Proposal’s May Just Kill Me.

No, not wedding proposals. I’ve made exactly one of those and it’s worked out well for 28 years. One of our best anniversaries was in Haiti.

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Today I’m talking about the kind of proposal that a writer has to do if they wish to sell their book.

I have been blessed with two really great editors that have worked on my book for me. No matter how hard you work on self-editing, it’s still likely to be a stinking mess when you are a new writer. Only after my a lot of editing and beatings *(my agent throws a vicious punch – but I needed it)* was I really close to the point where the book could be sold. Agents/editors have an insight into the whole process that I currently lack. I’ve talked to more than one author who now largely self-edits, but I think that’s about book #3 for most people before they can do a creditable job. I am much better editing other people’s books. The reason is simple: my brain is seeing it the first time. I’m not filling in blanks and eliminating the dreck that I stuck on the page without fixing it in writing.

You might think that once the book is really good that you’re done. Nah. Now you get to do a proposal.

One of my best friends, Larry W. Timm, recently embarked on this journey. He had to swear off bacon to get the task done. I was blessed to have help from my editors. Both of them worked on my proposal and added a huge amount of content and polish to the beastie. It’s almost ready.

But now it’s in my hands again. And I’m slowly dying. I’ve put in 4 hours on it so far today. A really good proposal is a synopsis of the book, a list of characters, a description of who might buy it, why someone should pick this rather than another author’s work, how you plan on marketing it, who is your current audience (which reminds me, please go like the Facebook page on the right – that’s part of the plan,) what books are comparable, a biography, why your book is better than the comparable books, endorsements from subject matter experts, endorsements from other writers, a picture of your face (mugshot submissions not appropriate,) and a great tag-line.

I’m dying on the comparable books. I’m really not ready to say, “Alton Gansky’s book was nice, but my book is better because…” or, “Raymond Chandler’s book was an exceptional experience but I can do better marketing because I’m still alive.” (Besides, I’m kind of hoping Alton will write a forward or something and I don’t want to cheese him off.)

It’ll come to me. I’m sure that time will fix the issues. Part of it is a simple need to go back and look at some of the stuff I’ve read and then do the comparison. For some reason I’m not enthusiastic about the reception I’d get with the Christian publishers if I said, “Lee Child is the master of this sort of story, but my hero is far more violent and bloody minded than Jack Reacher ever dreamed of being in his entire life.”

I’m pretty sure that still needs refining.

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Comments

Proposal’s May Just Kill Me. — 2 Comments

  1. You can do it, good buddy! You’re a gifted and hard-working writer. I can’t wait to hear the good news when you sign your first contract. Great picture of you two!

    • I love Larry’s comments. He always makes me feel better. And I try to respond:

      BBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!