- The autobiography of a well-known, former NFL coach who became a follower of Christ late in life. In his later years, he devoted considerable time to prison ministry. The story gave deep background into his time in the NFL.
- An extraordinary graphic novel series. It was ahead of its time, but no publisher was willing to take the obvious risk to produce and distribute the project. The author-artist later found his own backing and formed a company to create the material. They found a nontraditional distributor and ended up selling more than 250,000 units.
- An already self-published book on the importance of character in a person’s life, what it is and how to cultivate it. The author was a judge and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in his state. His credentials were impeccable. He was media-ready and spoke regularly on the topic.
- A supernatural fiction manuscript that caught my eye for its great story line and wonderful storytelling. The combination of being a debut author and having a thinly veiled science-fiction thread caused it to be rejected by everyone. The author shelved it and wrote another novel, which didn’t sell. The author shelved that one and began writing nonfiction where the author has become quite successful.
Search Results for: proposals
Testing the Truth
Years ago, after a class on taxes at a writers conference, an attendee shook her head. “That teacher’s going to get a lot of people in trouble.” I couldn’t deny that some of the suggestions offered seemed risky. I disregarded most of what I’d heard as I made my way out the door. This experience is rare, but it does happen. Conference directors engage well-known, established instructors for …
Why Is the Book Proposal So Important?
This question has been raised many times: “Why do I have to jump through your hoops to create a proposal only to have it rejected with a form letter?” It’s a Job Application Your proposal is, in essence, an application to have a business (corporate or sole proprietor) to pay you to publish your book, to spend their money on your work in a effort to create a profitable product. …
Submission Mistakes of the More Subtle Variety
I wrote a post on this blog a while ago (here) about some embarrassing and even disqualifying mistakes writers had made in submissions to me. One reader commented on that post, expressing gratitude and then adding, “What would be helpful to me is to hear the subtle or inadvertent mistakes aspiring authors make when sending a proposal to you. Can you help us with that?” Why, yes, Louise, since you …
What We Can Overlook
My office receives thousands of submissions a year. We’re thrilled to see proposals so well crafted that they’re ready to submit to publishers. Those submissions are few. Most contain mistakes. We don’t want you to feel stymied, as though agents are looking for reasons to reject proposals and will pounce on any infraction. Rather, let’s consider what my office may be able to overlook when the …
Am I on a Deadline?
Many authors submit book proposals to agents and editors with the thought, If this doesn’t work, I’ll self-publish. That plan is reasonable. However, when strategizing your career, consider the timeline. As an agency, we set a time frame to respond to author queries. Often, we miss our stated deadline. In working with other publishing professionals, we are aware that this is an industry-wide …
A New Author Photo for a New Year?
Not long ago, I signed one of my books for a friend. As he received it back from me, he turned to the back cover and pointed to my photo. “Who’s that?” he asked. He used to be a friend. So the book had been out for a few years, but truth be told (not that I’ve been lying up to now), the photo could have been more current. Much more. You may not age like I do (with the speed of a hare and grace of …
How to Get Out of the Slush Pile – With Deborah Raney
You would like to think that as soon as you are done with your proposal and send it off to an agent that he or she is sitting there by the inbox ready to read it as soon as it comes in. If only. Before email became the submission method, agents and acquisitions editors threw unsolicited proposals into a stack in the corner of the office called the slush pile. Then, once a month or so, they brewed …
How Do I Know It Is Ready to Submit?
The “Your Questions Answered” Series __________ I’m a 78-year-old psychotherapist in a psychiatric practice and have been doing some writing for patients over the years. My question is, “How do you know when an article or book possibility is developed and written well enough to send to an agent?” As an agency, we don’t represent articles, so I’ll confine my remarks to books. The …
Check Your Email ID
When you receive an email from someone, the “from” column in your inbox indicates who sent it. In that column is the person’s email ID. Seems simple right? You might not realize is that your email address may not be the ID that is seen by your recipient. The ID you have for your email address can be changed and is handled in the settings within your email program. So What Steve? Let me list a few …