Super-Powered Book Proposal Secrets
Posted on 20 August 2010 by Karen Risch | No responses
Jane Friedman, of Writer’s Digest, has been laying it all out: what to include in your non-fiction book proposal, how to please (or get dismissed by) editors and agents, the three questions you must answer convincingly, what to research … you gotta read this stuff. Great coverage of a topic we know and love and have written and talked about, too, both here in this blog and in our videos, free book proposal course, and other resources.
Check it out:
Secret #1: There Is No Try. Do! In other words, don’t promise in your proposal that you intend to do something (like guest blog or set up a Web site or whatever) sometime in the future, after a publisher gives you a contract. Instead, start doing it now so that you can include in your proposal what you’ve already done. This post includes a useful handout describing what goes into a book proposal.
Online Promotion for Non-fiction Authors
Posted on 16 August 2010 by Karen Risch | No responses
A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed top sites that promote non-fiction authors and their books, and since then, I’ve been in the thick of it. As a ghostwriter, it’s unusual for me to go hands-on with anything but the manuscript, yet the memoir I just finished was so engaging, and the client so wonderful, that I found myself wishing to be involved. My client was happy to have me aboard.
There’s quite a long list of possible online promotion mechanisms, and I thought you might like an inside look at all the moving pieces in a major push to point, pull, prod, and otherwise lead as many people as possible toward an author and his book, which comes out in the spring of 2011. This list focuses on social media and the author’s own site.
Here’s our checklist, with some explanation so you can see how it would apply to you, too.
Write a Non-fiction Book That Speaks to Your Audience
Posted on 14 July 2010 by Victoria St. George | 1 response
My very first non-fiction book proposal was for Smart Women Finish Rich, a trade hardback that eventually became a runaway bestseller and spawned a series of bestsellers, by David Bach. David had been a financial professional for several years and developed seminars for women who didn’t know much about finances and investing. His material was smart, funny, realistic, and perfectly suited to his target audience. From the very beginning, he knew his potential readers and did a great job of writing the perfect book for them. David continues to meet his readers’ needs in everything he’s written since.
Collaborating with David was a great lesson, one I continue to apply as a ghostwriter and editor fifteen years later. Whenever I’m working on a book or book proposal with someone, one of the first questions I ask is, “Who’s your reader?” Of course, knowing the target audience for your book is Marketing 101. However, if you take the question a little deeper, your knowledge of your reader can help you create a more powerful and effective book.
There are three reasons to know your reader/audience. First, for positioning. In today’s customized world, a reader looks for material appropriate to his or her particular life situation.
Top 5 Web Sites Promoting Non-fiction Authors and Their Books
Posted on 13 July 2010 by Karen Risch | 1 response
This was harder than I’d thought it would be: finding five Web sites that do an excellent job of promoting a non-fiction book and its author. Actually, I started out with the ambition of finding ten, and then changed my mind because I was, um, discouraged. That’s right: I was discouraged, not lazy.
Anyway, I did find five superior sites to share with you.
My Criteria for a Good Site to Promote Books and Authors
- Appealing and easy to navigate
- Offers a way to purchase the book
- Builds/reinforces the brand identity with graphic continuity
- Identifies the author by name
- Puts the product (meaning the book) front and center
- Includes a way to stay in touch: email, RSS feed for a blog, or other way for the author to contact readers who want that
- Gives media folks what they need to do their jobs
- Stays current: somebody’s paying attention and updating regularly
Here are the best sites, along with what you can learn and apply from them. Ta da!
Author Photos: Negotiate Costs and Terms Up Front
Posted on 30 June 2010 by Robert Mott | 1 response
All serious authors need high-quality black-and-white and color portraits for several marketing purposes: to use on Web sites promoting them and their books, to put on the back of their books or book flaps, to include with press materials. Whether your non-fiction book will be published by Random House, some random small publisher, or you (self-publishing), you’ll need a professionally made author photo.
Realize there will be many choices, from paying a sitting fee for studio shots to half- and full-day location shoots, as well as wardrobe and make-up options, but my overarching point here is to help you understand two basic terms of usage, which in intellectual property law refers to the agreement between a copyright holder and someone licensed to reproduce the copyrighted material. No matter which option you choose, it’s important to remember that you’re contracting an artist to capture a favorable likeness of you, and that artist/photographer owns the copyrights to his or her creation (in this case, the photo of you) until he or she signs those rights away.
Here are a couple of ways you can structure the deal with a professional photographer.
Edit for Maximum Impact (5 Ps of Story Prep, Pt. 3)
Posted on 7 June 2010 by Victoria St. George | No responses
Last week, we revealed four of the five Ps of non-fiction story preparation, first purpose and passion, and then perspective and personalization. Today, we bring you the final P in this three-part series, which we hope will give you both the last step in choosing, creating, and crafting great stories for your nonfiction book and also the motivation to put what you’ve learned to work. Remember, the stories you use to support, illustrate, and demonstrate your ideas in action are what make you and your writing particularly meaningful and memorable to your audience.
5. Do Some Serious Pruning
Once you’ve written your first draft of a story, you must prune it down to its essence: that means edit, edit, and then edit some more. Every detail must contribute to your main point in some way, setting the scene, evoking emotion, and enhancing the experience that conveys your message.
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