Write Nonfiction in November

Nonfiction writers looking for traditional book publishing contracts—wanting to sell their manuscripts to small, medium or large traditional publishing houses, need to find themselves literary representation. While finding an agent may not be necessary for many small publishing houses that accept unagented work, most mid-sized and large publishing houses, indeed, only accept agented book proposals. Occasionally an unagented proposal is “discovered” in the “slush pile” and purchased, but this occurrence doesn’t happen often.

For this reason, serious nonfiction writers set on the traditional publishing route, rather than self-publishing, must find agents to represent their work. Agents seem like an illusive bunch, hard to reach and hard to know. That makes it hard for writers to know how to present themselves and their work to an agent in a way that will result in that coveted literary representation contract, which hopefully leads to a publishing contract. So, I asked my agent, Verna Dreisbach, to tell WNFiN readers what she looks for in a client. She not only mentions what she looks for in a nonfiction writing client but in a fiction client as well, thus offering some helpful insight for all writers.

What do Agents Look For?  Great Writers, Great Professionals
By Verna Dreisbach

My idea of a great client can be summed up in one sentence: Professionalism is just as important as good writing.  I choose authors that I connect with both professionally and personally. I believe we have to like each other and respect one another as with any type of friendship or personal acquaintance. Unfortunately, I’ve had prospective clients change my mind as to representation based upon incessant emails, telephone calls, unrealistic expectations, and just plain rudeness.  I prefer to represent true writers—those who will continue to write regardless of whether or not they ever see their book on a bookstore self.

I am looking for well written books with a distinctive voice.  I want books that a writer has poured their heart and soul into with each and every word—that they didn’t rush through when writing their manuscript, that they took the time to create and master with the art of storytelling.  Most manuscripts are rejected because they are beginning drafts.  They contain the idea, but the language to tell the story has not been developed.  Or, it is apparent that the author hurried through their story without stopping and getting to know their characters.  Fiction writing is an intimate experience and the more in touch the writer is with their characters, the more real they will become to the reader.  I want to feel what I read. Writing fiction is an art and should be treated as such.

Let’s talk specifically about nonfiction. I am open to representing just about any type of non-fiction for an author who has an expertise in their field and a solid platform.  To the non-fiction author, the idea of a book should be only a minor part of their work, not the end goal.  The book only will aid them in achieving whatever purpose they have in their profession, and book sales and promotion will follow naturally.  They write a book and promote it with, or without a publisher’s help, and there is no doubt as to its potential success.  Their only concern should be with which agent they want to represent them.

Non-fiction needs to be presented to agents with a detailed and professional book proposal.  This is no easy undertaking, and I don’t think I’ve signed on a client that has attempted this alone.  Nonfiction book publishing is a business, and the book proposal is a detailed and precise business plan.  Most proposals run at least a dozen pages, and that does not include the sample material from the book.  If I get a half-hearted attempt at a book proposal, then I figure I’m getting a half-hearted attempt at a book.

Remember…

1. This is a business; treat it as such.
2. You are a professional, and act accordingly.
3. Writing is an art, so take the time to develop your talent and learn the craft.
4. Agents don’t get paid until the work sells.  We have to really, really, really like what we sign on.  Really.
5. You are a writer and your first love is writing.  Enjoy it!

About the Author

Verna Dreisbach, of Dreisbach Literary Management, is an agent, author and educator. She is currently finishing her MA degree in creative writing and her Seal Press anthology, Why We Ride, is due for publication spring 2010.  Verna is the founder and president of Capitol City Young Writers, a national non-profit organization that supports and encourages creative writing in aspiring youth and co-founder of The Writers Police Academy, which will take place in North Carolina next September.   Verna represents both fiction and non-fiction authors with a particular interest in books with a political, economic or social context.  She represents a variety of fiction including commercial and literary.  With over 13 years as a police officer, Verna also has a genuine interest and expertise in the genres of mystery, thriller and true crime. No fantasy, sci-fi or children’s books.

www.dreisbachliterary.com
www.capitolcityyoungwriters.org

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Don’t forget to sign into the WNFiN social networking and chat room and tell us what you are writing about or start a discussion.

As mentioned in yesterdays WNFiN post, when a publisher or acquisition editor examines a prospective author’s nonfiction book proposal, he or she will look long and hard at a number of things that have little to do with that writer’s writing. In particular, purchase of a manuscript depends to a great extent upon a proposal section called the “Author’s Platform.” If  ”platform” represents new terminology to you, it’s time to become familiar with this word…very familiar, very fast.

A platform consists of:

• expert status
• numerous appearances on radio and Internet talk shows and television talk and news shows
• frequent quest blogs
• a well-known presence in on-line forums and social networks
• large numbers of followers on social networking sites
• popular videos or podcasts
• frequent interviews on other peoples’ podcasts
• your own Internet, radio or television show
• a multitude of published articles or books in both print and Internet publications
• an extremely large mailing list
• frequent talks and presentations given to small, medium and large groups

Now, you could argue that most of these things I’ve listed have little to do with being an author or writing. And to a certain extent would be right. (And most writers don’t want to spend any time or effort on any of these activities.) However, in today’s publishing world…in today’s nonfiction publishing world in particular, all of these things have everything to do with getting published, because they have everything to do with building an author’s platform. The more of these platform elements you include in your day-to-day activities, the more likely you will be to sell your nonfiction book. You must build a tall, wide and strong platform for a publisher to take you and your work seriously.

