Many bloggers are on the path from blog to book, so it was no surprise to me that there were publishers at the
Blog World Expo to take advantage of this fact. I have no idea where my blogger adventures might take me some day, so I decided to check out the panel entitled "What Publishers Really think About Your Book Proposal" presented by a group of editors from
John Wiley.
In short, a successful book proposal should contain the answers to three major questions:
- Why YOU?
- Why THIS Book?
- HOW Is It Going To SELL?
As each of the editors shared their own personal preference for genre (one was a sci-fi editor, one was a historical and foreign-based fiction editor and one was a celebrity editor) and unique skills, there were some clear answers to these three questions that seemed to sell no matter what genre you may be interested in writing. Let's take a look at each one in detail.
Why YOU?
You must understand that as an editor in a publishing company each of these individuals is exposed to countless authors who are just as passionate about their work, who have been working just as hard as you (maybe even harder!), who write just and wonderfully as you, et cetera, et cetera, so you
must answer the question:
WHY YOU? Here are some of the answers that the editors said that catch their eye:
- You write a lot, possibly even in magazines
- You are an expert on the subject and have evidence of this fact
- You have been making a lot of "noise" in the field
- you have special expertise in language (this came from the editor with interest in the foreign-based genre)
- You are a celebrity (of course, this came from the celebrity editor)
Why THIS Book?
Have you been to the bookstore lately? Have you checked out the "New Releases" section? How about the "Bargain Books" section? Both of these sections have lessons in them - 1. How much competition is out there and, 2. how many of the books that
do get published that
still end up not being successful. You need to think long and hard about this question:
WHY THIS BOOK? Believe it or not,
just because you wrote it is not reason enough! Here are some things to consider and/or include in your proposal to let your prospective editor(s) know why your book
needs to be published:
- Explain your book in terms of other successful published books
- Do NOT say "This has never been done before," OR, "This book is the first of its kind" - while this may sound like a positive unique experience, it actually sounds like your book has no shelf to be placed on in a bookstore!
- Be on the lookout for the publishing house you are contacting is promoting and explain how your book fits their current market (or go to a publishing house that better fits your book!)
- Read the "acknowledgments" sections of books similar to your own to find good contacts to make the right match
HOW Is It Going To SELL?
You may be embracing your artistic side as was philosophical through the writing of your latest masterpiece, but, in the end, this is a business. If your book can't sell or it doesn't look like you can be much of a help in the selling of it, then your deal is done. Your book proposal must have
some evidence of the fact that you have considered sales and the selling of your book and that your plan may have some legs. Here are some things that help (and this is where the web and social media came to the panel):
- You have cultivated an audience, or created some sort of platform for yourself - this can be either through writing in print, or through the Internet
- You have a wide presence on the web
- You use your website as a TOOL FOR COMMUNICATION, not merely as an artifact of your work
- You can show interaction and/or influence with your audience (again, this does not have to be online)
- Do NOT spend time on the Internet as an afterthought - either all in, or all out
What Does It All Look Like?
Maybe you knew more about this stuff than I did before I sat down to this panel, but after all this chat about who I was, what my precious book was all about and what kind of sales person I was going to turn out to be, I was still wondering,
"What the heck does the proposal actually look like?" Luckily, I was rescued from my curiosity and I now pass along the favor:
The Proposal
5-7 pages, containing:
- An annotated table of contents for your book,
- A "Who Am I/Why Me" Statement (one editor said, "Formulate your Elevator Pitch", those of us who have been through the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog know all about elevator pitches!)
- & At least 1-2 sample chapters of the book, or some other equivalent sample of your writing (blogs or articles)
Other Quick Tips
There were so many little tips thrown in here and there for aspiring writers throughout the panel. I know I didn't get them all, but here are just a few that will hopefully help someone out there!
- Agents aren't necessary, but can be very helpful to run "interference" between you (the author) and the publisher (this way you don't always feel so offended when they are just doing their job by "hacking your baby"
- You will probably hate the cover of your book
- For fiction writers, a great place to create a platform is using the website Duotrope.com to get published in short fiction
- For all writers - the more you get published, the more "credits" you get
- **Be careful of blogging it could be a TIME SUCK!** (According to the editors there Blogging hit its peak in 2006-2007)
- Going from an eBook to a print book is difficult. HOWEVER, publishing a different print book with the SUCCESS of an eBook behind you makes the publisher's decision easier - in their eyes you already did the hard work
So what do you think, are you ready to write your proposal now?
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