Blogger: Mary Keeley
Let your heart not grow weary from the increasing volume of proposals competing for fewer publishing slots. If you are patient, you’ll continue to have opportunity with traditional publishers as long as they are still acquiring. I say that tongue in cheek because of course they have to acquire new books to stay in business. The question for you the writer is, will you and your work be ready when opportunity knocks?
Sooner or later publishers will respond to the trend of declining revenue
numbers by recognizing that, while readers remain loyal to bestselling authors, they also want new voices and inspirational approaches. Will you be ready? Approach the following three components of your career to be ready for the attention of an agent first, and then editors.
THE PROPOSAL
The Approach
Personally, I find it more time efficient to receive a formal proposal at the outset rather than the two-step process of reviewing a query and then a proposal, if I’ve requested it. A scan through a proposal provides more information for an initial impression. It tells me if the writer has done his or her homework. by researching the Books & Such website and following our agency’s posted submission guidelines for content and delivery.
TIP: This is my preference, but other agents might prefer to receive queries first. Follow the unique set of guidelines for each agency you approach. Don’t assume they are the same for all. Agents review many proposals and can spot a lazy shortcut.
Agents can also tell if you have invested time in your writing career by following professional and author blogs, have attended writers conferences, and/or have read how-to books to learn what is involved in creating a professional book proposal.
How can we know these things? Because your proposal will show an understanding of the industry and the type of information that is important for us to know. You will have picked up publishing language and presentation terminology and used it accurately in your proposal. In other words, you’ll exhibit an understanding of the business aspect of the industry.
The Contents
The business portion of your proposal is often the first section an agent looks at, especially if you are a nonfiction writer. Agents receive many proposals, and time constraints force us to go to these quick indicators of your readiness for representation:
- A memorable title
- A hook that makes me sit up straight and forget what I was doing a minute ago
- A well-organized format free of typos, grammar and punctuation errors, written in business language, except for the novel’s synopsis, which should reflect your author voice in the manuscript
- A short overview and annotated chapter list for nonfiction; a synopsis for fiction
- A marketing plan that shows you have done the pre-submission work to grow relationships with your reader audience for your novel or a broad platform for your nonfiction book and have prepared for creative ways to promote your book.
- Several comparable titles, listing similarities and differences
THE MANUSCRIPT
Agents look for writers who are wordsmiths. Every word is perfectly chosen and necessary. The language and characters’ voices fit the setting of the novel or your approach to your nonfiction topic. It’s obvious you have practiced your craft by the way your story flows and keeps readers absorbed in the action and emotional tension. Your nonfiction book comes to a convincing conclusion.
There are no shortcuts to approach this perfection. But it will be worth your time because this precise blend is what transports readers into the center of your story. Or to the heart of your message.
TIP: Don’t give yourself a self-inflicted timetable to achieve publishing success. It will take you longer than you’d hoped to achieve your publishing dream. Bestselling authors will tell you they are still learning the craft. Submit only when you are convinced, through editor or critique feedback, that your manuscript is ready for an agent’s eyes.
YOU, THE WRITER
Writers have several ways of making initial connection with agents: through blog communities such as our Books & Such blog community, impressing an agent at a writers conference, or submitting a professional looking proposal and polished manuscript according to the agency’s submission guidelines.
Speaking for myself, I’ll go on to schedule an initial phone call to consider representation if:
- the writer demonstrates teachability, commitment to his or her writing career long-term, and a professional presence
- the nonfiction writer has a competitive platform or the novelist has already grown an audience for the story
- I sense we would work well together and I have a passion for the writer’s work.
Your writing career isn’t a race; it’s a journey. You might groan at the application of this over-used adage, but it’s true. So enjoy it and celebrate every step of growth.
Which of these areas needs your immediate attention? Which one is is most problematic for you? How do you divide your time between the three?
TWEETABLE:
Writers, be prepared for opportunity in these three important areas. Click to Tweet.
great essay, mary, youve helped a lot of writers
in the end all i can offer are words from a full heart
enough or not, let it stand
too ill say more, sorry
Praying you’re feeling better, Andrew.
“Your writing career isn’t a race; it’s a journey.” It’s not an over-used adage, Mary. It’s the truth. And the end-point isn’t a publishing house. It is Christ’s “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
* Obedience + diligence + God’s timing = success.
And God defines “success.”
Shirlee, I love how you bring us back to the Main Person who guides us on this journey. Well said.
Shirley, bouncing off Jeanne’s comment, I appreciate your reminders to view the main thing as the main thing.
Boy, which one to concentrate on … . I’ve been told that I write a mean proposal, several times, by professionals. So I think I should concentrate on the other two. I’ve been trying to revise some old mss. ones that did not have a solid story structure, I was told that the writing was good but that they needed to make sense in a structural way. So yeah, I’ve been trying to read books on plotting and jump in there to simplify and make all that action make sense (my characters were doing all sorts of things … fighting with old ladies at the mall who were swinging bags of pig’s feet, saving bullied prostitutes from choking, battling 100lb squids) Now here is a game for you, which 2 plot elements did I delete and which one did I keep in my masterpiece??? Anyway, I”m also realizing I’m a wee bit deficient in the social media area and I actually took a quick online class about pinterest (although they said it wasn’t social media, which is great in my book) so yeah, those are the areas I”m working on.
100 lb squids? You really have me intrigued, Kristen, and it conjures up wonderful possibilities for the cover image.
Kristen, I love your colorful description of the journey.