That said, ways exist to build a platform online. In fact, more ways pop up every day. So, if you really don’t want to spend your time away from the comfort of your home and speaking to audiences–traditionally the best way to build a platform–or you just hate getting up in front of  a group of people, you can build you platform in other ways.

Stephanie Chandler, author of The Author’s Guide to Building an Online Platform: Leverage the Internet to Sell More Books, From Entrepreneur to Infopreneur: Make Money with Books, eBooks and Information Products and LEAP! 101 Ways to Grow Your Business, initially built her platform online. For this reason, I thought she’d be a great expert guest blogger to tell WNFiN readers how to follow in her footsteps. She suggests 10 ways to build your author platform online.

10 Ways to Build Your Author Platform Online
By Stephanie Chandler

1. Launch and optimize your website: No matter where you are in the process, a website is  essential to build an audience, share samples of your work, showcase your accomplishments, attract media and impress publishing professionals.
2. Host a blog: A blog can be a wonderful creative outlet for a writer, not to mention a savvy promotion tool. Update it frequently (three times per week) and your audience will find you. To start yours, check out www.Typepad.com or www.WordPress.com.
3. Update online profiles: Many sites allow you to post a bio with your public profile. Make sure you have several versions of your bio readily available in short, medium and long formats. Showcase your expertise in your subject matter, mention your book(s) and always include a link to your site and/or blog.
4. Publish a newsletter: Build loyal fans for life by publishing an interesting electronic newsletter with content related to your book(s). Include a sign-up box on every page of your site. Get started with www.ConstantContact.com or www.iContact.com.
5. Form online partnerships: Find people who reach a similar target audience, and look for ways to team up and promote each other. You can publish articles on each other’s websites or newsletters, host an event or contest together or even share a blog. Be creative and pool your resources.
6. Promote with articles: Write for industry publications and related websites to build your credibility. Writing opportunities are abundant on the Internet! You can also make your articles available for reprint through sites like www.ezinearticles.com, www.ideamarketers.com and www.goarticles.com.
7. Contact Bloggers: Search blog directories such as www.Technorati.com to locate blogs that cover subjects related to yours. Contact bloggers to inquire about book reviews, guest posts, interviews and other ways you can work together.
8. Be a guest on Internet radio shows: Podcasts, teleseminars and Internet radio shows provide a fantastic opportunity for exposure. Unlike traditional radio where you might be interviewed for 10 minutes, online shows typically have guests on for up to an hour. An added bonus: listeners are often at their computers ready to buy. To find relevant shows, search Google for keywords and look at shows archived on iTunes. Also check out sites like www.blogtalkradio.com, www.alltalkradio.net, www.wsradio.com, www.womensradio.com, and www.planetteleclass.com.
9. Leverage social media: Sites like LinkedIn.com, Facebook.com and Twitter.com are ripe for finding and building an audience. Create an interesting profile and get active in social networking communities. Your biggest cost  will be in your time, so spend it wisely, and identify the best opportunities to expand your reach. Here are some helpful tools: www.tweetdeck.com, www.hootsuite.com and www.ping.fm.
10. Be seen and heard everywhere. Marketing is all about repeat exposure. Build your brand by getting known for your expertise. Participate in all of the above suggestions and more. Contact the media, go out and speak, write articles for trade publications, and find new ways to reach your target audience.

About the Author

Stephanie Chandler is an author of several business and marketing books, including The Author’s Guide to Building an Online Platform: Leverage the Internet to Sell More Books, From Entrepreneur to Infopreneur: Make Money with Books, eBooks and Information Products and LEAP! 101 Ways to Grow Your Business.

She is also founder and CEO of www.AuthorityPublishing.com, which provides custom book publishing and author marketing services for business, self-help and other non-fiction books. A frequent speaker at business events and on the radio, Stephanie has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, BusinessWeek, Inc.com and many other media outlets. Visit www.StephanieChandler.com for author and speaker information. Additional resources for entrepreneurs, authors and speakers are available at www.BusinessInfoGuide.com.

www.StephanieChandler.com
www.BusinessInfoGuide.com
www.AuthorityPublishing.com

Stop by www.copywrightcommunications.com and sign up for the free newsletter and get a gift at the end of November.

Also check out Nina’s ebook: Using the Internet to Build Your PLATFORM One Article at a Time,
8 Tips for Getting Publicity, Exposure andExpert Status by Providing Free Copy On Line

I know we’ve only just hit day number six, but it’s time to get into the real nitty-gritty of nonfiction writing: the business end of book publishing. (I warned you we would!)  If you’re going to write a nonfiction book, you must be sure you have a marketable product. (This is true of articles, too, but we’re going to talk about books today.) While fiction writers also must be sure their book manuscripts have a market, they don’t have to concern themselves with such things as promotion and platform. These, however, represent the essentials of selling nonfiction books. Without them, you won’t find literary representation or sell your book to a publisher.

