BLOG.HAYDENKIDSBOOKS.COM
Developing a Book Proposal
I've been working hard on developing my first book proposal and in the process I have learned a lot. Hope you don't mind me sharing some of what I've learned here. I will post this as a series of blogs, so as not to have too lengthy a blog entry.
Why do you need a Book Proposal for non-fiction and fiction works?
The more input you supply the better. It is important to remember you are not the only writer trying to get published and you are not the only writer who has the agent/editors ear. Any comments or suggestions are always welcome. Please feel free to add to my thoughts anytime.
- Most agents and editors want book proposals to help them sell your idea for publication. Granted most agents want to polish a book proposal before beginning any submissions process, but if you have a basic proposal already put together then you are just that much further ahead of the game.
- Your agent/editor will appreciate that you took the time to develop a proposal, because it will save him/her a lot of time in having to develop one themselves.
- When you present a book proposal, this tells the agent/editor that you have a insiders perspective of the publishing business.
What is a book proposal?
- A book proposal is what makes your book stand out among all the rest.
- First, your book proposal has to sell the agent/editor on your book.
- It's all about business and how your book sells itself.
- Before an editor or agent enters a conference room filled with acquisitions editors, he/she must first have a book proposal that arms him/her to sell the idea of your book for publication.
- Your book proposal has to convince the agent/editor that he/she can sell your idea to a panel of judges basically.
The more input you supply the better. It is important to remember you are not the only writer trying to get published and you are not the only writer who has the agent/editors ear. Any comments or suggestions are always welcome. Please feel free to add to my thoughts anytime.
Save the Cat
I read about a concept called "Save the Cat" and wanted to share my thoughts on this. First, let me explain that "Save the Cat" is a technique in writing that presents the reader to the main character by having the character do something that helps persuade the reader to like the character.
For example: In the movie, "The Blindside" Sandra Bullocks character takes compassion on a homeless child - a very large African American boy. She takes him home as an act of compassion to provide him shelter. The technique for "Save the Cat" comes early in the story and intrigues us the movie watcher/reader to accept and empathize with the main character enough to want to keep watching/ reading.
In my new YA - Where Two Rivers Meet - the main character Nicole helps to rescue a foreign exchange student from being harassed. This happens within the first chapter and helps the reader gain respect and likability for Nicole. Granted, the foreign exchange student has nothing else to do with the story, but he is the cat that needs saving in the beginning. Nicole becomes the cat that needs saving later on in the story.
In our writing endeavors, let's not forget to save the cat.
What is Success
"What
is success? To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent
people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of
honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate
beauty; To find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social
condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have
lived; That is to have succeeded." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Does success as a writer mean finally getting that publishing contract and selling thousands of units? Or is the success actually in the quality of the product itself? I say yes to both of those legitimate questions. There are many very well written books that have not sold well, but that doesn't mean the author was not successful. To be successful requires bravery and courage. I mean you have to be willing to put yourself out there. If you have managed to convince a group of professional publishers and editors that your book is worthy of printing at all is a great success. Selling and marketing your book requires convincing a whole lot of other people of how valuable your book would be for them, people you have never met.
Some of you are saying, but that's the job of the publisher. Yes, the publisher has some responsibility to market your book, but your book is not the only one they are marketing. You are the ultimate tool that will keep the momentum going in book sales by creating a strong web presence for one thing and by working towards building your platform beyond your immediate friends and family. This will require more study on marketing than many of us are aware of. Not that we have to be experts, but we need to keep current on book marketing trends and how others are doing it. Take tips from those who are successful. It's easy for me to see these current successful authors and think to myself, oh well - they are already on the inside, of course they've got the advantage. Nonetheless, many of these already well-known authors have struggled for years to get to where they are. They are a vast resource of knowledge that can help us along. I feel fortunate that they are willing to share learning experiences.
I have one book that is self-published that I was inspired to create for a fundraising effort. I offer it on blurb.com - you can view it on the biography page of my site. My sales are minimal if any at all, but at least I know I have sold a few. Mind you, this was my first attempt at publishing anything - it was painstaking to put this book together using the blurb template system as well, but the book itself is quite beautiful and I am very proud of my efforts. It has offered a valuable learning experience as well. As yet, I have not gotten an ISPN # for this book, so I am limited in my sales and marketing efforts. Eventually though, I hope to obtain the ISPN and will make the book available through many other venues. By telling you all this, I mean to say - if you have a pet project you really desire to see successful - move ahead with it. You will not hurt yourself in doing so, instead you will learn through the process of doing. In that respect, you will be successful.
Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
William Ernest Henley (1849–1903).
If you have a chance to see the movie "Invictus" please do. It is very inspiring.
Passive voice or Active Tense
When you write in the passive, you weaken the impact and tend to lose the visual image we yearn to create. - Cec Murphy
The active passive voice carries a stronger impact with the reader. Which of the two sentences below give you, the reader, a stronger image?
- He was carrying the lamb over his shoulders.
- He carried the lamb over his shoulders.
By simply removing the added unnecessary verb 'was' and changing the tense from carrying to carried, the sentence becomes an active visual.
Writer's Block
What happens when I sit down to write and my mind is blank like right now? I hear my thoughts saying, "I got nothing." I feel a tinge of panic as I am writing this blog or at least try to. Where is my inspiration or muse so-to-speak? Besides the weather, what else is there to talk about? My mind has been elsewhere, in work, in life, in everything else but writing. So today we have sunshine finally. It is good when the sun comes out and warms up the day. Seeing the brightness of light as I squint my eyes while entering my car gives me a sense of hope that today's gonna be a good day. Things happen in the light that can't happen in the darkness of night. Activity. Life. Sometimes that's all that can happen. Then too, in the darkness of night there is quiet stillness that beacons my thoughts to dip into a deeper well of inspiration. Many times I have awakened in the middle of night, arose from my bed and written a most inspired piece that could have only been written at that time. Had I rolled over and gone back to sleep, the work would have never come forth. It would have been forgotten by morning. I am glad for those middle of the night moments of muse. I understand that time of night is sometimes the only time, in which my mind is still and quiet. The muse can then work within my thoughts to bring forth a completed end to a novel or an added heartfelt moment within a chapter. Sometimes Writer's Block simply requires rest and relaxation. Time for our minds to chill out and be nurtured through the activity life has to offer us and not so much require of us. We have to put ourselves in position to receive this rest. Take a mini-vacation or if needed an extended one.
Make a list of coping strategies to get through writer's block. Here are some of mine:
- Go see a movie all by myself - one that I want to see.
- Take a brisk walk outside in the sunshine.
- Do some yoga exercise and take time to meditate.
- Get a massage.
- Get my hair cut and styled.
- Go shopping for me.
- Call a friend just to chat about anything but writing or meet them for lunch.
- Go to the zoo, the planetarium, a museum, a flea market or a botanical garden.
- Go on a camping trip with the family and/or friends.
Always carry a small pad and pen with you everywhere you go to jot down your thoughts or inspired moments. You may need to switch gears in your writing all together and write about something completely different for a change of pace. Either way, by using some of these strategies or some of your own, you should be able to unblock the writer within and soon be happily writing again.
Hind Sight
One of my favorite books I read as a teenager was "Hinds Feet on High Places" written by Hannah Hurnard. Allegory is still one of my favorite forms of writing. "The Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis was another favorite series. The sad part about allegory is that not everyone who reads it, gets it. I remember attending my son's 5th grade open house at school and the teacher saying she had assigned reading that included "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe." She referred to it as fiction fantasy, to which I replied back that it was also considered a classic Christian allegory. As I recall, she gave me a puzzled look and simply went on to the next subject. Sad but true - many people today are not educated enough in religious understanding, be it Christian, Judaical, Catholic or otherwise, to even grasp the most basic allegorical truths. Had I not attended church as a child, I myself would suffer such ignorance. So how do we reach this lost generation? How do we communicate using parables and metaphors, if the reader does not possess the foundational truth and understanding enough to grasp the concepts? The amazing thing about allegory is that everyone can find a way to relate to it, weather through spiritual metaphor or otherwise. "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," still carries the reader through the battle and brings him to celebrate the victory in the end. Life is our training ground, our battlefield and through the use of allegory, we can sew the seeds of understanding. Jesus taught through parables and allowed the listener to decide. The use of allegory is much the same way. Through the process of grasping the concepts, the reader may even come to know God in a way they never thought possible or saw coming.
Should I be the one doing this?
