Sample Chapters in a Proposal

When putting together a nonfiction proposal, it’s important to have sample writing, but not your entire manuscript--unless specifically requested [see here for the reason]. So how many chapters should you include?

A good rule to follow is to include the introduction along with chapter one and two. That said, there are often reasons to deviate from this.

I often guide authors to submit a good sampling of what their actual manuscript will look like. For example, if you spend the first section discussing history or research in your manuscript, then also include another chapter or two from the middle of your manuscript so agents/editors can evaluate your writing from your other sections as your tone and subject matter will be different.

If your chapters are on the shorter side, you may want to include more so agents/editors can view more of your writing instead of just a few pages.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Your proposal as a whole (including sample chapters) should not be more than 50 pages or you run the risk of the entire thing not being reviewed.
• Your sample chapters should showcase your book, so pick the introduction (your proposal overview introduces the book to the agents/editors; your introduction introduces it to your readers) as well as the ones that best represent your concept and writing.
• Your sample chapters should be long enough for authors/editors to experience your writing. If you're unsure and your proposal is under 50 pages, include another chapter.
• Have a few additional chapters completed that are not included in your proposal in case you receive a request for more.
• While you don’t have to have your entire manuscript written yet, you must know how your book will be laid out [see here for why].

Bonus tip: have your proposal reviewed by a few peers before you formally submit to an agent. Do they want to read more? It's important to lay out your book so reviewers understand the entire concept and then leave them wanting more.

Have a question for our Ask An Agent series? You can submit it here.

Interview with a Publicist: Shanon Stowe

For this week’s Ask An Agent blog, I thought it would be interesting to interview an expert in the field of book publicity. I asked my long-time friend and colleague Shanon Stowe if she would be willing to be interviewed and she graciously accepted. Shanon is co-founder and president of the book division of Icon Media Group. She has 17 years of experience in book publishing and has launched more than 50 New York Times bestselling books. Shanon formerly served as Director of Publicity for Hachette Book Group, Publicist for Thomas Nelson, Inc., and also co-owned PS Media Relations.

Shanon, you’ve been doing book publicity for quite a few years now. What would you say are some of the biggest differences in publicity today from when you started 17 years ago?

Books and authors are two of my very favorite things! I’m fortunate to have worked in the book publishing industry doing publicity for my entire career. Many things have changed over the years, but the first thing that comes to mind are the types of media coverage opportunities.

Back when I first started, opportunities seemed unlimited--we had everything from a huge variety of daily radio and TV talk shows to countless daily newspapers and a plethora of magazines to choose from. Writers and editors were aplenty and you could always find a book editor who was likely to care about your project.

As the digital age has grown, we’ve seen a huge shift in all forms of communication and gone are the days of every newspaper having a book editor and countless radio and TV opportunities to choose from.  But we’ve quickly seen a rise in other forms of media including social media platforms, podcasts, blogs and online news sites. Initially it felt like all the good opportunities were gone, but in reality, we have more now than ever before. We just have to be more creative and open-minded about new media and digital opportunities.

What are some of the greatest challenges to having what you consider to be a successful publicity campaign for a book launch?

The number one component of a successful publicity campaign is a willing, able and eager participant. The engagement of an author is vital to the success of the campaign. Believe it or not, some authors are just not interested in promoting their book. Others are only interested in promoting it with “major outlets.” And others cancel their media interviews a few hours before going on air, or simply don’t show up … which is even worse. This behavior sends a message to the media outlet and the publicist about just how seriously the author takes promoting their book and how little they value another person’s time and investment in their message. This kind of behavior also hurts the publicists’ credibility and relationship with their media contact.

Another major challenge is the competition for coverage created by the sheer volume of books being published. Estimates are that anywhere from 600,000 to 1 million books are published in the United States each year, with at least half of them being self-published. And they all want to be on the TODAY Show. Can you imagine a producer or writer wading through their email, voicemail and regular mail from all the publicists pitching these books? Having a well-connected publicist is key!

What would you say are your primary responsibilities when your firm is hired for a book publicity campaign?