So, while you’re writing your nonfiction book this month (or any time), you must consider—and work upon—the business aspects of nonfiction writing. Don’t put it off. Begin immediately, if you haven’t already. (If you have started, step up whatever you are doing a notch or two.)

Randy Peyser, the owner of Author One Stop, a national publishing consulting firm, not only works with many nonfiction authors, she has contact with a variety of publishers and agents. For this reason, she has a good deal of insight into what nonfiction writers need to get their books sold to a traditional publisher. You’d be surprised to discover that they don’t just look at your manuscript. Acquisition editors are looking well beyond your wonderful words and well-crafted sentences to how easy it will be to get your book onto the shelves of major bookstores—and sold to eager readers.

Read on to hear what Randy has to say about what questions publishers are asking before they purchase a book manuscript. You’ll want to be sure to have them answered before your manuscript and book proposal come under their consideration.

When you’ve finished reading this post, crack out a book about how to write a book proposal and how to build a platform. If you don’t know much about these topics, don’t worry. Write Nonfiction in November will feature expert blog posts on these topics in upcoming days, and you can find past blog posts on these subjects in the November 2008 and 2007 archives.

The Five Biggest Questions Publishers Ask
Before They Will Buy Your Manuscript
By Randy Peyser

In this economy, the marketing departments at book publishing companies are counting every bean to see if the numbers justify the purchase of your title. Even if you find an acquisitions editor who absolutely loves your book, if the numbers don’t add up to the satisfaction of the publisher’s marketing department or the book buyer from Barnes & Noble, your book is toast.

The five biggest questions that publishers ask before they buy your manuscript are:

1. Is your topic current?
2. Is your topic differentiated from every other book that is already out there?
3. Will people be interested in this topic, and, if so, what is the size of the market?
4. How extensive is the author’s publicity platform?
5. Do the numbers add up?

Here’s how the math breaks down: Publicity = Eyeballs, and Eyeballs = Sales

Picture this scenario: The book buyer from Barnes & Noble meets with a publishing house to decide which books he is going to order for Barnes & Noble for the upcoming season. He takes out his computer and starts asking questions about each title.

What he really wants to know is: What is the size of the target market for your book and how big is your platform? The book buyer then writes the stats down for your book and compares them against every other book he is considering.

The books with the biggest numbers win.

Four Tips to Build Your Numbers

1. In the “About the Market” section of your book proposal, include real numbers (strong and clear statistical evidence) to show how large the market is for your book. For example, in addition to mentioning every legitimate market for your book, think about specific associations who would be interested in your topic and include the size of each of their national memberships in this section.
2. Contact movers and shakers who have large email lists and ask them if they would be willing to send out an email message blast to announce your book when it comes out. Find out the size of each list and include this data in the Promotion section of your book proposal.
3. Blog like crazy and include the number of your connections on Linked In, your Facebook fan page, and all other social media sites in the Promotion section of your book proposal.
4. Speak, speak, speak. Publishers want you to be in front of eyeballs way before your book comes out. Get out there and speak or teach seminars or teleclasses. Include all of this information in the Promotion section of your book proposal.

If you can prove your publicity platform, justify the market and write a book that adds something new and different, you’ve got a potential winner on your hands. So get out there and build your numbers!

About the Author

Randy Peyser owns a national publishing consulting firm called, Author One Stop. Her 10 award-winning editors includes: a book reviewer for People Magazine, The Washington Post and The Boston Globe and an editor of 20 New York Times national best sellers (including those written by Sidney Sheldon, Dan Rather, Gail Sheehy, and Margaret Truman). Services offered by Author One Stop include: editing, ghostwriting, book proposals, help finding top literary agents and publishers, self-publishing, and internet publicity.

www.AuthorOneStop.com
Randy@AuthorOneStop.com
(831) 726-3153

Don’t forget to check out the WNFiN social networking and chat site!
Tell us what you are writing about this November!

Also, go to www.copywrightcommunications.com and sign up for the free newsletter.
If you do, you’ll receive a gift at the end of November.

Are your hands posed over the keyboard ready to begin? Are you waiting, as if for the gun to go off so you can start writing your book, e-book, article, essay, query letter, proposal, or whatever work of nonfiction you’ve chosen to create during the Write Nonfiction in November (WNFiN) 2009 challenge? No need to wait. There’s no starter’s gun or whistle for this challenge. It’s well past 12:00 a.m. on November 1 anyway, so go ahead…write!

That’s right. When the hands of the clock moved past midnight on Halloween, it became not just November 1 but the first day of the third annual WNFiN challenge. Maybe you sat down in your costume and began working on your nonfiction project right then and there, playing a little trick on your fellow nonfiction writers by getting a head start on the day. Remember, though…In this challenge you compete against no one but yourself. No one looks over your shoulder or counts your words. You are accountable to yourself, and only one rule exists in this challenge: You “win” by starting and finishing a work of nonfiction in 30 days. However, only you will know if you met the challenge successfully—unless you choose to share that information (or your progress along the way) with fellow writers in the WNFiN Writer’s forum or in blog post comments.

With that said, let’s get on to the business of nonfiction writing for today, by which I mean the topic of today’s blog post. Let me preface today’s topic by saying that I will grace you with my blog posts just two or three times all month, because this year I managed to line up 27 or 28 great expert guest bloggers. I will, however, be introducing each of them and making some comments on their topics each day. Today, I’m going to write a bit about the actual “business” of nonfiction writing.

