Personal Thank You for Making Our Thanksgiving Sale Great

I wanted to personally thank all who participated in making Our 2-Day Thanksgiving Sale great.  Over the last two days, we received over 1,400 ebook downloads.  I couldn't have done it without you all:

Backpage
Literary Cats Hate Kittens (blog)

Indie House Books (Tami & Staff)
Manus Publishing (Financial Backer & Marketing Staff)

Part Three – Creating A Perfect Book Proposal

The book proposal is what you use to sell your book to the publishers.    Every publisher will want a book proposal either on paper or by email, but not every publisher requires the same information in the proposal package.  With that said, below is the basic information that any publisher will require before considering publishing your book.

The basic book proposal package should include:

A Cover Letter
Gives the editor or publisher an overview of you, your work, and the items in your book proposal that you have submitted to them.

Jim Sanders
145 Elm Terrace
New York, NY 10002
1.212.538.1460

November 21, 2013

Henry Jones, Editor
One World Publishing Group
10024 Park West, Suite 500, Floor 5
New York, NY 10011

Dear Mr. Jones:

Thank you for allowing me to submit my book proposal to you.  I know that you will enjoy reading Red Blood in the Wild Woods.   I feel that I am a great fit for both you and your publisher.

I hired Williams, Reed, and Buie to conduct a focus group on the book.  95% of the people who read the book would both recommend it to a friend and purchase it when available.  I have included a copy of their report at the back of the book proposal.

Please allow me to reference some highlights from my writing career that may be of interest to you:

• My first novel, Don’t Fix the Door, It’s Broken, Blue Jay Press, 1998, sold 50,000 copies in the first month.

• The five novels I have written since have out preformed other books in the same category.

•  Lost in the Wild Woods, my first novel series, was featured on the New York’s Times Best Sellers List, number twenty, for one week.

In these examples, as well as throughout my career, I have met and exceeded expectations in writing objectives through an uncompromising focus on what my readers expect from me.  Now, I would like to do the same for your organization.

My proposal will provide additional details regarding my background and accomplishments. I would welcome the opportunity for you to choose me as your next writer to writer.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,


Jim Sanders

Enclosure
(Manuscript, synopsis, biography, other works list,
Williams, Reed, and Buie focus group report)

Sample Chapter(s)
If you submit sample chapters, be ready to submit at least two or more completed chapters.  This gives the editor at the publication a feel of where you book is headed and if your work is something that they would consider publishing.

Outline (if book is not yet written)
If you only have an idea for a book and have not started to write it yet, the outline will serve the same purpose of the sample chapter(s).  Outlines usually gives the highlights of your book, chapter by chapter.  If you don’t have a clue of the direction of your book, you may have to wait until you’ve written a few chapters to submit sample chapter(s).  Outlines can be very, very lengthy.

Synopsis
Is a short summary of your book and allows the reader to experience the feeling of your book, without reading the sample chapter(s) or outline.  Like Cliff’s Notes for the editor or the publisher.  It allows them to make the determination without wasting loads of time.

Author’s Biography
Even if you have never written anything, every author needs a biography, no matter how small.  Biographies allow the reader, publisher or editor into the life of the writer, and may help them determine why a book is written in a particular way.

List of Other Books Written and/or Published
List of other works written allows the reader, editor, or publisher to further determine if the work that you are submitting works for their company.

Putting It All Together
Like I stated before, before you submit any work to any publisher, proofread, proofread, proofread.  Simple spelling and punctuation mistakes can make you look like a writer just starting out.  Whether you are new to the game or an old pro, your writing skills are a direct reflection of you. 

Tips you can use:

Double-space everything that you write for submissions.  Blank spaces between typed word are easier to read.

If you are submitting your entire manuscript put pages numbers on every page, except the first one.  Also include your last name in the opposite corner.  Include a separate title page, and start every new chapter on a new page.

In the cover letter, include the total word count of your work.

Include a SASE or your email address, but before you do anything check with the publisher’s guidelines first.

Keep records of everyone you send a book proposal package to.  You do not want to make the mistake of sending the same proposal to an editor twice.

Closing Thought
It is not hard to find publishers that will accept proposal from writers with no literary agents; in fact it may be to your advantage.  If you don’t have a literary agent, you may not get as much in royalties, but you could very well get the whole kit and caboodle.  

Sure literary agents do have a place in the publishing world, but that place should not be in your back pocket.  When you polish your skills, you will find that you can get nearly the same deals as literary agents.

There are publishers out there who are looking for the works that you have written.  They are willing to work with you right out of the box and they will pay you a royalty and maybe even an advancement, if your work is exceptional.