I have to be honest, most of the time I feel very inadequate in my writing skills. I have every excuse in the world swarming about my head. Those negative thoughts that really haunt me at times. Thoughts that say, "You don't have the credentials." or "An editor won't even give you the time of day." It's true that I really don't have the credentials as some would expect, but at this point going back to school is just not financially possible. I do have life's experience or as Mother has told me, "Just tell them you graduated from the University of Hard Knocks." I have one kid in college and another one on his way soon and I'm not getting any younger. There is simply not enough time or money for me to return to college. This passion for writing wasn't something I was born with. I haven't always been one for reading. I have written many songs, can sing and play guitar, but writing books was not something I planned on doing. It is a passion that was inspired in me only a few years ago. Being a Christian, I have prayed and asked God for guidance with this new endeavor. Of course, I have attended several writer's conferences and educated myself in the process, while continuing to hone my skills. I believe it is something He has inspired in me for His purpose. In that sense, I wonder if this is something that I more or less am called to do rather than something I just decided to do one day. I don't see it so much as a hobby though I do enjoy writing, but I see it more like a task of obedience. Something I must do in order to reach my fullest potential in Christ. Being a writer can be a very daunting task at times. Getting the initial story down on paper and out of my head is a relief and sometimes even therapeutic, but then comes the actual work of refining, rewriting and making it editor ready. Then preparing a proposal for submission and suffering through all the rejection letters. How much fun is that?
In a little book titled, "The Prayer of Jabez" Bruce Wilkinson addresses this same issue. I quote, "I just couldn't shake the feeling that I was the wrong man for the job." That's exactly how I am feeling right now. Like I am not the right person for this job. Dr. Wilkinson inquired of one of his mentors on the matter, he got this response: "Son, that feeling you are running from is called dependence. It means you are walking with the Lord. Jesus. Actually, the second you're not feeling dependent is the second you've backed away from truly living by faith." Dr. Wilkinson contemplates further by saying, "As God's chosen, blessed sons and daughters, we are expected to attempt something large enough that failure is guaranteed...unless God steps in." Wow, that does help alleviate the pressure realizing that as long I'm willing to step out in faith, even if I fail, God remains ever present and powerful in my life. This one line from the prayer of Jabez says it all. "Oh, that your hand would be with me." To which I say, in my weakness, He is made strong. It is all for God's glory, and not that I should boast.
Next!
I got another one of those form rejection letters in the mail last week. Every time I see that familiar return SASE, I know what it is and my heart just sinks again. I have actually gotten a couple of those letters with personal comments, which is suppose to mean, the editor actually did read it and took interest in my work. Nonetheless, here I sit with no contract. I take a big sigh, as my fingers continue to tap atop my keyboard again. The ever nagging questions bombard my mind. What do they really want from me anyway? Why can't I seem to find even one publisher or agent who will take interest in my work? Granted, I'm not a master of the English language, but I did pay some money for my manuscript to be professionally edited before I dared to send it out. I've carefully researched the publisher's list and thought my work would fit well, but alas an ever increasing stack of rejection letters graces my desk. I have to remember Dr. Seus was rejected by every NY publishing house and more than once. There are many others who faced much failure before they finally found victory. It takes tenacity and perseverance. Keep going I tell myself. Like the little engine that could - I should and I will, but for now, it's a cold and rainy here. I've got yet more tweaking to do on my novel, but I think a cup of hot tea along with Wheel of Fortune TLC will help the rejection go down a little easier. Ok, I'm just going to say it - Rejection sucks. Sliding the front desk window open. "Next, please." And it is important to remember that there is always a next time.
Platform and Pitch
This seems like such a daunting task, but I have at least taken the first step by starting this blog. It isn't easy to get outside my comfort zone and trying to build a platform is definitely outside my comfort zone. I think it would be easier if it was more like a cooking show. Seems easier to relate to people around food. I love food more than I should. I think most people do love food, so relating to each other in that premise makes us more comfortable. Maybe I should look at my blog like a kitchen, where I invite all my friends over to taste test my latest creation. Enjoy the snacks, while we cook together. I am going to be brave here and share with you a one line pitch for my new novel, which I have just recently finished rewriting for about the 4th time now. Still working on the proposal, but here is the pitch. Please let me know your first impressions. Go ahead, here's the cutting board and the cleaver - chop away.
Pitch line for "Where Two Rivers Meet" - a young adult novel. This reminds me of those one line descriptions on a DirectTV menu.
Nicole, a beautiful biracial, sixteen year-old woman must overcome prejudice surrounding a forbidden romance and struggle with an endearing friendship, in order to claim her ancestral rights to a 18th century farmstead.
What do you think? Be honest, please.