My first responsibility is to know my media contacts, understand their wants and needs, and to serve them well. If I don’t get that right, I cannot be an asset to my clients. My primary responsibility to my client is to invest in their project and help craft the best messaging and pitch for positioning to media. Once the messaging is right, our sole focus is pitching and pitching and more pitching. Bottom line: we’re paid to garner as much impactful coverage as possible for the book and author.

What, in your experience, are some of the biggest misnomers about book publicity?

·      It’s easy. According to CareerCast, a PR professional has the 6th most stressful job in America, falling just after military, firefighter, and airline pilot! Enough said.

·      Media responses/bookings are in the hands of the publicist. Nothing is more frustrating for your publicist than a media outlet that isn’t interested in or is unresponsive to a pitch. A publicist wants to land as much coverage as possible for their client, but it takes time. Sometimes it takes a really long time. I recently landed a major show for a well-known author that was 5 years in the making. Seriously, I pitched the producer on this piece for 5 YEARS! In the end it was all about timing--the media outlet’s timing. It’s also worth noting that after the piece was taped, it took 5 more months to make it on the air.

·      My book failed and it’s the publicist’s fault. I’ve heard it all: the publicist didn’t do their job, wasn’t good at their job, didn’t pitch me/the book correctly, didn’t make any follow up calls, doesn’t have the best contacts, etc. At some point you have to realize that sometimes a topic doesn’t resonate, or the timing isn’t right, or that the media contact just flat out does not care. Berating the publicist about whether or not they called a producer two more times or over the exact wording they used in their pitch is not helpful. If your publicist has a proven track record of success, I promise, it’s not them.

You’ve worked with some of the most well known authors in the business, as well as with first-time authors and everyone in between. What advice would you give to an author who’s just secured their first book deal and will be working with a book publicity team in the coming months?

First of all, congratulations! Being published is an honor and the professionals inside and outside the publishing house who are helping you carry your message to the world are a treasure. A few things to remember about the publicist you encounter:

·      Your publicist is excited about you and your message.

·      Be nice to your publicist. Your publicist is the person on the front lines representing you and your message to media. Send them flowers. Or chocolates. Or jewelry. Just kidding … kind of.

·      Ask questions and be open to honest feedback. Ask your publicist about her media goals for your book and for her honest opinion about media possibilities. Be willing to hear it: your publicist is talking to media on a regular basis and has her finger on the pulse of what will and won’t work.

·      Be flexible and available. When your publicist asks you to do an interview or write an article on the fly, try to accommodate. Be willing to move heaven and earth to promote your book. Not only will it show your investment, but it also motivates your publicist to work harder for you.

We hope this provides you with a great inside look at the world of book publicity. If you have a question about book publishing that you’d like answered feel free to submit it for our Ask an Agent series here.

How Do I Query An Agent?

"How do I query an agent?" is a common question I hear from prospective authors. It is one of the easiest to find the answer to and, to the frustration of many agents, something most authors completely ignore.

A query is simply a request to a prospective agent to consider you and your work for representation. It universally entails a single-paged letter and often includes a proposal for your work. Beyond that, the specific agent or agency you are sending your request to often, but not always, has additional information they would like you to submit as well. For an example of this, you can review our Submissions page.

How you craft a query letter is pretty straightforward and a simple Google search of "how to query an agent" will lead you to a multitude of examples. Some of the best, in our opinion, are here, here and here.

Your proposal, likewise, will follow an almost universally agreed upon format. The reason for this is that the majority of publishers your potential agent will work with all require the same information for purposes of considering a project for their publishing program. Hence, regardless of your agent, they will be required to submit the same basic information for the publishers to consider your work, and will require the same from you. Again, this has been covered in a multitude of places, both for free (here, here and here), as well as through highly valuable and worthwhile paid guides (here and here).

The absolute quickest and surest way to entice an agent to reject your query is to ignore the basic guidelines of a good query and proposal, or to ignore the agent or agency's specific guidelines as laid out on their website. A recent query to our agency involved a hard-copy mailing (even though our submission guidelines clearly indicate that only submissions through our email process will be considered) of a completed manuscript (even though our submission guidelines clearly indicate what to provide, and a completed manuscript is not on the list). The author did include a query letter, wherein they stated that "submitting a small segment of [the manuscript] via e-mail would not provide a proper exposition of its thematic presentation."

