Storytellersunplugged

How To Get Published

Writing a Fiction Book Proposal

By Sephera Giron

I’m sure this has been covered in many ways on this board, and here it is again.

1) Write, write, and rewrite

2) Study the market

3) Read books being published by the imprint you are interested in

4) Become familiar with the most popular authors in the house

5) Pay attention to what has been published the past couple of years and what is coming out

6) Read the submission guidelines carefully and FOLLOW THEM

7) Write a query letter. This is usually still submitted by snail mail if the editor doesn’t know you. This is a letter of introduction. It’s purpose to let the editor know who you are and that you wish to submit an idea.

The Letter Should Include:

· The date
· The editor’s name and position
· If the author has met the editor at a con or somewhere else, remind him or her.
· Be honest if the book is just an idea or if it’s finished if you’re already published. Let the editor know when you could have it finished.
· If you’re new to the publishing game, you should make sure your book is finished before you send the query letter as you will likely have to send the whole thing.
· Indicate if you will be submitting simultaneously. Most editors don’t care, as they realize they can take forever. Some DO care, so read your guidelines.
· The book idea in one sentence
i.e. The family pet is possessed and all hell breaks loose.
· The book idea fleshed out in a small paragraph with beginning, middle, end or some kind of teaser. Be certain to give the editor enough information to decide if he’s intrigued.
· The author’s published IMPORTANT credentials in a short paragraph.
· This can include valid publishing credits of any kind. This should NOT include a bunch of webzines or any free Internet publishing.
· Familiarity with the subject, perhaps the author also works in a vet office.
· A thank you
· The author’s full contact information including mailing address, email, and phone numbers.
· A SASE

IF the editor should contact you with a request to see more material, send him exactly what he asks for. Do not harass him. Some houses have taken two years to get back to me. Some take two days. Keep writing more proposals.

9) A proposal package usually contains:
· A cover letter reintroducing yourself and referencing the editor’s request.
· A CURRENT resume indicating education, publishing credits, and any other information that may be relevant to your material such as your day job, extracurricular activities, if you sit on a board, if you belong to HWA or some other writers group, if you’ve done any media interviews, etc.
· A table of contents if you’ve already written the book
· Brief chapter descriptions if you’ve already written the book
· A one-sentence overview of the book.
· A detailed synopsis of the book. How long should this be?
Don D’Auria always told me that it should be as long as it takes to tell the
story. I’ve submitted synopsis that were one page and some that were ten.
I have friends who will submit thirty or forty pages. It’s up to you how
long and detailed you want to be.
· I usually send a page with main characters, their traits, and purpose in the story.
· Marketing ideas are important. You need to answer the questions how does your book fit into the market place? How do you see your book being marketed? What other books are out there that are like your books? What authors would you consider your book to be like? What age group does your book appeal to? Etc.
· Author bio. This is not the resume. This is a paragraph or two or a page of information about you. Where you grew up, went to school, what you’ve been doing with your life before you submitted this book, why you are the best writer for this book.
· Sample chapters. Usually this is the first three chapters of the book. Or the first fifty pages. Send what the editor requested. If he wants to see the whole book, than send the whole book. If he wants fifty pages, send fifty pages. Don’t send seventy-five, you’re just wasting your money and showing that you don’t listen.
· Keep your fonts and formatting consistent with your proposal package. One-inch margins with a 12-point simple font on white paper will make your editor happy. Don’t use script or other weird fonts. Don’t use colored paper unless you’re popping in something fun like your vision of the cover or a marketing idea. You want your editor to read your work with ease.
· Send an SASE so that they can respond to you.

10) Wait for the response. Don’t bother the editor unless you’re just checking to be certain it arrived. Once you know that it’s arrived, don’t bother the editor.

The formula for non-fiction is pretty much the same; only you HAVE to have a table of contents. You must detail the contents of each chapter. You may have to verify source material or indicate if you have permission to do interviews, use photographs etc. Depending on your subject matter.

Anyway, hope that helps people. Everyone has a different way they approach proposal packages, and this is just my opinion I’ve formulated through the years through trial and error and my agent’s advice.

Since I’ve had over twelve books published, I have an agent, and she often submits my proposals. And since I’m established, I often get to use the ease of the Internet. I often only have to whip up a paragraph of an idea to see if it will fly and can get a yay or nay from there. After that, I submit a proposal package, tailored to the company that I’m approaching.

Sometimes, when I submit my own proposals by snail mail, I’ll enclose book jacket flaps of my other work, maybe a flyer, or articles. Whatever you can add to the package to show that you are marketable without overkill can help.

Good luck!

Sephera