Over the course of the next 30 days you may find that this blog seems overly focused on business-related topics. You’ll find numerous experts discussing how to promote yourself, how to sell you books and articles, how to land a literary agent, and how to create e-books or self-publish a book. You’ll find some articles on writing and editing, but these will be farther and fewer between. This may leave you wondering if this blog actually is about writing or about business. And therein lies the rub.

For the nonfiction writer, the art of writing is superseded by the business of writing. In fact, to become successful as a nonfiction writer, you must spend about 85 percent of your time (if not more) on business, by which I mean marketing and promotion. Yes…that means less time writing and more time promoting yourself and your writing. This is not to say that you don’t need to write well, which is why this blog will still offer plenty of tips on writing and editing. The need to write well is a given.

Most writers balk at this ratio. “I’m a writer,” they say. “Writers write.” That’s true, but if they don’t focus on the business of writing, they don’t get published.

If you are writing essays or memoirs, the writing to business of writing ratio might be a bit lower. You will have to spend a good bit of your time sending out query letters to publications or agents, working on and sending out book proposals, etc. If you write journalistic articles, you must query magazine and newspaper editors on a regular basis.  If you are a nonfiction writer who would like to publish a book, however, you can write until you are blue in the face, and if you haven’t developed a “platform,” by which I mean a built-in market to which to sell your books (a huge mailing list, large numbers of followers in social networks, expert status, or a reputation as a speaker, podcaster, blogger, television or radio guest), no publisher will ever purchase your book. In fact, no agent will represent you either. You may need to increase your ratio so that the time spent on business-related activities actually goes up to 90 or 95 percent—at least until you build your platform to a presentable size.

For this reason, the WNFiN blog this year will contain lots of tips and information on the business side of nonfiction writing. You may not want to read about it…but read these posts anyway, and resign yourself to taking these experts’ advice. Do so if for no other reason than this: You’re going to have to take on the business side of nonfiction writing at some point or another.

While any writer who wants to sell their writing has to become a business person to some degree, the nonfiction writer who wants to become the author of a book will have to do this to become published. Unless you enjoy status as a well-know author with a great sales track record, whether you choose to self-publish your book or become traditionally published, you will have to devote your time to the business end of writing. You will have to promote yourself and your book. Even the larger publishing houses will not do all the promotion for you. Even if you hire a publicist, you will still have to do some work yourself to help sell and promote your book. To create a successful book, which means one with steady sales over time, you must constantly promote yourself and the book itself. And no one can do that as well as the author–you. Nor will any publishing company put as much time and money into making that happen as the author–you.

So, resign yourself to the fact that as a non-fiction author you must devote much of your time to the business of writing. Set aside several hours a day for writing and double that number of hours (at least) for business-related writing activities. Don’t be surprised when a publisher or agent asks you, “What are you willing to do every day to promote your book?” (I’ve had a publisher ask me this exact question.) Instead, be prepared. Be able to say, “I’m already doing these things every day, and I will continue to do them…and more.”

And don’t feel like devoting yourself to the business of writing represents wasted time. In fact, you are developing a readership for your work. Isn’t that what all writers want anyway? Readers?

I was lamenting to a friend the fact that I have yet to land a traditional publishing contract. I had just finished telling him that I have over 10,000 visitors to the website related to my book topics each month (www.purespiritcreations.com) and an average of 3,000 readers per month to the blog that covers topics also related to my books (www.purespiritcreations.com/wordpress). He found it interesting that I thought of myself as an unsuccessful “author,” despite my many published articles, essays and booklets. He pointed out that I have more readers—that I am reaching and helping more people—every day than I probably would with any traditionally published book. He was right. Why and how did I accomplish that? I knew I needed to develop a platform to secure a literary agent or a traditional publishing contract, and I devoted my time—almost eight years—to building that platform in any and every way I could. (By the way, I do have a literary agent, and she thinks my platform rocks…)

You can build a platform, too. It actually can be a lot of fun. It can feel spiritual and rewarding. Yes, it’s time consuming. I admit it, but it’s worth it—if you are serious about becoming a published nonfiction writer. The difference between serious nonfiction writers and those who just say they are serious lies in how much time and energy they spend on the business of nonfiction writing. How serious are you?

We are at the end of week #1 for Write Nonfiction in November. Is your nonfiction project unfolding easily and effortlessly? Are you  learning new and useful information by reading this blog? I hope so.

Today we combine a bit of information about platform building with some great tips on writing the all-important platform, markets and promotion sections of a proposals. Media coach and marketing specialist Susan Harrow, the author of Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul, has spent the last 17 years running Harrow Communications, a media coaching and marketing firm in Northern California. From this host of experience, Susan offers us advice on how to land that coveted book deal with more than just a $1,000 advance. (Yes. Sorry to say, often these days $1,000-5,000 seems to be the common offer from small — and even some medium-sized publishing houses, which is why agents won’t represent writers to anything but the large houses.) She stresses some things we’ve already talked about but offers great advice and tips. And don’t forget that tips #2-6 all relate to information that goes into your proposal. (Go back and reread Mike Larsen’s post, and apply what Susan has written about.)