Here's the deal: All agents face an almost insurmountable "slush pile" of unsolicited author queries. We are all in this business because we love books, we love authors, and we love finding fantastic new ones. But we simply cannot read a complete manuscript from every author who might submit one, even if we wanted to. What's more, we can't simply submit a completed manuscript to potential publishers for acquisition. The proposal process is so well defined because it is used by everybody, agents and publishers alike. If you as a potential author cannot adequately describe your manuscript in a proposal, we can't represent it or sell it.

So if you want to be taken seriously at the query stage, follow the agent or agency's submission guidelines. Otherwise, you have an almost 100% chance of being completely ignored.

Have a question for our Ask An Agent series? You can submit it here.

April Round Up

Client New Releases

Both September Vaudrey's Colors of Goodbye and Leeana Tankersley's Brazen released on April 5.

Upcoming Releases

Joshua Becker's The More of Less was reviewed by Publisher's Weekly here. Joshua also announced his West Coast book tour. Find out more here.

Christa Black Gifford's Heart Made Whole launches June 7, 2016, and she's just announced her preorder freebies here. Christa is also recruiting people for her book launch team who are enthusiastic about having a whole heart and want to spread the word. Find out more here.

Upcoming Conferences

Our agents will be attending a few conferences this spring. Will we see you there?

Book Expo America in Chicago, IL - May 11-13

The Frederick Buechner Writer's Workshop at Princeton - June 7-10

When Does a Proposal Come in the Writing Process?

A reader asked: How far along in the book writing process should you be before submitting a book proposal?

The answer to this is in the form of another question: Are you able to articulate the complete book idea in a sentence or two?

While you technically only need a few chapters complete when submitting a nonfiction book proposal, you do need to know exactly what your book is going to be about, including an overview as well as a chapter-by-chapter synopses. Basically, a complete book outline with the big ideas articulated is needed.

And while the proposal describes the book and author, the sample chapters are helpful to evaluate how the author is going to get to the ideas, including the tone and style used. It doesn’t hurt, especially for new authors, to have more than a few chapters written. This way, if a publisher/agent is interested in seeing more from you, you already have additional chapters ready to send.

Also keep in mind that you will need to be able to articulate in your proposal when the book will be completed. This helps the publisher evaluate if they have space in their list for your book.

A good proposal is not easy to put together and is a significant investment in your time, whether you have two chapters or the entire manuscript written.

Have a question for our Ask An Agent series? You can submit it here.

Available Now: The More of Less by Joshua Becker

Most of us know we own too much stuff. We feel the burden of our clutter. We tire of cleaning and managing and organizing. Our toy rooms are messy, our drawers won’t close, our closets are filled, and we can’t fit our cars in our garages. The evidence of clutter is all around us. Meanwhile, this constant accumulation of stuff slowly begins robbing us of life. It redirects our God-given passions. It steals our greatest potential. It consumes our limited resources. And it distracts us from the very life we wish we were living.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

In The More of Less, Joshua Becker, popular blogger at becomingminimalist.com helps you …

•          recognize the life-giving benefits of owning less

•          realize how all the stuff you own is keeping you from pursuing your dreams

•          craft a personal, practical approach to decluttering your home and life

•          discover greater contentment, less envy, and more joy

•          recognize why you buy more than you need

•          experience the joys of generosity

•          learn why the best part of minimalism isn’t a clean house, it’s a full life

It’s time to own your possessions instead of letting them own you. After all, the beauty of minimalism isn’t in what it takes away. It’s in what it gives. You won't want to miss this must read resource from Joshua.

Should You Publish Without an Agent?

I was recently asked if an author should publish without an agent. The quick answer to this is no! But, like most questions, there are multiple things to consider when making this decision.

Taking a step back, most of the major trade publishing houses actually don't accept unsolicited manuscripts or proposals in the first place. With that in mind, you're going to need an agent who has existing relationships with the right publishing houses and editors who acquire in your genre to even have your book idea considered. 

