online. Mentoring and coaching authors through the editing and proposal process is what makes her shine. She is also a member of The Christian Pen and owner of The Editing House, where she edits manuscripts and other projects for the Christian industry.

Managing editor for Decapolis Publishing in Lansing, Michigan for 7 years.

Editing reviewer for CBA for 5 years.

Editing for Elk Lake Publishing for 4 years.

Deep POV edit is her specialty.

 

 

Categories
Book Proposals

Create a Winning Competetive Analysis

“Can I really compare my book with a bestselling author’s book?”

“Why do I need this? Won’t I shine the light on their book and not mine?”

“How many books do I need to compare and contrast?”

“What is a competitive analysis, anyway?”

These are just some of the questions I get while assisting my clients with the Competetive Analysis portion of their book proposal.

The CA is vital because it is used to prove to the agent or publisher that your book is similar enough to already published books that have an audience,
yet different enough to grab those established reader’s attention. It provides information on how well your book might sell in the same genre or market.
Publishers and agents love to see numbers, so the facts from a well developed, well researched CA can be used in your marketing plan which in turn gives you a better chance to get a contract.
Before you create you CA ALWAYS read the agent or publisher’s submission guidelines.

Here are a few tips to creating your Competitive Analysis

Research
Make a list of 7-10 books that tell the same type of story or give the same kind of information as your book.
Look for competing books on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, BookDepository.com and other online booksellers.
Take a trip to a brick and mortar store or library to investigate what books are on the shelf where your book would
be once it’s published.  Yes, add a few bestsellers to the list. Note that traditionally published books by a larger publisher are preferred.
Stay away from self-published books unless they’ve sold thousands in the first year. Make sure the book was published within the last 5-7 years.

Obtain the following information from the books you chose to compare and contrast.
Title and subtitle
Author
Publisher
Copyright year
Number of pages
Format (paperback, hardcover, etc)
Price
ISBN
Answer these questions when you write the compare and contrast portion of each book.
How is my book similar?
How is my book different?
What promise does the author make to readers?
What promise does my book make that is different/similar from the other book?
How are my credentials similar/different from the other author?

Never criticize the other book or author.

Creating a professional book proposal takes time and effort. Many agents and publishers look at the Competitive Analysis and Marketing Plan first.

They want to know that the author is informed and ready to promote their book.

Yes, the proposal seems harder than writing the book, but I have total confidence that you can do it.

Stay the course, my friend. I’m here if you need me.

For more writing tips, check out www.seriouswriter.com/blog

Cherrilynn Bisbano is an award-winning writer.  She founded The Write Proposal after reading hundreds of book proposals with avoidable errors. These errors cost the author a contract or representation. As a former submission reader and junior literary agent, Cherrilynn wants you to succeed.  Her desire is to help you present a professional and memorable proposal.  She has written proposals for Paws for Effect, a Hollywood movie company, and helped edit many proposals.  As the previous managing editor of Almost an Author, she helped the website earn the #6 spot on the Top 100 best writing websites for 2018 by The Write Life and Top 101 Websites for writers with Writers Digest.

Cherrilynn hosted Genre Chat where she was privileged to interview expert writers like Jerry B. Jenkins, Cecil Murphy, Michelle Adams, Liz Curtiz Higgs, and Steven James.

She earned her associate’s degree in communications and continues to study business management.

She is a two-time winner of Flash Fiction Weekly. She’s published in many online magazines and blogs. Cherrilynn contributed to Chicken Soup for the Soul- Miracles, Breaking the Chains, and Heart Reno books.

Cherrilynn proudly served in the military for twenty years, earning the John Levitow Military leadership award.

Categories
Book Proposals

DON’T SLAP THE DOCTOR WHEN YOUR BABY IS SICK

Editors are like doctors.

People entrust their precious baby to them. Their beautiful, chubby, and well-loved child. Doctors must examine the infant to find every pimple, wart, and imperfection.  Some babies have a few blemishes while others have the chicken pox.

What’s a doctor to do?

Tell the parent of course and give the advice to cure the ailing child.  The parent leaves, script in hand, determined to nurture the child until every spot is gone.

Proposals are our babies. We find it difficult to hand our precious to someone we barely know, let alone allow them to pick it apart!  We know the checkup is necessary to ward off serious ailments, but some disorders can be cured prior to the visit.

