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The Steve Laube Agency

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Home » Book Proposals » Page 25

Book Proposals

Suspending Disbelief

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 22, 2015
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After watching a television series about the life of St. Teresa de Jesus, my husband and I viewed the special bonus about the making of the film, in the early 1980s. One scene showed travelers, using conveyances common to the 16th century, moving toward several parked trucks. Another scene showed vehicles parked behind a village facade. An outtake showed St. Teresa speaking, with a contemporary woman standing in the corner. Still another demonstrated how the director coached an actor on his voice inflection on one phrase several times. I thought about how everyone involved was forced to suspend personal disbelief to convey a realistic portrayal of each scene to the viewing audience.

Likewise, as readers, sometimes we must suspend our disbelief to keep engaged in a story. For instance, is Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet entirely believable? And unlike Hansel and Gretel, I’ve never found a gingerbread house in a forest.

But we suspend disbelief for one or more reasons, such as:

1.) We value what the author has to say.

2.) We love the writing.

3.) The plot is compelling.

4.) We care about the characters.

However, readers are willing to suspend only a certain amount of disbelief. They might go along with one irregularity or two, but the overarching story must make sense.

And the pretext of the story must hold together. For example, what caused the apocalypse? Why did the mother abandon her children? A sensible pretext helps round out characters and induce readers’ sympathy for them, plus engages them in your story.

Also, the story’s linchpin can’t happen because of a coincidence. A minor coincidence might move the plot along early on, but with the possible exception of comedy, a coincidence that brings everything together usually won’t feel satisfying to the reader.

Even in fantasy, a created world and race of aliens must make sense. Fantasy is a playground for disbelief, but it still must be coherent.

And finally, fiction must be even more plausible than real life. In reality, you may never know why a relationship crumbled, or the real reason someone died. But readers of a novel want to know all the reasons. They want to make sense of your story, and by extension, to make sense of the world.

 

Your turn:

Have you ever given up on a book when the plot ceased to make sense?

What is the best book you’ve read that asked you to suspend disbelief to enjoy the plot?

What will make you stay with an unrealistic story?

 

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Category: Book Proposals, Craft, Creativity, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Writing Craft

But My Book is Unique!

By Dan Balowon January 20, 2015
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Excerpt from author cover letter: (not real) “Dear (Agent or Publisher), The enclosed book proposal contains never-before-seen information to help the most important of all human relationships. It identifies six different kinds of languages of love, combines the findings of extensive studies from all cultures and is endorsed by every important person living within one hundred miles of my home. It …

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Category: Book Proposals, Creativity, Get Published, Writing CraftTag: book proposals, Get Published

A Picky Reader

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon December 11, 2014
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Having a book rejected by an agent or editor is puzzling, especially when the agent or editor have stated they are seeking just what we’re offering. Almost every day, my office must decline books that should be a fit. Usually the reasons are concrete (too long, too short, writing doesn’t sparkle, insufficient platform). But sometimes we’re just picky. I’ve touched on this …

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Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Craft, Creativity, Get Published, RejectionTag: Rejection

But My Critique Group Likes It!

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon November 20, 2014
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Over the years, I have received this comment from frustrated authors when a work didn’t hit the mark with me. As someone who penned many books in the past myself, I understand and sympathize with these authors. However, this argument will almost  never get an author another read of the same manuscript — at least in my office. This is because though they are important, crit groups …

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Category: Book Proposals, Craft, Get PublishedTag: critique group, Get Published

Proposals: Know Your Audience

By Karen Ballon September 24, 2014
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I … Love … Coffee … Love going into coffee shops, love ordering the perfect brew, love the ambiance of Starbuck’s and Caribou coffee and Seattle’s Best and Coffee People, and you name it! When my hubby wants to do something special for me, he’ll let me drag him to a coffee shop. Of course, when I’m done ordering, he bellys up to the bar, stares the barista in the eye, and says, …

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Category: Book Proposals, Get PublishedTag: Audience, book proposals, Get Published

How Publishers Make Decisions

By Dan Balowon September 23, 2014
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We all agree that book publishing is changing fast. New technology, new formats and new ways to sell books have changed everything.  Well, almost everything. One thing has not changed…the fundamental way decisions are made as to what new authors an agent represents and publishers publish. It has always been and remains people making quick, subjective decisions (aka QSD). A number of years ago I …

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Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Career, The Publishing LifeTag: Book Business, publishing, The Publishing Life

Proposals: Make Comparison Titles Work for You

By Karen Ballon September 17, 2014
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When I mention adding comp titles to a proposal, this is the response I often get from both nonfiction and fiction authors: “AARRRGGHH! Why? It’s so hard!” Well, there are two main reasons as to the why: Comp titles show there’s a market out there for books like yours. Comp titles help the editor/author “get” your book better. Now, that doesn’t mean you can just grab any book that’s similar …

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Category: Book Proposals, Get PublishedTag: book proposals, Comparisons, Get Published

Proposals: Creating a Strong Hook

By Karen Ballon September 10, 2014
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Last week we tackled the proposal synopsis. The cool thing about creating that aspect of the proposal first is that you can use it as the springboard for your hook: those few lines at the beginning of your proposal that draw an editor/agent deeper. (One note here: many writers have asked if they need to put something in the hook about genre. My vote: put the genre right after the title on the …

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Category: Book Proposals, Get PublishedTag: book proposals, Get Published, Hook

Synopsis Made Easy – I Promise!

By Karen Ballon September 3, 2014
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Okay, fellow proposal peeps, it’s time to jump in and work together on crafting a perfect proposal. Many of you echoed what I’ve heard over and over through the years: “I hate writing the synopsis!” This is especially painful because you need a short synopsis/summary that runs around 50-60 words—but still gives the gist of your story, mind you–and then a more detailed synopsis that can run a …

Read moreSynopsis Made Easy – I Promise!
Category: Book Proposals, Craft, Creativity, Get Published, Marketing, Writing CraftTag: book proposals, Get Published, synopsis

You Are Not Alone

By Karen Ballon August 27, 2014
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts about proposals. Clearly, a lot of us struggle with this side of being a writer. As I was thinking over what to write for tackling those problematic proposal elements, I rediscovered the video below, made in ’09. It was created by best-selling authors Angela Hunt, Kristin Billerbeck, Robin Lee Hatcher, and Terri Blackstock. These authors, back in ’09, had written a …

Read moreYou Are Not Alone
Category: Book Proposals, Career, Get Published
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