In the unlikely event that a publishing house does accept unsolicited proposals, you still might be better off with agent representation for a variety of reasons:

• Without an agent, you won't have a third party looking out for your best interests and it puts you as the author in the seat of negotiator, rather than allowing you to keep your focus on the craft of writing and nurturing your relationship with your editor.
• Unless you are business and contract savvy, you'll want an agent who understands the legal and contractual ins and outs of publishing so you don't end up in a less than favorable position.
• If you've never published before and don't have experience with the publishing process, you'll want someone on your team who is willing to explain things to you and can foresee where you'll need guidance and assistance in the process.
• While it would be nice to believe that a publishing house would never take advantage of an author who doesn't have representation, the reality is that you will most likely not receive as good of a deal as your agented peer.

I've talked with a few authors during my history in publishing who have been fortunate enough to get book deals without an agent because they either had a personal connection or were approached directly by a publisher. But most of them look back on that experience and wish they had obtained representation before signing their contract. So how do you get an agent? Here's a good place to start.

Have a question for our Ask An Agent series? You can submit it here.

How to Pitch an Agent/Editor in 15 Minutes or Less

Often times when you attend a writers conference, you have an opportunity to sit down, speed dating style, for 3-15 minutes with various editors and agents. A common question is, what do I have to do to convince someone in a short pitch to represent or publish my work?

The short answer is, you can't. Except for exceedingly rare circumstances, no editor or agent worth their salt is going to make a snap decision in that setting. You have to realize that the agents and editors are trying to provide a service more than they're expecting to actually find a diamond in the rough. They're going to give you pointers, what's working, what isn't, and talk to you about your big idea or try and help you figure out how to explain it if you even have one. They're not really expecting to meet new clients or authors. It happens, but again, that's not the expectation.

But before you get discouraged and decide to blow off the meetings, let me tell you why I think this actually opens the door for you to get serious attention.

If an author sits down in front of you, has actually done their homework, polished their pitch, and presents a compelling idea, that won't be the norm. You have a chance to stand out from the crowd by being prepared to do your very best. If you accomplish this, then the editor or agent may actually invite you to formally submit your material for consideration. So what do you need to do?

Whatever you do, do not bring a 50 page document with the expectation that the editor or agent is going to take this from you. They may be polite, but it will not make it out of the hotel room. You should have a 1-3 page, easy-to-read and cleanly styled document with your name, contact information, a short bio, the title of your work, a 2-3 sentence hook, and 5-6 paragraph description of your main thesis or idea. And that's it. If you do a good job in the pitch, they will take this document from you and it will have the information they need to follow up with you. If you cannot boil down your idea to a compelling presentation in this format, you're not ready to present your idea.

You should also prepare a ninety-second pitch that you are going to deliver verbally. When you first sit down, you'll introduce yourself, the agent or editor will do the same, and there may be some small talk. But the whole point is for you to make your pitch. Be prepared. Again, if you can't tell me in 90 seconds or less what your big idea is, why it's important, and why you're the right person to write it, you're not ready to present your idea. 

If you really want to stand out, research the editor(s) or agent(s) you're going to be meeting with. If your opening ice breaker is a statement about why you are excited to meet with this person because you know they work with a specific author or have published a specific book or set of books that are similar to you or what you're working on, you'll have their undivided attention. Again, be prepared. This isn't a must, but it will go a long way toward helping you stand out. If you begin this way, nail your 90-second pitch, and have a solid 1-3 page document you can leave behind that is equally compelling, you will get positive feedback, and just might land yourself an editor or agent. 

Finally, I'd practice your pitch and let a few friends read and respond to your document. Let them ask you questions, poke holes in your presentation, press you a little bit. An editor or agent asking you questions and engaging you with your idea can't rattle you. You need to be prepared to answer questions. Think through specific questions someone might have about your project. Some obvious questions you should be able to respond to: Are there other books similar to yours already in the market? If so, what is your unique contribution to the topic? What other writing have you done similar to this? Have you built an audience and is this the type of work they'd expect from you?

