Q: Was difficult to get your foot into publishing? A: The publishing world can be extremely difficult break in to – at can seem as times as if there might be an invisible wall…however, it’s not as difficult as one might think. It’s all about perspective. Early on, Dee Henderson, who is one of my favorite writers, told me that the best thing I could do to get published was to write all sorts of things, for anyone I could, for free, if I had to. So, that’s what I did – I started with my newsletter, (we were missionaries in Russia) and then I went on to a newsletter for my organization, then devotionals, then magazine articles, then novellas for contests…until finally, my writing had improved enough to catch the […]
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Sample Chapters – Sell your Voice
Sample Chapters: Let’s talk just a moment about Sample Chapters. Every proposal package includes sample chapters for the story you are proposing. Even if you are a multi-published author, you will have to write sample chapters for new contracts with new publishers, so it is wise to learn how to write them now. There are so many elements to writing decent sample chapters, and we’ve covered most of those topics over the past year, but I felt we needed to touch on them in order to fully cover the proposal package. When new authors read “Sample Chapters” in the submission requirements of an editor or publisher’s website, sometimes they are tempted to think… “I’ll pick my BEST chapters…chapter one, chapter eight, and chapter twenty-two.” Delete that […]
Read the RestThe Synopsis – Sell your Story
Let’s talk today about the Synopsis. While your Cover letter and Marketing Plan sells the story concept, the Synopsis sells the story itself. What is the synopsis? This is your story, in a nutshell. It’s a wide angle look, highlighting the big moments, and telling in a way that engages your editor’s imagination. The last thing they want to read is a dry retelling of your story. Let’s start with an overview of a great synopsis: Step One: A good synopsis starts out with outlining the character’s goals, their fears (as a set up for the black moment) and their deepest desires – with a hint at why. You’re trying to show what they are they after, and why? What their conflict is, and what God is […]
Read the RestCover Letters and Marketing Plans…sell your novel CONCEPT
So….you’ve polished your story, the agent is breathlessly waiting for it…time to send it in, right? Nope. First you need to write a proposal. A post-conference, request proposal consists of a Cover Letter, a Marketing Plan, a Synopsis, and the first three chapters. I like to write my Cover or Query letter last because, well, by then I know what I’m trying to say. And, you should already have those first three chapters written and polished, right? If this is your first book you should have your manuscript already written. And you should know your physical, emotional and spiritual plots, including the black moment and the epiphany. You should know who your character is, what his values are, what motivates him and what his greatest […]
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