Tag: writing a book proposal

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Book Proposals

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.

Terry Whalin

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.

Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success
Categories
Book Proposals

Why I Simultaneously Submit My Proposals

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.

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.

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.

Terry Whalin

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.

Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success.
Categories
Book Proposals

Write a Spellbinding Sample Chapter

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.
Terry Whalin

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.

Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success.