How to Get A 6-Figure Book Advance

By Susan Harrow

Media Coach & Marketing Strategist

Harrow Communications

Eighty-one percent of the population wants to write a book. THe writer’s life seems so glamorous and romantic and dreamy, filled with imagination and magic. And it can be.

For other people, writing is a job. They may see it as a quick path to the how-to or literary lottery and instant fame. And it can be.

Whatever you want, romance, fame, connection, storytelling, the good life, or just the satisfaction of saying, “I wrote a book,” getting a six-figure book advance is possible — if you have the skill, drive and know-how. Here are five tips to get you started on achieving the dream of becoming a well-paid, respected author.

1. Understand the Publishing Industry

The publishing industry has a specific set of rules. They like it when you follow protocol. They also like to receive book proposals in a standard format that you must know. Most publishers’ top priority is to sell books. Lots of them. And mostly it’s you who is going to do the selling. I remember one of my first clients tell me, “Think of your publisher as a distributor.” I’ve never forgotten that. It’s still wise advice.

When I was traveling in Mexico a few years ago, I met a woman whose husband has been a best-selling author for 20 years in England. He has had the same agent and publisher for those 20 years. Every time he came out with a new book, his publishers expected it to be “number one” on the English equivalent of the New York Timesbestseller list.  They worked with him to make it so. In America the bottom line is king. You must be able to substantiate your claim that your book will fly off the shelves without any help from the publisher.

2. Prove There is a Market for Your Book

You need to show that your book will sell to one large audience, or many smaller niche audiences that add up to a large market. Publishers are looking for you to substantiate your claims with statistics that prove your audience buys books on that subject. It’s not enough to say that this audience would be interested in your topic. You must be able to prove beyond a doubt with your well-researched facts that your readers are a “book buying” audience. For example, I interviewed a best-selling ghostwriter for Get a 6-Figure Book Advance, who specializes in health and had coauthored a book on breast cancer. Women with breast cancer buy books. But when she was approached to write a book on lung cancer, she discovered that people with lung cancer dont’ buy books, so she didn’t take on the project. Do your research before you write your book proposal so you know you’re writing a book that has a built-in audience.

3. Develop a Platform

This is the most important aspect of your proposal after you’ve proven that there is a pressing need for your book and that book buying audiences will snap it up. A platform is a fancy way of saying YOUR ability to sell books to the audience that you have said will buy from you.

A platform is all about numbers, prestige and popularity. You’ll want to state the number of people on your e-zine list, the amount of traffic to your blog, and how many times a week you podcast and how many people listen or download it.Site the articles you’ve written. List your speaking engagements. How many people buy your products and services now? Do you have big name corporations or organizations that will buy your books in bulk? Do you have a regular column or write for publications? Are you a regular media guest? 

If you don’t have an impressive platform, you don’t get a 6-figure advance. But you can always start now and build your momentum. Sometimes with a blog your platform can be created virtually overnight.

4. Map Out a Marketing Plan to Promote Your Book

Your plan should include a wide range of mediums–everything from speaking engagements, online marketing, licensing, and media placements. The key is it must be realistic and do-able. In other words, you can’t say that you’ll speak to organizations of 1000 people or more if you’ve never done it.

What do publishers hat most? When you say that you’re right for Oprah. Unless you’ve already been a guest the show has taped and aired, please NEVER say this if you don’t want your reputation instantly dirtied.

Instead, show how you will build on your past publicity. If hosts or producers say that they want you back for another segment because you did such a good job the first time, say it. But if you haven’t done much media to date, dont’ fret.

You can begin today and get a substantial number of profiles , features, and comments in the media in a few months by joining PRLeads, a service that delivers reporters queries (the stories they need experts for) daily to your email box. I’ve had clients quoted in the New York Times within a week. You can be one of them.

5. Get Endorsements

Big names sell products. Getting well-known names of celebrities, best-selling authors, actors, athletes, respected experts in your field, media personalities, any famous name that has a shine give you the kind of credibility that can’t be bought.

One of my clients, who got a number of New York Timesbest-selling authors to write about him, accomplished three things with his endorsements. Each person who wrote about him told a different story about why he would be a a winning author. The first one championed him as a talented and successful professional. The second one noted that my client’s book filled a gap that her book had failed to address. The third one demonstrated that the people my client was trying to reach were an avid book buying market longing desperately for his type of book. She added that since they bought hers, they woudl want his as well. Nice.

These meaningful endorsements made it easier for him to get his 6-figure advance. (And he got media coached by me before he met the editors at the big New York publishing houses, who then bid on his book at auction–which upped the price substantially.)

Don’t just get endorsements saying you’re great. Make your endorsements do double duty by helping you prove there is a market and that you’re the one they want to buy from. This is the type of information that gets you noticed from the other 150,000 authors who are published every year. Follow this advice, and you’ll be well on your way to earning a 6 figure book advance. Good luck! And keep me posted.

About Susan Harrow

Susan Harrow specializes in presentations and media coaching and creating marketing strategies for Fortune 500 CEOs, Internet millionaires, world renowned speakers, successful entrepreneurs and best-selling authors.  She has also worked with award-winning documentary film producers, leaders in banning racism, maverick publishers and people in unusual occupations. Dozens of Susann Harrow’s clients have earned 6-figurebook advances and have appeared on Oprah, GMA, 20/20, Larry King Live, E!, CNN, MSN, and in TIME, USA Today, Parade, People, O, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Inc.

