A small literary agency
FOCUSED ON BIG IDEAS
how to write a book proposal
We were recently asked about what specifically should be included in the author bio section of your proposal.
Over the last few weeks we have been blogging about the various sections of a book proposal. Beyond all the standard sections that need to be included, there are some added value items writers can include to enhance their overall proposal.
Everybody hates talking about platform. We get it. We do to. But the reality of publishing today is you have to be building one. For reasons we'll tackle in a later post, the ability of a publisher to "make" a bestseller has diminished greatly. The unfortunate reality is that most books are sold to the author's audience. The platform section is where you describe how you intend to reach an audience with your message.
As you’re developing your proposal, it’s important to include information about your manuscript, but what exactly should it encompass?
Your title and subtitle are the lenses your prospective agent or editor puts on and sees the rest of your proposal through.
When putting together a nonfiction proposal, it’s important to have sample writing, but not your entire manuscript--unless specifically requested [see here for the reason]. So how many chapters should you include?
A reader asked: How far along in the book writing process should you be before submitting a book proposal?
Interview With An Author
This week we’re wrapping up our conversation with a few authors by discussing what they’d do differently regarding their publishing careers and what tips they’d pass along to aspiring writers. You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. If you have appreciated their responses over the past few weeks, please let them know—Lisa Whittle, Jonathan Merritt and Leeana Tankersley.
Last week we introduced you to several amazing authors—Lisa Whittle, Jonathan Merritt and Leeana Tankersley—who described their writing process. This week they continue discussing writing as well as share what surprised them about the publishing process.
As literary agents, we work with quite a few very talented authors. While we’ve been talking about the proposal process from our perspective, we thought we’d interview a few of our authors to share about their actual writing process as well as their own unique publishing experiences.
Interview with an editor
This week we’re wrapping up our conversation with acquiring editors and publishers by discussing their hurdles and what they wish authors knew. You can read their backgrounds in Part 1 here and what they specifically look for in proposals in Part 2 here.
Last week, we introduced you to several acquiring editors and publishers who gave us their backgrounds on how they found themselves in the publishing field. This week we’re going to discuss what they specifically look for in proposals
As literary agents, we demand a lot out of our authors as they’re putting together their proposals. Our job is to make sure we present all the information publishers need to make a decision to publish our clients’ books. Editors do a lot more than simply decide to publish a book and then edit the manuscript, so we decided to interview a few of the best in the industry so you can hear directly from them.
Often times when you attend a writers conference, you have an opportunity to sit down, speed dating style, for 3-15 minutes with various editors and agents. A common question is, what do I have to do to convince someone in a short pitch to represent or publish my work?