I've said it a few times now, but I can't over stress this: Be prepared. If you follow the above advice, you will be ready to make the most of your short window of time, and you will leave a good impression. That's the most you can hope for from these meetings. Most editors and agents will be happy to meet with one person that is worth following up with. This will help you be that person. 

Good luck! 

Have a question for our Ask An Agent series? Submit your question here.

5 Tips to a Great Proposal

When putting together your proposal, please put as much care into it as if it were going to be published itself. There are some things that immediately stand out to agents and publishers alike that may make them think twice about continuing to read (as there is no lack of proposal submissions). Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you craft your perfect proposal.

1.     Address the cover letter appropriately.

Do not be generic (“Dear Sirs” is the worst offender in my opinion). Do your research. Find out who you’re querying, what types of books/authors they’re looking for, and let them know why you chose to query them. Just because they’re an agent is not a good enough reason. Read here for more tips on this topic.

2.     Make sure your proposal is error-free.

There is no reason for typos, auto-correct mistakes, or missing words in your proposal. Spell check is a beautiful thing, but so is the simple act of reading it aloud to yourself, and hiring a proofreader (even if “hiring” entails buying your English teacher friend coffee). You’re a writer so even if your specialty is story and not necessarily knowing the difference between their/there and it’s/its, you need to make sure these types of errors don’t make an appearance in your proposal.

3.     Create a proposal compatible with your writing style.

While having a perfect proposal is the goal, make sure it’s not at the expense of your personality and writing style. A good writer knows all grammatical rules—and knows when to break them. Your proposal is an agent’s first introduction to your writing, so make sure it’s aligned with your style. More info on this point can be found here.

4.     Be realistic yet cast a vision.

This point is especially apparent in the competing titles section. No, your book is probably not the next Hunger Games trilogy, but what could it be like? Spend some time thinking about the market—what’s on the front table at your local bookstore? What’s on the NY Times Bestseller lists? What books do people who follow your blog read? Who’s your favorite author? There are a lot of different ways to think about this, so include how your book fits with the current landscape and illustrate a need for it.

5.     Set yourself apart.

The main question you can ask yourself as you’re putting your proposal together is, what makes me different? Why am I the person who needs to write on this topic? Then make sure this is communicated in some way in your proposal. Some authors may choose to design their proposal because it’s part of who they are. Others may choose to include a short video about their book idea as being a good communicator is what sets them apart. Whatever sets you apart, make sure it makes sense and stays true to who you are and what you’re topic/idea/message is.

Overall, proposals don’t need to be stuffy but do keep it professional.

Have a question for our Ask An Agent series? Submit your question here.

Available Now: Brazen by Leeana Tankersley

Leeana Tankersley’s new book, Brazen, officially launched this week and we couldn’t be prouder of her!

In her trademark lyrical style, Leeana asks the question: What if we trusted what God put within us on the day of creation? What if we lived from the idea that who we really are is enough? Wouldn't that be brazen? 

Brazen means without shame, and Leeana encourages us to live our lives based on love and belonging and the feeling of being comfortable in our own skin. We don't have to live from guilt or shame--and it's such a freeing concept!

And it goes without saying, but isn’t her book cover brazen? 

Also, we recommend checking out her guest post on Ann Voskamp’s blog this week.

Will My Book Launch Include a Publicity Campaign?

So you have a publishing deal, you’ve written your book, and the next phase is working with the marketing department on the launch plans. You find yourself wondering if there will be a publicity campaign, and you want to know how the decision is made.

In an ideal world, every book release would include an in-depth publicity campaign as part of its launch marketing plan. But the reality is that every book has a budgeted number of marketing dollars, leaving the marketing team to determine the best way to allocate them based on opportunity. As a former publicity director, I’ve participated in many a meeting to help determine where the funds should be spent.

The fact is, publicity is always important, but the weight of its importance is really determined by what type of book you have. Some books naturally lend themselves to publicity driven campaigns. This means that publicity (booked media coverage or interviews) is the most effective way people are going to learn about the book. These are books with highly recognizable authors and platforms, timely topics that lend themselves to news of the day, practical tips that can be pitched in a variety of ways, or never before revealed information.