Get Susan’s free tips here: http://prsecrets.com/store/sixfigurebookproposal.html

Listen to a free teleseminar here: http://ww.prsecrets.com/free-audio-signup-6f.html

Join Susan’s ezine here: http://ww.prsecrets.com

Order Susan’s book, Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul (HarperCollins), here: http://www.presecretstore.com/sywssbook.html

Harrow Communications

P.O. Box 543

Larkspur, CA 94977-0543

888-839-4190

www.prsecrets.com

http://www.presecrets.com/publicityblog.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are writing a book proposal during Write Nonfiction in November, I’m posting this blog for you. For the nonfiction writer wanting to find an agent and have their book published by a traditional publisher, this document represents a necessary evil. While fiction writers can simply write their book, and turn in a synopsis, author’s bio and chapter summaries, the nonfiction writer has to have a full-blown marketing document (with only one or two sample chapters, mind you, not even a fully-written manuscript) to convince agents and editors they have a saleable idea.  

 

I’ve written several nonfiction book proposals for my own projects, and I’ve helped my clients with their proposals as well. I can’t say writing or editing these documents constitutes my most enjoyable work, and I’ve been known to say, “I could write the whole book in the amount of time it takes me to write the proposal!” However, when I’m done, I’ve convinced myself as well that I have a good idea. Additionally, I know my reader and my market, I know what’s going in ever chapter, and I know what I have to do to promote myself and the book. That makes the process more than worthwhile. It makes it necessary.

 

More than one book exists on how to write a book proposal, but the book proposal bible remains How to Write a Book Proposal by agent Michael Larsen. Writer’s Digest will publish the fourth edition of How to Write a Book Proposal in spring 2010. Mike also wrote How to Get a Literary Agent and, with Jay Levinson, author of Guerrilla Marketing; and Rick Frishman of Planned Television Arts, coauthored Guerrilla Marketing for Writers: 100 Weapons for Selling Your Work. Mike agreed to write a blog on the subject of writing book proposals for Write Nonfiction in November and to share what he calls his “proposal on a page,” which you’ll find in the section titled “Introduction.”

 

Pay special attention to this section. It’s a new approach to the proposal overview, or first page of the proposal, and here’s what he recently told me about it: “If it’s strong enough, it will sell a book all by itself. It’s the best thing of its kind on the planet.”

 

I used Mike’s proposal on a page to create a one-page proposal for one of my own books recently. I loved the results. I also used it to create the overview for my most recent book proposal as well as the overview for one of my clients, who plans to send his proposal to Mike in the very near future.

 

So, without further ado, if you want to get paid to write your book — meaning, you want to pitch it to an agent who will sell it to a publishing house that will offer you an advance — here’s what Mike says about writing a nonfiction book proposal.

 

The Parts of a Nonfiction Book Proposal

 

By Michael Larsen

Literary Agent and Author

Michael Larsen-Elizabeth Pomada Literary Agents

 

Proposals usually range from 35 to 50 pages, and they have three parts: an introduction, an outline, and a sample chapter. Here is a list of the parts of a proposal:

 

INTRODUCTION

Overview

 

Make the First Page of your proposal a proposal on a page by writing:

 

8 Hooks Guaranteed to Make Agents and Editors Eager to Read Your Proposal

 

Make every sentence help answer one of these two essential questions:

“Why the book?” and “Why you?”

 

Why the book?     

 

1. Your Subject Hook: a sentence with the single most compelling anecdote, fact, idea, quote, statistic that will convince agents and editors to keep reading.

 

2. Your Book Hook: three sentences with:

 

·         the title (and subtitle if you have one) of your book and your selling handle: 15 words or less explaining why people will buy the book.

 

·         (Optional) a Hollywood pitch for your book that captures the essence of it by comparing it to one or two books, movies, or television shows. For example,  “It’s x meets y.”

 

·         the estimated length of your manuscript, including back matter, the number of illustrations will have if you are using them, and how many months after receiving the advance you will deliver the manuscript.

 

3. Your Market Hook: three sentences with:

 

·         the largest groups of people who will buy your book and how fast they’re growing, if it’s impressive.

 

·         the largest commercial and institutional channels through which your book can be sold.

 

·         the largest potential subsidiary-rights markets for your book.

 

4. (Optional) Your Nichecraft Hook: if your book will be the first in a series, a sentence with the titles of up to three books.

 

5. (Optional) Your Foreword Hook: the name of someone who will help give your book salablility and credibility in 50 states two years from now who has agreed to write a foreword.

 

Why you?

 

6. (Optional) Your Credibility Hook: a sentence proving you can write your book because of your track record, credentials, years of research, or experience in your field

 

7. (Optional) Your Platform Hook: a sentence about what you have done and are doing to give your work and yourself continuing national visibility with your audience

 

8. Your Promotion Hook: a sentence with the most impressive two-to-four ways that you will promote your book.

 

The Other Parts of the Introduction

 

Expand on the hooks as needed as you come to them. Nine of the thirteen parts of the Overview are optional. You may not need them.