Don’t know if this will help but am having fun thinking about it
1- proposal – Jesus knew His audience and backed up knowledge with examples and parables, starting age 12, so know your audience – agent, potential publisher, readers – well enough to talk to them in their lingo
2 – manuscript – Jesus paid attention to details, noticing Zacchaeus in tree and noticing being touched by bleeding lady, said each sparrow falling would be noticed, so know that God is in the details and details make manuscript shine
3 – writer – in Mark 8-22 took Jesus two tries to heal the blind man, so don’t give up! Also, in Agony in the Garden Jesus asked for one thing got another, and accepted it, even He din’t always get what He wanted, and needed faith and trust
pls excuse awkwardness, having bit of trouble typing
maybe book idea here, Write Like Jesus
I recently ran the parables of the sower and the prodigal son through a readability tool. They scored at a 4th grade reading level. Write like Jesus? Keep it simple.
To do an accurate test, you have to try the Aramaic version of the original Greek, Shirlee, but it is a compliment to the translators that they made it so readable.
Write it, Andrew. Or, since you don’t have a lot of time, make it an article and submit it to a magazine for Christian writers.
GREAT applications, Andrew!
Mary, great post. I think the thing/struggle I revisit most on this journey is that my journey is just that: MY journey, guided by God. I have to keep my eyes straight ahead, not looking to the side where other writers/friends are moving forward when I seem to be standing still. God’s timing is always perfect, even when it seems slower. 🙂 It IS a journey, not a race.
*Great words today.
Sage advice for every writer, Jeanne.
it can yes arise race that
you may need run
mortality is where its at
tomorrow may not come
I think the process always feels like a race at first because we are learning new things quickly, and the excitement is fresh on our hearts. Then we reach the point of saying, “Are we there yet?” And finally, with time, we roll down the windows, feel the breeze, and enjoy the country air … enjoy the journey. It is a process.
Love the analogy, Shelli!
True, Shelli. It’s easy for new writers to think they’re ready as they learn and and apply craft techniques quickly, but they may not know all that they don’t yet know. The learning never ends.
A synopsis question, Mary.
*It’s virtually impossible to create a 1-page synopsis of a 100K-word novel with a plot of any complexity that reflects the author’s voice. You ask for 5-6 pages, where it’s possible, but I’ve seen other guidelines that ask for much less.
*How important is it that the synopsis display the authors voice when the first 50 or so pages of the novel, where the voice is naturally obvious, are submitted as the largest part of the proposal?
Carol, it is important to use the same voice in the synopsis because editors usually read it before they get into the manuscript. They need to see this important element because it’s a major contributor to the authenticity of the story. If it isn’t present, the editor may conclude that author doesn’t recognize this and therefore isn’t ready for publication.
This was so encouraging to me, Mary. Thank you. Deep down I want to be the anomaly for which everything happens quickly. But I also know I would miss out on many valuable lessons and relationships along the way if I were to zoom down the fast track.
What would you recommend when an agent says they prefer a full proposal but the agency guidelines say to submit a query only? Is that when you have to either meet in person at a conference, or be introduced/recommended by one of the agent’s clients?
Jennifer, when an agent has given his or her specific preference that differs with the agency’s online guidelines, I suggest following the agency guidelines for method of submission and include the content that the agent prefers. Occasionally, parts of the online guidelines become outdated or agents within an agency have varying preferences. I hope this helps.
Thanks!
Thanks so much, Mary! I tweet/FB most of your blog posts. This one just got chirped.
Thanks, Harry!
The word ‘journey’ has been used to the point of it having lost some of its punch. Maybe slightly more than ‘some’.
But, over and over and over, did I mention over? I’ve had the exact same experiences on my own writer road as any pilgrim on any spiritual journey ever did.
The one thing I can say with certainty, is that no one’s journey is alike anyone else’s. I have learned something new at every bend in the road. I’m a different person than I was when I started writing, that I know.
Which needs my immediate attention? Hmm, right now Jennifer The Writer is exhaling a bit, but waiting on what God has in store. Back when I started, I never understood the “let the book rest” concept. Now I do.
And I also understand the critical importance of doing exactly what an agent says. When she says it, and to listen, LISTEN to the why of what is said.
Jennifer, I’m sure your sage advice is helping other writers.
This is the part in the story where Jennifer realizes she totally contradicted herself…
I’ve had the exact same (amount of difficult) experiences on my own writer road as any pilgrim on any spiritual journey ever did. (MEANING: It’s been tough. Editing is always a good idea before one hits the button…)
The one thing I can say with certainty, is that no one’s journey is alike anyone else’s
Valuable, comprehensive information for me, Mary. Thanks.
The writer component–specifically your point “the novelist has already grown an audience for the story”–is most problematic for me, at least at this point in time. I’m getting into several blogs, such as on Goodreads, and trying to start blogging on my website, but it seems to be an almost insurmountable obstacle to get enough people interested in my stories and what I have to say.
Loyd, you are not alone in this. But it isn’t insurmountable. The first step is to have your author website and blog begun. Then comment consistently on blogs of other authors who write in your genre. Followers of those authors will begin to check out your website and comment on your blog.
It’s also important to follow this pattern on your author Facebook page or other social media pages. Always write about something related to what your write about, without giving away your story.
Mary, thank you for the reminders. I have been calling myself a writer, but not truly working on my calling as a writer doing the things I need to do. This is a good “shot in the arm” wake-up that this is work. Fun work, but still work and I need to treat it more seriously so I can be ready when God opens that publishing door.
Good, Victoria. I hope it serves as a shot of adrenaline.
Lots of hard work but being consistent with that hard work is the key.