If a book doesn’t fall into one of these categories, chances are that it will get a more limited publicity campaign. This isn’t always a bad thing because it means that the team feels there is a more effective way of getting the word out about your book. Be it a strategic social media campaign, targeted online promotion and advertising or another mode, a limited publicity campaign can compliment the effort in a variety of ways.

Have a book publicity or publishing question you want us to consider for our Ask an Agent series? Submit your question here.

Available Now: Colors of Goodbye by September Vaudrey

We all suffer pain and loss in different ways, but I've yet to meet a mother whose greatest fear isn't losing a child. On May 31, 2008, September Vaudrey had to face that fear head on. When her daughter Katie was just 19, September and her family had to say goodbye all too soon.

But while the loss of Katie is the springboard and backdrop for September's memoir, her book is so much more. It starts off right in the middle of the terrible drama that unfolded for the Vaudrey family, but then deftly leads the reader on a journey from pain to healing, from loss to hope, all the while providing a true and gritty look at a faith journey strong enough to withstand the hardest thing a mother can imagine.

Colors of Goodbye is simply beautiful, and that isn't just true of the writing. September's publisher, Tyndale Momentum, did a fantastic job of weaving Katie's art as well as pictures of Katie and the family throughout the book in a truly honoring way. We hope you'll check out this fantastic debut memoir. As Publisher's Weekly said in its starred review, "Exquisitely balanced between sadness and joy, this sensitive account of a mother's loss will leave ripples."

March Round Up

Client New Releases

David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons' Good Faith released on March 1, and Gabe and Dave went on a two-week tour all over the country. Publisher's Weekly reviewed it here. 

Rob Bell's How To Be Here released on March 8, and he's also been hitting the road to promote his message. You can check him out in a city near you, and the Publisher's Weekly review here.

Jennifer Grant, with Margot Starbuck, has released an ebook entitled Writing Nonfiction Book Proposals That Shine: A Brief But Essential Guide. We highly recommend you check this out!

Margaret Feinberg's third adult coloring book in the Live series, Live Fearless, released March 29. These have been well received and are great for just taking some time to meditate on God's word and engage the creative side of your brain for a bit.

Upcoming Releases

Joshua Becker's The More of Less launches May 3, 2016, but Joshua kicked off his pre-sale campaign on March 15 and it quickly became an Amazon #1 bestseller in multiple categories as well as climbing into the top 100 on BN.com. Looking forward to this one!

September Vaudrey's Colors of Goodbye received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly, and we could not be more excited about the release of this book.  This memoir of loss and love is both heartbreaking and hopeful. 

Charles Martin's latest novel, Long Way Gone, is currently available on Amazon for pre-order at $4.99. This one is special, and one of his most emotive stories since Where the River Ends.

Upcoming Conferences

Our agents will be attending a few conferences this spring. Will we see you there?

Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing - April 14-16

The Frederick Buechner Writer's Workshop at Princeton - June 7-10

Can I Make a Living as a Writer?

This question is a common one. Especially for people new to writing and wondering if there's any real money in it. Unfortunately, to truly answer this question, there are all kinds of other issues that come into play that agents can't speak to, such as, what is your standard of living? How much do you really need to earn to support yourself or your family?

But there is some basic information we can provide to help people understand how money works in the industry. First, publishers do typically pay authors an advance in exchange for the publishing rights to their book. This amount can vary widely, but is typically based on the publisher's estimate of how many copies they could sell of your book in the first 9-12 months of publication. Obviously, the more reason they have to believe they will sell a lot of copies, the higher this number will be.

This advance amount is typically broken up into two, and sometimes as many as four, payments. You get a percentage on signing the agreement, and then a percentage on the publisher's acceptance of the manuscript for your book. If the advance is broken up into additional payments, typically at higher dollar levels, then a third payment would be made on the publication of your book, and a fourth anywhere between 6-12 months following the publication of your book. So even if you were to be offered a significant amount of money for your book, it's likely you would be paid that money over the course of 1-3 years. After that and assuming your book sells really well, any additional royalty amounts are paid by the publishers on a quarterly or semi-annual basis.