During my examination of many proposals, I found the top three glaring blemishes that can be remedied at home.

The top three blemishes:

Format: The standard format is  1″ margins, double-spaced in New Courier 12 or Times New Roman 12 font.

I’ve seen proposals with cursive fonts, bold fonts, and centered on the page. It looks artistic and captures my eye but the agent or publisher will reject it.  Always check the submission guidelines just in case the agent or publisher uses a different format.

Editing: Weed words are choking your message. Weed Words are unnecessary words and slow the reader. Here is a link to a list of these invaders.

Weed words are the major problem I encounter when editing a proposal. Take the time to pull them before you hit send. The agent and publisher will be thankful.

Marketing: Nike-Just Do it!

Agents and publishers want action. The words they dread: I will. I will get a website, I will call churches, I will tell my friend, I will get a Facebook page. NIKE! Do it before you send your proposal. It shows initiative and is mandatory to most publishers before they will sign you. Invest time into marketing like a parent invests time into the health of their child.

Just like babies need a regular checkup, our proposals need an examination.

If the editor finds something you didn’t,  listen and learn.

We don’t hit the doctor if our child is sick, so please don’t slap the editor if your proposal needs work.

Your success is our success.

What blemishes do you encounter while writing or reading a proposal? What’s the remedy?

Cherrilynn Bisbano is the founder of The Write Proposal book proposal services.

As managing editor of Almost an Author, she helped the website earn the #6 spot on the Top 100 best writing websites for 2018 by The Write Life and Top 101 Websites for writers with Writers Digest.

Cherrilynn is a speaker with Women Speakers. Her topics include leadership, book proposals, and the Bible and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers ACFW.

She is a two-time winner of Flash Fiction Weekly. You can find her published in Southern Writers, More to Life (MTL), Christian Rep, Christian Voice, Refresh and other online magazines. Cherrilynn is a contributor to Selah nominated, Breaking the Chains, Heart Reno, and Chicken Soup for the Soul-Miracles books.

Cherrilynn proudly served in the Navy and Air National Guard, earning the John Levitow Military leadership award.  She lives with her sixteen-year-old son, Michael, Jr., and husband of 19 years.

Cherrilynn loves Christ, Chocolate, coffee, and Cats.

www.truthtoshine.blogspot.com  Fulfilled Prophecy Friday

www.thewriteproposal.com  The Write Proposal

https://www.womenspeakers.com/united-states/east-greenwich/speaker/cherrilynn-bisbanoSpeaker

Categories
Book Proposals

One Page Sell Sheet

The One Page Sell Sheet is like a mini resume. The sell sheet gives the agent or publisher pertinent information while enticing them to read on. It is not to be confused with the sell sheet sent to bookstores to promote your book or the one sheet presented to agents and publishers at a conference.

The use of fancy fonts and colors is not recommended on your One Page Sell Sheet.

Your headshot and photo of the cover of the book (if available) should be the only photos included on this page.

Always adhere to the submission guidelines which can be found at the agency or publishers website.

Grab the attention of the agent or publisher by including the following.

The first line: The title, genre, and word count

  Title: Don’t underestimate the importance of your title. Yes, the publisher may change it, but the title draws the reader in and it eludes to the genre and content of the book.

  Genre: Is your book fiction or non-fiction.   List any sub-categories. An extended list of subcategories can be found on Amazon.

  Word Count: Most writing programs keep the word count for you. If not, the rule of thumb to obtain a word count is to multiply the number of pages by 300.

Tagline–

A one-line pitch of your book. This is optional for fiction at some agencies. It’s also called a catchphrase. The tagline should be brief, catchy, and true to the story.

Back book cover paragraph-

Is not the synopsis. It is about 200 words that will hook the reader and convince them they need to buy your book. Read the back covers of the best sellers in your genre to get an idea. Think of your back cover paragraph as a sales pitch. If your book is part of a series, mention it here.

Abbreviated bio with author photo- 

Keep the bio brief. Annotate how many years you’ve been writing along with some recent publications. The proposal has another section to expound on your bio. Please use a recent photo. I’ve been surprised when I met an author in person and they look nothing like the headshot on their proposal.

Remember, it’s one page.

Also remember, you can do this!

You accomplished something many people aspire to do. You wrote a book.

Creating your one sheet is nothing compared to all the time and energy you invest in your characters, research, and editing.

