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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Platform

Platform

Two Mistakes Made in Some Book Proposals

By Steve Laubeon May 2, 2022
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Putting together a great book proposal takes a lot of work. I suggest writers look at it as if it were a job application, and it is. You are trying to get someone to pay you to write your book via a stellar “job application” or book proposal.

But every once in a while, we get something that is not going to work, for obvious reasons. Here are two mistakes:

Divine Attribution

Also known as the claim, “God told me to write this.” We once received a proposal with a line that claimed, “I literally hear from GOD,JESUS, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT.” (Capitalization and punctuation left intact.) One of the most widely read posts from our blog is titled “God Gave Me This Blog Post.” Please read the post, and please avoid this mistake in the future.

I also see authors write or hear authors say, “I know you don’t like it when we say it, but I really felt inspired by God while writing this.” Trust me, I understand. In fact, I believe you and don’t deny the validity of inspiration. But try not to make it sound like your book idea or sample writing is extra special because of it.

Résumé Puffing

With all the talk about platform and the need to have a major social-media presence or visibility, we are starting to see more writers attempting to inflate the value of their résumé in order to attract an agent or a publisher. This doesn’t mean you don’t or can’t list the various activities, awards, or social-media analytics; it simply means don’t exaggerate or lie.

I once saw a proposal where the author claimed to have won a Nobel Prize. I googled the name and the prize and found that the author had been on a large research team that was granted the prize. But the way it was written sounded like the author was the sole recipient. The claim was not inaccurate, but it felt like it. The author was right to be proud of being on such an extraordinary team, but the author should have described it as a team award.

When someone claims “best-selling author” status, I try to take the claim at face value. But if we are not familiar with your work, we will investigate the claim. If it cannot be verified or it comes to light that what has been described is only receiving a “#1 on Amazon” label in an obscure category, I’m not as inclined to be impressed. My annual Christian Writers Market Guide is often #1 on Amazon in the new release category of “Christian Encyclopedias.” Think about it. How many “new releases” in that category come out every week? Not many. So having that label in an obscure category may look nice, but I would certainly not claim to be a best-selling author because of it.

Awards are a little trickier. Here on our site, we have a section for author’s awards. (See the drop-down menu in the Authors section above.) We have tried to focus on those awards that are fairly national or have a strong measure of gravitas attached to their name that will be significant to a major publisher. It isn’t an exact science.

One author claimed to have been nominated for a major book award. Since I had been a consultant for that award, I knew the truth. The author’s publisher had “entered” the book in the contest. It was one of twenty books entered into that category. This author’s book was not a finalist nor was it “nominated” for anything. It had been entered, nothing more. I had to assume that the author was unaware of the difference, but it left the wrong taste when reading the proposal.

The hardest thing is listing social-media numbers. The fear is that what you have isn’t enough. But then what is enough? A mistake of late has been calculating “reach” and not actual numbers. One author claimed to have a “reach” of one million people. But what the author had done is calculate the social-media size of every person who followed them–added everyone’s “audience”–and then claimed their personal social media had a “reach” of 1,000,000. In reality, their actual number was less than 10,000.

“Reach” is a technique used in the media. See this linked article, where they correctly claim, “During an average week in June 2021, radio reached 88.1 percent of all American men aged between 35 and 64 years of age. All adults of this age group were the most exposed to radio, regardless of gender.” It doesn’t say any of that 88% were listening, only that they were “reached.”

Be careful about overstating your platform. We know the tricks.

The Real Secret

The secret to a successful book proposal? Write a GREAT book with a GREAT idea.

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Category: Book Proposals, Get Published, PlatformTag: book proposals, Get Published, Platform

Free Webinar on Building Your Author Platform

By Steve Laubeon October 19, 2020
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Why write a book no one will read? I have a theory that a book has no impact unless the book is read. But a book won’t be read until it is purchased. Even if it was given to you, someone bought it. Thus the power of your words begin at the point of sale. In today’s world, that means the book has to be discovered. No matter how good your book is, if someone doesn’t know about it, …

Read moreFree Webinar on Building Your Author Platform
Category: PlatformTag: Author Platform, Platform, Webinar