In short, even if you're a successful author, you need to have good cash flow and money management skills.

But there are other ways to supplement income besides authoring your own books. Many of our clients also speak, write for other people, provide proposal coaching, write for news outlets, offer workshops and consulting services, or have developed a significant enough blog following to earn income from advertising and the sale of resources off their website.

In short, there is a small percentage of people who are successful enough to truly earn a living simply by authoring their own books. But there are ample opportunities to make a living as a writer if you're willing to look for those opportunities, practice your craft in multiple ways and work hard.

Have a question you want us to consider for our Ask An Agent series? Submit your question here.

Do I Need a Synopsis?

You’ve been working on your killer idea. You’ve put time into developing your chapters, your narrative arc, your proposal. By chance you run into a publisher who asks, “So what’s your book about?” You have 30 seconds to tell her. You’ve been waiting for this moment! You can do this! But your mind goes blank …

While the chances of randomly running into a publisher are slim (unless you’re headed to a writers conference), your proposal is your response as your agent submits it to interested publishers. But publishers are busy and they look at so many proposals a day and they run out of time and they’ve heard it all and even though you’ve worked so hard on an entire proposal, chances are, you have 30 seconds to pique their interest. So what do you do?

You write a killer synopsis!

To match your killer idea. The synopsis, aka the elevator pitch, is your first line in your well-crafted proposal, and your chance to introduce your book to publishers, to hook them, to inspire them to continue reading. The synopsis can be one or two sentences long or could even be the title and subtitle. Either way, it must be

Concise

Clear

Compelling

If your response is, But my idea is bigger than a single sentence! It’s more complicated then that, then your proposal is not ready to be shopped yet. Fly higher and see the bigger picture.

Need some inspiration? Take a look on amazon and look at your favorite books’ descriptions—usually the first sentence draws you in. Look at how movies are marketed and described. Peruse Netflix. (And then you can rewrite them in your head as some of them are a bit ridiculous and don’t draw you in at all.)

The bottom line: while you have a great chance to describe your book idea in your overview section (which is usually a page long), your synopsis is your 30-second chance to gain publishers' interest and inspire them to read more. 

Have a question you want us to consider for our Ask An Agent series? Submit your question here.

How Important Is Your Platform?

We are often asked: how important is my platform as an author?

The quick answer is that your platform is just as important as the quality of your content and concept, especially in the crowded world of book publishing today. 

Most publishing houses take a three-pronged approach when reviewing proposals:

1. strong and fresh concept

2. stellar content and writing

3. platform

If one of these three are weak or missing, it's not likely that the proposal is going to make it through the process.

There was a time, even a decade ago, when an author’s platform didn’t carry as much weight as the quality of their concept and writing. This was before the power of social media, the change in the way people get news, and the rise of online shopping. Now publishing houses need to know there’s a proven way to reach the core buyer for an author’s message.

What are we talking about when we use the term platform?

Platform refers to your level of visibility or influence, expertise or authority on the subject matter, proof of engagement and your target audience. Editors and agents alike are looking for answers to these questions when reviewing the platform section of your proposal.

So often I hear writers say they are overwhelmed when it comes to their platform because they aren't marketers by nature. The truth is, you don't have to have a degree in marketing to put in the time and consistent effort to build and enhance your platform. You simply have to be true to your message and consistent in providing quality content for your followers/readers.

A writer should put as much creative effort into developing their platform as they do in their writing, because it's a natural extension of their overall message.

Platform building is not the same for everyone and it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process that involves long-term strategic work and planning ... much like writing!

The question is: are you willing to engage the process?

Have a question you want us to consider for our Ask An Agent series? Submit your question here.

How Do I Find An Agent?

Whenever I am speaking at any form of writer's event, be it a Learning Community during the Q Conference, at Writer's Boot Camp or the Frederick Buechner Writer's Workshop at Princeton Seminary, one question is asked more than any other.

How do I find an agent?

We'll be answering questions throughout this series on how you approach an agent, but assuming you're all ready to go, here are some ideas on how you might go about actually finding one.