 

Special features (Optional): humor, checklists, sidebars, exercises, summaries

 

Back Matter (Optional): use comparable books as a guide.

 

Markets for the Book

 

·         Other groups of people who will buy your book

 

·         Other channels through which it can be sold

 

·         (Optional) Other subsidiary rights markets starting with the most commercial one.

 

A Mission Statement (Optional): one first-person paragraph about your passionor commitment to write and promote the book

 

The Author’s Platform (Optional): the other things you have done and are doing to build and maintain your continuing national visibility online and off

         

Promotion (Optional): the rest of a plan as long and strong as you can make it

 

Competing Books (Optional): basic biblioigraphic information and phrases starting with a verb about what each does and its weaknesses

 

Complementary Books: up to ten books on your subject proving the interest in it

 

 

Resources Needed to Complete Your Book (Optional): out-of-pocket costs of $500 or more

 

About the Author: in descending order of importance, a page with what’s not in your platform

 

The Outline

 

From a paragraph to a page of prose about every chapter and the length of each chapter

 

A Sample Page of Outline

Here’s an outline from what became How to Get a Literary Agent.

Chapter l2

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors: How to Handle Agency Agreements           l9 Pages

This chapter starts by balancing the pros and cons of agency agreements. Then it covers eleven essential points that should appear in any agreement, as well as clauses for writers to avoid. Four representative agreements follow, including the author’s which appears on the next two pages.

          The discussion of agreements concludes that since no agreement can encompass every potential contingency, the most important basis for any agreement is the good faith of the people who sign it.

          The next part of the chapter presents separate bills of rights for authors and agents stating their responsibilities to each other whether or not the agents have an agreement.

          The chapter ends by analyzing the causes for changing agents and the three-step procedure for doing it:

1.      Try to find a satisfactory solution to the problem.

2.      If that is not possible, notify the agent in writing of the change.

3.      Find another agent.                                                                                                                          

 

The Sample Chapter

 

The representative chapter that best shows how well you write about the subject

 

 

These are the ingredients of a proposal. They’ll give you an understanding of what you will need in a proposal, but they can’t tell you how to write one. The recipe is in the book (How to Write a Book Proposal by Mike Larsen).  

 

Please write or call if you have questions, 415-673-0939, larsenpoma@aol.com.

 

Michael Larsen-Elizabeth Pomada Literary Agents

www.larsen-pomada.com

1029 Jones Street / San Francisco CA 94109

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

About Michael Larsen

 

Michael Larsen and his wife Elizabeth Pomada and started the Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents in San Francisco in 1972. They are members of the Association of Author’s Representatives and have sold hundreds of books to more than 100 publishers.

 

Mike handles general adult nonfiction that will interest New York houses and has social, esthetic, or practical value. He also handles anything that is so so needed or so beautifully written that its commercial value doesn’t matter. Elizabeth represents fiction, narrative nonfiction, and books for women. Their associate agent, Laurie McLean, handles genre fiction, and middle-grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction.

 

Mike and Elizabeth are co-directors of the 6th San Francisco Writers Conference that will take place on President’s Day Weekend, February 13^th to 15^th at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel. The keynoters will be bestelling authors Richard North Patterson, Jane Smiley, and Lolly Winston, www.sfwriters.org. Mike and Elizabeth are also co-directors of the San Francisco Writing for Change Conference, www.sfwritingforchange.org.

Whether you write nonfiction or fiction writer, you’ve probably dreamt of finding a literary representation – landing an agent. I know I did. While I did approach some publishers with my book proposals, more often than not I sent those very same proposals out to agents. It took me many years of sporadically searching (six or eight), but last year I finally got the good news: an agent wanted to represent me. It was my dream come true – and continues to be.

Sometimes friends would ask me why I bothered looking for an agent, especially since I’d have to give up a percentage of my hard earned money to that agent. The answer had two parts, although the second representing the real reason: 1) An agent can get my proposal into the hands of editors at large publishing houses that I can’t even approach and can get it noticed by editors in mid-sized publishing houses that I can approach but where I might otherwise go unnoticed. 2) I want a business partner – someone who will help me build my career, support me in my endeavors, direct me down the right path when I’m not sure which way to turn, make sure my interests are protected, and be there to celebrate with me when I succeed because that success will be partially their own as well.

I love having an agent, and actually I have benefited by being with a very small agency run by a husband and wife team, because I seem to have gotten two agents for the “price” of one. Although I don’t have constant contact with them, I know they are there when I have questions, and I love knowing that they represent me and are sending out my work. (Well, at the moment they aren’t sending out my work, but we’ll get to that in a minute.) I feel they represent “me,” not just my work, and that they believe in me as a writer and as a person. I couldn’t ask for more.

Now, I’m writing this blog today to dispel a misconception about having an agent. Having an agent does not mean that your work will sell. It does not mean you will definitely get a publishing contract for your book or a large advance. I say this, because, like a lot of writers, I lived in a dream world for a while where I imagined that having an agent meant these things would happen.

