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Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Book Proposals » Page 18

Book Proposals

Agents Share Their Pet Peeves

By Bob Hostetleron November 8, 2017
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Agents are people, too.

Most literary agents, that is.

And, like most people, we have our highs and lows. Our problems. Our irritations. Our pet peeves.

I asked my fellow agents at The Steve Laube Agency to share their pet peeves with me for the purpose of this blog post. Boy, did that open a Pandora’s box.

Tamela Hancock Murray, the “ACFW agent-of-the-year” award-winning agent, agreed to come down from the mount where such personages dwell, at least long enough to play along. She said, “I had to give this some thought because writers are quite good about being respectful. I can’t call it a ‘pet peeve’ but the error I see surprisingly often is an issue with word count. Hardly a week goes by that my office doesn’t receive a submission of 30,000 words or 150,000 words. Unfortunately, these are lengths I can’t work with, at least not in the current market. To avoid submitting a manuscript that will garner an automatic rejection because of word count, please refer to the guidelines for the publishers you are targeting before approaching an agent.”

Dan Balow said that his pet peeves include writers who send him something they know he is not looking for, sometimes saying, “I know you said you weren’t looking for this type of book, but…” He also laments submissions that claim, “Your agency website says you are looking for _______,” when a more careful read of the website would reveal that we are not looking for this type of book listed. He says, “I am not sure what type of professional relationship could develop between me and an author if the author starts by paying no attention to my stated focus.”

Steve Laube says, “I don’t think I have ‘pet peeves,’ per se. But if I did, one might be writers calling the agency to pitch a book idea, which is never a good idea. Please follow the guidelines first. As a writer, it is your ability to express your idea in writing that is important. Not your elocution. Also, sending a link to your Amazon listing and asking me to buy a copy of the book that you are now pitching is simply not going to happen.”

Wow. Right? My own pet peeves seem to pale in light of those. But they include pitches for a “fiction novel” (pro tip: there is no other kind). And mass submissions that include the addresses of dozens of other agents in the email address field (send it to as many agents as you want, but one size does not fit all when pitching a book to an agent, and you’re only hurting yourself in ignoring that reality). And, like my colleagues, I frequently shake my head at writers who don’t take the time and effort to read the (free!) guidelines for submission (or utterly and obviously ignore them) before pitching a project. If an agent or agency tells you how to look good, why would you ignore that advice?

Unless, of course, your pet peeve is looking good.

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Category: Agents, Book Proposals, Get Published, Pitch, PitchingTag: Agency, Agents, Pet Peeves

Yes, It’s Personal

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon October 19, 2017
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We’d all like to think everyone will love all our books. But it just won’t happen. It’s personal, and that’s okay. Based on past posts, regular followers of this blog might conclude that I don’t like any book I start. That’s not true, but I’ll admit I’ve ditched a couple more books lately. One is a classic, but I didn’t like spending time with a protagonist mixing copious amounts of drink and …

Read moreYes, It’s Personal
Category: Book Proposals, Book Review, Get Published, The Writing LifeTag: Agents, book proposals, Pitching

What Makes a Great Hook?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon October 12, 2017
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Lately, smart publishing professionals have been saying “it needs a great hook” to describe  books they seek. Recently I wrote about the all-important first page, which of course should seize the reader and not let go. However, that’s not the same as the story hook itself. The hook must make the consumer say, “I’ve got to read this!” even before she turns to page one. Nonfiction: The …

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Category: Book Proposals, MarketingTag: book proposals, Hooks, Marketing

You Gotta Know the Territory

By Bob Hostetleron September 27, 2017
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So you’re writing a book. In what genre? Don’t know? You must. My colleague, Dan Balow, recently wrote a valuable blog post (here) that touched on the many genre categories and sub-categories in today’s publishing world. You should read it—when you finish reading this, of course. “I don’t care about genre,” you may say. “I’m a writer, not an editor or publisher.” To which I say, “Tough.” If you’re …

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Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Career, Genre

Perfect Christian Book Titles

By Dan Balowon September 12, 2017
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Once in a while, an author and/or publisher come up with the perfect title for a Christian book. Not just something which explains the contents, but the perfect title. No wasted words. It just leaves you speechless. The best title ever (in my humble opinion) was Joel Osteen’s bestseller, Your Best Life Now. It’s perfect. It’s not about someone else, it’s about you. It doesn’t promise a “better …

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Category: Book Proposals, Humor, MarketingTag: Book Titles, Humor

Four Ways to Rise to the Top!

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon September 7, 2017
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Since agents receive more proposals than they have time to represent, a huge obstacle for new authors is getting their manuscripts to the top of the stack. Every week I review excellent proposals from writers I would be proud to represent. If only I could double my hours in a day! This happy dilemma speaks to how much the Christian market has matured. We attract the best and brightest writers. I …

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Category: Book Proposals, Get PublishedTag: book proposal, Get Published

Send Simultaneous Submissions or Not?

By Steve Laubeon August 7, 2017
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Bryan Mitchell asked, “What is the max number of submissions you should send at a given time? I’ve heard ten but that sounds off; to me, it seems it should be less than that if you are carefully considering the agents you reach out to.” When approaching agents I encourage simultaneous submissions, as long as you let us know you are doing so. But, as Bryan answered his own question, there is no …

Read moreSend Simultaneous Submissions or Not?
Category: Agency, Agents, Book ProposalsTag: Agency, Agents, book proposals, Queries, Simultaneous Submissions

What Happens in the Agency After I Send my Proposal?

By Steve Laubeon July 24, 2017
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Jeanine asked, “Please help me to get a picture of what happens to a manuscript that has been submitted (via email) to your office, from the time of its arrival to the time of the agent’s acceptance/rejection.” Thank you for the question Jeanine. I will first give a silly but kinda true answer of what happens in the agency as follows: We avoid looking in the incoming proposals inbox …

Read moreWhat Happens in the Agency After I Send my Proposal?
Category: Agency, Book ProposalsTag: Agency, book proposals

Books are Sold with Proposals

By Dan Balowon June 20, 2017
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If you think about it, the first step leading to the eventual sale of any book begins with grabbing someone’s attention with a short description of the book content. The proposal or short description motivates the agent, publisher, book retailer or reader to take the next step, which is different for each, but everything is set in motion by something less than the full manuscript. No one first …

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Category: Book ProposalsTag: book proposals

Make Me Jump off the Fence

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 18, 2017
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So, when querying me, maybe you followed my guidelines, submitted an appropriate manuscript, and your work has much to recommend itself. So why am I not getting back to you right away? Am I ignoring you? I’m sure it feels that way, and I’m sorry. What has probably happened is that your manuscript (and yours is not alone), has me sitting on the fence. Think about that expression. Who wants to sit …

Read moreMake Me Jump off the Fence
Category: Book Proposals, Get Published, PitchTag: book proposals, Get Published
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