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You know, there’s tons of research that goes into writing a book? Even one that is based on your life? Someone should have told me this. Seriously. Just sent me into Book World with no guidance or preparation. I love to write, but it’s not why I write. I write because it is necessary for me to do so. Writing is literally life for me. Without it, I don’t know who I am, what I would be, where I was going, none of that shit.
But back to this research stuff. It is fucking hell. You don’t just sit down and write. Not if you trying to sell anything. And damn sure not if you trying to get a publishing deal. Or even an agent who will get you the publishing deal.
You need a plan. And then a plan for the plan. A side plan. Plus the backup plans.
Hell, 98% of writing a book is the damn planning. But the book comes out marvelously if you do.
Or so I have heard. Book World also be lying to you so, there’s that.
Nah. Planning is paramount.
So, here I am, writing a proposal for a second book and I am overwhelmed by the amount of work I am putting into this thing. I didn’t have to write a proposal for A Day with No Words because I was able to pitch the book on the spot. No prep needed, no agent, no 6 page document on why they needed to pick up this book and me as their author. None of that. I was blessed in this regard.
Or lucky. Take your pick.
Had I not been so…lucky, I would have had to do what I am doing right now for my next book, crafting a proposal that includes EVERYTHING (I will get into that shortly). There’s so much stuff in there, that might as well BE the book. And it is another book based on my life. And that of my family. As challenging as that is (will also get into that shortly), it is nowhere near as challenging as convincing a publishing house that they need to foot the bill for your book and pay you an advance (new word alert: means money you get ahead of your book being released. It’s like a loan you don’t pay back in a traditional sense, and any sales you make on your book will go towards paying off that advance…and once you paid that advance back, you will get your royalties).
In a spot of transparency, per my contract with my current publisher, I am required to write and share my next work (next book) proposal for their consideration first. Since I am so close to them and we get along so well, they don’t require a formal one, but in working with an agent this time around, her standards are…high. She is okay with me submitting a less formal one to my current publishing house, but I better get my shit together for any others should we choose that as our course of action. So, I figure it’s better to work on a really good proposal, one that is closer to her liking than not, so that I don’t have to do all of this later on.
Now, the nitty gritty: the proposal.
Like I said, it is a lot. And it ain’t just about your book. It is about you as the author, why you are the person best suited to write this book, and what efforts you will put in to ensure it’s success. Some publishers may take a well written proposal without having a sample of the manuscript, but most would prefer you had some sample work. This is something that I did not have to have the first time around. I didn’t have one single word of ADWNW written down. All I had was a verbal pitch.
Now, I need more. Cause not only do I need a solid idea of what this book is about, I need to share it in a way that will hook them. I need to share why I am the person they need to write this book. They also gotta know what other books are comparable to the one I am pitching (research, ugh).
Your book.
You can’t just send in some papers with your social media information and stats and be like, “this is why you should sign me to write a book.” That won’t work. I ain’t saying that you won’t be approached by an editor or publishing house to write a book, I was. I am saying you need an idea of what you are going to write if you are going to shop around for an agent or a deal. Even before I had my meeting for ADWNW, I sat long and hard about how I was going to pitch the idea.
You need to know what you are writing about. Period.
And you need to be able to detail how amazing and unique that book will be. You gotta hook them on the book. A banging summary of what they can look forward to. You need to sort out who your primary, secondary, and tertiary audiences will be. And you need to lay that out as well.
They need to be interested in your book before you even share a sample of it. And like I said, you should most definitely include a sample of it.
You also should read many books that are remotely close to what you want to write about. You can learn a lot about the style of your own work by looking at the work of others.
Why you?
You also gotta sell yourself. Why are you the person to write this book? I sound like a broken record here, but this is important. I am the person to write this book I am proposing because my community (my strong ass supportive community) requested that I do so, those are automatic sales. My community has already shown they can support my work by purchasing the hell out of my first book. Many don’t even have kids and bought it. Many bought the book for others. I can flip sales. Period. Gas yourself up a bit. But I am mostly the person to write this book because no one else can. It is specific to me, unique to me and I offer perspectives of an experience not often explored or rather not explored in the detail that I am looking to provide.
Bottom line, you gotta market yourself. If you have a supportive community that has your back, talk about it. Share your socials and your insights. It’s an online world these days. Publishers are online now. They got Twitter and Instagram, etc. They know people find community in the spaces they love with the accounts they love. They want to capitalize on that. So, if you have a strong community online, mention that.
Comparable Titles.
It is important that while you feel your book is unique enough for a deal, you should included comparable titles. Or those that are kinda close to what you are writing. It gives them an idea of where to place your book should they pick it up. This is where I am struggling. I cannot really find a comparable book. I am blending so many things together. This large gumbo pot of everything. But it is important that I find a few recent titles that have sold well to share, because if I chose books that didn’t sell well, they would think there is no market for it and that reduces my chances of landing a deal.
Even if you don’t think your book lines up completely with another, there will be many that match it somewhat and that is better than nothing. Even if you don’t like the books you are looking at or the authors, still use them if they are recent and sold well. That is what I am looking at. There are some books I don’t care for by some authors I don’t always agree with but their book sold well in a genre I am looking to tap into. Your book won’t be their book, you just need to inform the publisher that there’s a market for your book and yours will do well, if not better than the one you used for comparison.
Taking my own advice.
I am just out here researching and reading, reading and researching. Trying to get a better idea of how I want to write a chapter or two of my book. And it is work. I am thinking an outline might be better for me. An introduction and an outline. For now. My meeting is next week on the 28th and I don’t have much time to pull something together, even though they told me I didn’t need to make it formal.
This is what I want my life to be. A full-time author. I have to take this seriously. I need to take this seriously. But whew, is it some WORK!
I don’t know if any of this stuff helps y’all. I was mostly just trying to purge the thoughts from my mind and take a break from writing, lol. This weekend will be full for me. Going to the movies with the family. We haven’t been to a theater in years. I wondering what it will be like? Nervous but also a little excited to try.
Wish us luck!
If you have any questions about publishing or writing a book, drop them in the comments. I will do my best to answer them.
Goodness me, good luck in advance with your meeting ... I enjoy your writing style so much I hope you don't change it for the proposal. Also they could just read your fabulous fb page content and extract all necessary data from that???!! surely.
Whatever happens I'm personally glad to have discovered your work, going through hellish times here with the health service and your writing cheers me up no end when I'm feeling exhausted & like I can't go on advocating for my family.
Heidi Mavir's new book might be in the same arena as yours??