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 An unpublished author, Marcell collected 57 rejections with her book manuscript.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.
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.