If you use all of the information in these three reports, you too can submit your works to a major publisher and be published too. 

Part Two: How To Land the Ultimate Publishing Deal

To land any deal, especially the ultimate deal, you have to be prepared for any block of wood that may be hurled at you.  You have to be able to move out of the way, so you won’t get hit and know how to adjust your plan of action at any moments notice.

Is Your Work Good Enough

To find out if your work is good, you have to let other people read it, and then you can assess your work from their reaction.  The more people who read your work, the better and if you get positive reactions go ahead and go forward with your book publishing dreams.

If you get negative reactions, don’t get mad get proactive.  Take the criticism literally and fix what is wrong.  The more polished and professional your story is the better chance you have of it being picked up by a publisher.


Finding A Publisher

There are literally thousands of publishers all around the world.  So, what do you write fiction, sci-fi, children’s stories, biographies, or history?  First note that not every publisher publishes all written works. 

If you have favorite authors that you read, and the works are written in the same genre look and see whom there publishers are.  Online searches for publishers is also a great way to find a huge selection.

Once you have found a few publishers, check out their websites to find out if they are currently accepting submissions and to view there other guidelines.  You may also want to purchase a book from them written in your same genre to get and idea of what they are looking for.


Submitting Your Work

Whether you submit a complete work or just a sample, you have to follow their guidelines.  Since every publisher will have different guidelines, you will also need to keep track of your submissions. 

It may take a few months before you hear back from the publisher on if your work will be accepted or not. If your work is not accepted, don’t get discouraged, but use this lesson as a stepping stone to make you stronger.

Make all necessary corrections and resubmit your work, if possible.


Closing

It may take you only a few times to hundreds of submissions before a true publisher accepts your work.  Just remember, don’t let your guard down, don’t get comfortable, and don’t ever stop trying to get your works published.


This Week: Part Three – Creating A Perfect Book Proposal

How To Get Your Book Published by the Big Boys! - Part One

I think that it is everyone’s dream to have there book published by Simon and Shuster, Penguin, DK, and to receive a huge signing bonus and royalty check.  The simple fact is that we all can’t be Steven Kings’ or Dean Koontz, but if you play your cards right, you can get published by a big boy or at least an off spring or an independent and reap the royalties you truly deserve.

You want your book published, but you shouldn’t have to pay and the royalties’ amounts are too small through a free print-on-demand (pod) publisher, where do you turn?

Approaching Book publishers

In the publishing world, people use inquiry letters not only to pitch an idea for a book or to tell about a book already written, but also to check up on the status of a project submitted.  The inquiry letter should incite the editor to find out more about you, the project and the book.

After an editor makes contact with you, it is your job to keep attracting the editor to your project until you finally have a deal.

Inquiry letter (Pitch)

Mr. Blake Jones

4920 Blake Jones Road

Dallas, Texas 75643

November 1, 2013

Herman Russell, Editor

Avondale Publishing Group

PO Box 359, Houston, Texas 75100

Dear Mr. Russell

I am in the process of writing a new novel, ‘Thickets in the Wildwoods’, and I believe it is a great fit for your firm.    I have read the Lost Wind series by Beth Smith and my story is also science fiction.   I have included an excerpt below:

(excerpt)

Sincerly,

Your signature

Inquiry letter (Check-up)

Mr. Blake Jones

4920 Blake Jones Road

Dallas, Texas 75643

September 8, 2014

Herman Russell, Editor

Avondale Publishing Group

PO Box 359, Houston, Texas 75100

Dear Mr. Russell:

Ten months ago I submitted my manuscript ‘Thickets in the Wildwoods’ to you and I felt that I should check with you on its status.  I know that you are a very, very busy person, but I would be most appreciative if you could take a moment to check on its status for me.

I thank you for taking the time to check on this and look forward to your reply. An SASE is enclosed for your convenience. 

Sincerly,

Your signature

 

Book publishers & Other Resources

Below is a list of websites that you can visit to find out more about book publishers near you:

 

List over 700 book publishing companies - www.everywritersresource.com/bookpublishers/

Book Marketing & Promotion - www.bookmarket.com/newnovels.htm

Predators & Editors - http://pred-ed.com/pubinqry.htm

New Pages.com - www.newpages.com/book-publishers/

Independent Book Publishers Associations - www.ibpa-online.org/resources/affiliates/

Brandylane Publishers - www.brandylanepublishers.com/Authors/Publishing/

 

Next Week - Part Two: How To Land the Ultimate Deal