Agents are a lot like publishers, in that each has their own unique approach to the business. They have certain genres they represent authors in and others they don't. There are certain types of voices and projects they're drawn to and others they're not. The number one thing you can do to advance your cause of successfully finding an agent to represent you is to do your research.

There are a number of ways to accomplish this. First, go to the bookstore or library and find books similar to the genre your writing in. Often times the author's agent is thanked in the acknowledgments or listed on the copyright page. Find authors similar to you and check who their agent is. Websites like Writer's Digest are all over the internet with agent information you can find through a simple search. There are books such as the Guide to Literary Agents, which has tons of information about the agencies working in the business and the types of projects they're acquiring.

If you're willing to spend a little money, you can subscribe to a site like Publisher's Marketplace. This site not only has contact information for agents and publishers, but also has comprehensive deal reporting where you can track the projects specific agents have actually sold and get a feel for the types of projects that agent is working with and the publishers they do business with.

But once you've compiled a list of potential agents, do a little more digging. Most agents list their clients on their website or have specific submissions guidelines. Even with an agency like ours where we've intentionally left a list of our clients off the site, we post agency news and blogs about what our clients are up to. You can find out a lot about who we represent and the books we work on by doing a little digging. When you ultimately query an agent, anything you can do to personalize your query by telling the agent why you think you'd be a fit based on their previous work will go a LONG way.

My last piece of advice? You have to persevere. I often tell my clients and prospective clients that this is a business of rejection. Even when I am representing a well established author to publishers, I hear "no" more often than yes. You don't need every agent banging down your door asking to represent you. You just need one. And doing your research will get you a lot closer to finding the right one.

Have a question you want us to consider for our Ask An Agent series? Submit your question here.

How To Be Here Available Now!

We're so excited for the launch of Rob Bell's latest book, How To Be Here. Rob is the New York Times bestselling author of Love Wins, What We Talk About When We Talk About God and The Zimzum of Love.

How to Be Here lays out concrete steps we can use to define and follow our dreams, interweaving engaging stories, lessons from biblical figures, insights gleaned from Rob’s personal experience, and practical advice. Rob gives you the support and insight you need to silence your critics, move from idea to action, take the first step, find joy in the work, persevere through hard times, and surrender to the outcome.

And if you want to spend a day with Rob learning to take the ideas in How To Be Here even further, check out the How To Be Here Experience, coming to a city near you through June!

February Round Up

Client New Releases

Live Free released from Margaret Feinberg on February 2, 2016. You can read more about it here.

Remarkable! released from Randy Ross and David Salyers on February 16, 2016. It quickly shot up to #11 in overall books on Amazon. You can read more about it here.

Upcoming Releases

Rob Bell's new book, How To Be Here, received a fantastic review from Publishers Weekly. It releases on March 8, 2016.

Shauna Niequist recently announced on Facebook the availability of her new book, Present Over Perfect, for presale and it quickly climbed in to the top 50 selling books on Amazon and became the #1 Best Seller in Christian Spiritual Growth. Not bad for a book that doesn't release until August 9, 2016!

Upcoming Conferences

Our agents will be attending a few conferences this spring. Will we see you there?

Catalyst West - March 3-4

Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing - April 14-16

The Art of a Proposal

So you’ve been writing for years and have decided to finally put a proposal together to secure an agent and/or send it to a publisher. You’ve spent hours upon hours honing your craft, playing around with tone, figuring out the point-of-view, developing a solid structure, and so on.

If you’ve put this much time into writing, please do yourself a favor and don’t simply fill out a proposal template in a single day. Spend time considering how to best convey the information publishers and agents need, and put it in your own style.

Your proposal is often the first taste the publishing world has of your writing. Use it to introduce yourself and your writing and set yourself apart. This doesn’t mean you don't make the information clear, but rather, spend the time thoughtfully considering your audience, your competition, and the best possible way you can word your overview.

A well-written proposal will leave agents and editors alike wanting to read more of your writing.

Have a question you want us to consider for our Ask An Agent series? Submit your question here.