If you have any questions, I’m here for you.  No question is silly or insignificant.

Contact me at  editor@thewriteproposal.com.

 

Cherrilynn Bisbano is an award-winning writer and the founder of The Write Proposal book proposal services.  Cherrilynn spent two years as Managing editor of Serious Writer’s, Almost an Author, Top 100 writing websites. She is managing editor of Stand Firm-Reasons column.

She hosts Genre Chat where she’s privileged to interview expert writers. Cherrilynn co-hosts Fulfilled Prophecy Friday with well-known prophecy speaker Jake McCandless.

She is a two-time winner of Flash Fiction Weekly. She’s published in many online magazines and contributes to Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers blog. Contributor to Chicken Soup for the Soul- Miracles, Breaking the Chains and Heart Reno books.

Cherrilynn proudly served in the Navy and Air National Guard; earning the John Levitow Military leadership award.  She lives with her sixteen-year-old son, Michael, Jr., and husband of 19 years, Michael, Sr.

Categories
Writers Chat

How to Prepare for a Writers Conference

writers conferences seriouswriter.com

In this Writer’s Chat, Cherrilynn Bisbano and Victoria Duerstock share behind-the-scenes tips and tricks to help you maximize your time at a writers conference. This is one you’ll want to revisit, and not just the night before. Don’t forget your business cards!

Join us!

Writers Chat is hosted live each Tuesday for an hour starting at 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET
on Zoom. Participants mute their audio and video during the filming, then we open up
the room for anyone who wishes to participate with our guests. The “After Party” is a
fifteen-minutes of off-the-record sharing and conversation.

Additionally, you can grow your network and add to the conversation by joining our
Facebook Group.

Categories
Writers Chat

An In-depth Look Into Book Proposals

Hartline Literary Jr. Agent Cherrilynn Bisbano shares an in-depth look into the world of book proposals.

Join us!

Writers Chat is hosted live each Tuesday for an hour starting at 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET on Zoom. Participants mute their audio and video during the filming, then we open up the room for anyone who wishes to participate with our guests. The “After Party” is a fifteen-minutes of off-the-record sharing and conversation.

Additionally, you can grow your network and add to the conversation by joining our Facebook Group.

Categories
Magazine and Freelance

Query Letter Basics

When I first heard the phrase, “Query letter” I was confused and embarrassed.  I did not know what a query was or even how to pronounce it.  The correct pronunciation is (kweer-ee).   I referred to my friend “Google” for information.

The definition of query from Dictionary.com

 An inquiry from a writer to an editor of a magazine, newspaper, etc., regarding the acceptability of or  interest in an idea for an article, news story, or the like: usually presented in the form of a letter that outlines or describes the projected piece.

The query is your calling card; it is also called a pitch.   It is your sales letter that includes the subject of the article, who you are, and why you are qualified to write the article.

There are necessary steps to take before you write your query letter.

  • Read 3-5 issues of the magazine to get familiar with the voice and audience of that magazine. Many magazines can be read online or at your local library.
  • Go to website or call the magazine to get the name of the correct editor before you send the query letter. Make sure the name of editor, magazine and address are spelled correctly.
  • Gather all the research and education that makes you the expert on this topic.
  • Always check the website or call the magazine for guidelines.

General guidelines for formatting your letter.

  • Times New Roman and 10- or 12-point type.
  • One-inch margins.
  • Single-spaced page.
  • Block paragraph format (no indentations).
  • Include your name, address, phone number, e-mail address and web site, if possible.

The body of the query should:

  • Hook the reader -Grab the editor’s attention with the first line. It is a great idea to begin the query exactly how you will begin the article.
  • Be specific. – The topic should be precise. Note where the information will come from.
  • State your qualifications – This is your biography. Why you know what you know; why you are the one to write about this topic.  Be yourself.  Don’t compare your writing to others.
  • Thank the editor for considering your query.
  • Exclude the discussion of rates in the query letter.

Include self-addressed, stamped envelope when sending query by mail.

There are many informative web sites with examples of a good query.  To avoid reinventing the wheel, my friend Vonda Skelton has allowed me to share her blogs on query letters.   Please check out her bio while you are at the page.  She is one amazing woman.

taking the question out of query letters part 1

When it comes to your query letter, don’t over think it. Sell it.

I would love to hear your stories.  Please connect with me here or email me at

godsfruit@juno.com.