It’s not wonder I did, though. I went from having no agents in 2006 to briefly having three agents in 2007. Yes, three. I was signed by the first agent in March. Just before the Book Expo America (BEA), I was signed by a second agent for a project my first agent did not want to represent; it was not something in her area of expertise and she wasn’t excited about it. In addition, I had another book project I was excited about, and the first agent agreed to have an agent in her firm represent me and the project at the BEA as well. I’m proud to say, therefore, that I had three agents representing me and my three projects at the BEA this year.

You’d think with three agents — really good agents with great track records — I’d have sold a book, right? Wrong.

All three projects currently are sitting on my desk waiting for me to peddle them. Well, one of them is waiting for proposal and first-two-chapters rewrite so I can then send it off to a different agent (one that handles young adult books, which my agents does not). Another is being considered by a publishing house after I sent it there myself. And the third is waiting for me to complete a proposal update and my Write Nonfiction in November project, which is something I want to enclose in the proposal package, so I can begin sending it out to small publishing houses. In other words, all my projects came home to me despite representation by a literary agent.

Now, I’m not saying agents are worthless. I’m just saying, don’t think that just because you have an agent, you will sell a book. You have to have a book idea and proposal worth selling. And you have to find the right publisher. Remember that agents most often only peddle proposals to medium to large publishing houses, because the advances from these are large enough to make it worth their while financially. Agents make their living off of the percentage they get when they sell a book (and later off a percentage of royalties – if there are any). That’s how it works. Just because these particular publishing house say “no” to your book project, however, does not mean that some other smaller publisher will feel the same way. Some really successful books have started out with smaller publishing houses (or self-published) and later when they became best-sellers the big publishing houses came along and purchased the rights to publish them.

Despite my projects coming home to me, I’m still happy to have my agents. They are just about to sit down with me and discuss my other projects and ideas, where I’m going and how they can help me get there. We’re going to evaluate how much time I need to take promoting one of my book projects before they can begin talking about it to editors at publishing houses. We’re going to take a look at what I’ve been doing to develop a platform and what else I can do to make myself more attractive to publishers. I wouldn’t be able to have these conversations with these knowledgeable, experienced and respected publishing professionals if they weren’t my agents. They see my future better than I can, and they have a better idea of what I need to do to make that future a present reality.

I highly recommend holding on to your dream of finding an agent. Just make sure your dream is an accurate one, and then make it come true with hard work, perseverance and, above all else, good ideas and good writing.

Query letters represent a necessity in the world of nonfiction writing. If you want to get your writing published, you have to know how to write a query letter, and you have to, of course, send it out to the correct person. There used to be no choice about how to do the latter. You put your letter into an envelope, addressed it, put a stamp on it, took it to the post office, and mailed it. These days, in many cases you have the option of composing an e-mail instead, typing in the correct e-mail address and then simply hitting the “send” button.

I published a comment on one of my blogs from a writer who told me she had sent out an e-mailed query of just a few lines for a book project to five agents prior to sending a full-length query to more agents. I was surprised but thought she had quite a bit of gumption to approach her query in that fashion. Five lines is short. Really short. Most query letters are a page long and contain three to four paragraphs describing the book project, it’s market and why the author is the right person to write the book.

I find book and article query writing a daunting task. I hate the formality of it and the supposed need to fit everything onto one page. Like this author, I have broken the rules on occasion, although I tend to go the other way. In fact, one of my book projects recently achieved consideration from a publisher with a two-page query letter that included at least two paragraphs you wouldn’t find mentioned in any query formula. I’ve never tried a five-line query to an agent or publisher, though, but it sounds a lot easier than a full-page or even a two-page query. (By the way, writing a two-page query is easier; it’s hard and time-consuming to cram everything you want to say and are supposed to say about your book project into a one page letter and still leave room for the date and your signature.)

I find sending queries to agents and publishers by e-mail much easier than sending them by snail mail. I find this especially true when proposing article idea to magazines, newsletter or e-zines. And once you know the editor, shooting off a short and witty e-mail becomes easy. E-mail is a friendlier and less formal method of communication. That doesn’t mean that I don’t approach agents and publishers – especially those I’ve never contacted before – with a fair degree of respect and formality. Yet, I can do this with a bit lighter tone.

An added benefit of e-mailed query letters comes with the response, which you get more quickly than if you sent the letter by snail mail. This is very helpful. You can wait weeks, and sometimes months, to get a snail mail (or e-mail) response to your snail mail query letter. If you aren’t sending your query out simultaneously, meaning to more than one agent, publisher or magazine at a time, this can really hold up your progress when it comes to actually getting your project published.

When sending e-mailed queries, you still have to be careful of your grammar and spelling, however. I sometimes edit for someone else who has an editorial services company, and she called me on an e-mail I sent to a new client just today. She didn’t like how I began my e-mail (too informal and not grammatically correct – even though I’ve seen this salutation used often in e-mails), and I had included a P.S. in which she noted I had a typo – one missed letter. I had forgotten to run Spellchecker. Oops. It’s easy to get lazy with e-mail and assume no one will care or notice if there is a slight mistake. Believe me, while my client, who needs an editor, might not have noticed, an agent or publisher will notice.

Personally, I’ve always wished I could simply pick up the phone and tell an agent, publisher or editor about my book project or article idea. I’ve almost never had someone turn my idea down when I told them about it in person. My query letters, on the other hand, have not enjoyed as much success.