Starting an Author Newsletter Before Winning a Book Contract

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 14, 2018
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Writers often wonder how to start a newsletter before their book is released. The process might not seem to make sense when you’re publishing a newsletter to promote yourself as an author. However, since a newsletter is meant to establish a relationship with potential fans, being in communication with readers is a great idea. Here are some strategies: Include personal tidbits. You aren’t an author …

Read moreStarting an Author Newsletter Before Winning a Book Contract
Category: Branding, Marketing, Platform, Social Media, The Writing LifeTag: Marketing, Newsletters, Platform

Don’t Put Everything in Your Book

By Dan Balowon May 29, 2018
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One reason platform-building is a such a problem for some authors is the feeling they must place everything important in their book, leaving little or nothing left to say for platform purposes. This puts an author in an awkward position where they either deviate from their core book-message for their platform (social media and other efforts) or they treat their platform only as a “teaser” or …

Read moreDon’t Put Everything in Your Book
Category: Branding, Career, Marketing, Pitching, PlatformTag: Branding, Marketing, Message, Platform

Make Much Ado of Your New Book

By Bob Hostetleron April 18, 2018
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(5 Ways to Plan a Success-Guaranteed Book Launch Event) I am no marketing genius, and though I’ve written fifty books, I still have much to learn about author and book publicity. But I nonetheless had a great time launching my book, The Bard and the Bible: A Shakespeare Devotional, a book of daily reflections drawn from a quote from Shakespeare and a verse from the King James Version of the Bible …

Read moreMake Much Ado of Your New Book
Category: Book Sales, Career, Marketing, Platform, The Writing LifeTag: Book Launch, Book Sales, Marketing, Platform

Book and Author – Traveling Companions

By Dan Balowon April 17, 2018
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In publishing circles, we frequently refer to the “launch” of a new book when it is first published, but often tend to overlook the fact that it is not an unmanned rocket controlled at the publisher/mission control.  Books need a pilot. The author must travel with the book. I am uncertain if there ever was a time in the history of book publishing where an author didn’t need to join their book out …

Read moreBook and Author – Traveling Companions
Category: Branding, Career, Get Published, Marketing, PlatformTag: Book Launch, Getp Published, Marketing, Platform

Getting Started in Social Media

By Dan Balowon March 20, 2018
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Actually, the title was a bit of click-bait to entice aspiring authors and platform builders to open this post. Sorry. Getting started in social media is not a problem. It’s as simple as 1-2-3 and grade school children around the world do it every day. If you are having trouble getting started in social media, it could be your rotary-dial phone, thirty-year-old modem and Commodore 64 computer are …

Read moreGetting Started in Social Media
Category: Branding, Marketing, Platform, Social Media, Technology, The Writing LifeTag: Branding, Marketing, Platform, Social Media

In Defense of Social Media

By Dan Balowon January 30, 2018
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Today I am going to stick up for the poor, downtrodden multibillion dollar global public corporations behind social media. Blamed for everything from the breakdown of the family to the dissolution of meaningful personal relationships, they are supposedly the reason society is on a virtual brink of collapse. But for authors of books, social media is the simplest and quickest way to create an author …

Read moreIn Defense of Social Media
Category: Branding, Marketing, Platform, Social MediaTag: Marketing, Platform, Social Media

Author Platform and The Laws of Attraction

By Dan Balowon December 5, 2017
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Whenever someone communicates anything in any form, the message will either attract or repel readers, listeners or viewers. All communication is like a magnet, with north and south poles. What you do in social media or blog for your author platform will either cost or earn readers. No matter what you do, the best you can hope for is a net positive, with more people friending, following and …

Read moreAuthor Platform and The Laws of Attraction
Category: Marketing, Platform, Social Media, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Faith, Marketing, Platform, Theology

My 600-lb Book Life

By Bob Hostetleron November 22, 2017
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Recently I spent a few hours visiting a relative in rehab, and the television was tuned to an episode of the television series, My 600-lb Life. This is why I like to control the TV remote at all times. The episode focused on a fairly young mother of two children who weighed nearly six hundred pounds and was hoping to engage a surgeon for weight-reduction surgery. Her first several consultations …

Read moreMy 600-lb Book Life
Category: Marketing, Pitching, Platform, The Writing LifeTag: Marketing, Platform, The Writing Life
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