Elizabeth Lyon - Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody can Write

Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody can Write — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody can Write" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

1234567...65

Table of Contents

PRAISE FORNonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write:

Elizabeth Lyon knows book proposals the way a surgeon knows anatomy.

GARY PROVOST, author of twenty-two books
including 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing

This book is pure gold! I received an offer from a large publisher who stated that my proposal was professional and well written; even my agent said it would be the standard in the industry. I owe a debt of gratitude to Ms. Lyon.

MARY JEANNE MENNA, author of Mom to New Mom:
Practical Tips and Advice for the New Mom

Dont try to sell your next nonfiction book without consulting it.

GERALD GROSS, author of Editors on Editing:
What Writers Need to Know About What Editors Do

Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write gave me the structure I needed to produce a coherent, organized proposal. Everything my agent wanted to see in my proposal was there because of Elizabeths book. I was able to send my proposal within a week, and three months later, my agent was responding to bids from four large publishing houses. One of them paid me an unusually high advance for a first-time author. I will always be grateful to Elizabeth.

SALLIRAE HENDERSON, M. DIV., author of A Life Complete:
Emotional and Spiritual Growth for Midlife and Beyond

Most Perigee Books are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, or educational use. Special books, or book excerpts, can also be created to fit specific needs.

For details, write: Special Markets, The Berkley Publishing Group, 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

This book is dedicated to
the memory of R. Gaines Smith,
writing teacher, mentor, and best friend.

Acknowledgments

Writing any book is a monumental task, and I have been especially blessed to have the help, encouragement, and love of many. My deepest thanks go to:

Dennis and Linny Stovall, my first publishers (Blue Heron Publishing); literary agent Natasha Kern, who over many years shared her knowledge and experience about proposals and publishing; literary agent Denise Marcil, who was the synapse that sparked my connection to the Stovalls; the writers whose proposals are an integral part of this book; the National Writers Association; and everyone who offered an endorsement.

Every writer needs a good editor. If editors are a measure of wealth, Im the richest person in the world. My deepest thanks to Patty Hyatt, Stew Meyers, and Carolyn Rose. Without their incisive editing, continual support, and polite poetic prodding, this book would have been a shadow of its current clarity and content.

A special thanks to Aline Prince and Bill McConochie for reading and offering their critiques. For endless constructive criticism, I am grateful beyond words to my Colonyhouse friends, to Victor Rozek, and to my writing friends, past and present, in the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday critique groups.

For the second edition, many authors have generously shared their successful proposals. Several Tuesday critique-group members offered invaluable advice. I am deeply appreciative of the friendship and support offered by: Carolyn Scott Kortge, David Congalton, Doris Colmes, Chanrithy Him, Bob Blonchek, Marty ONeil, and Mary Jeanne Menna. I am also indebted to my friends, Michael Vidor and Anne Sheldon, for supplying the clearest, most writer-friendly author-agent agreement ever written.

I owe special thanks to my literary agent and friend, Meredith Bernstein; to Linny and Dennis Stovall for going the final mile; to Ratina Wollner and Daniel Urban, editors extraordinaire; to the Good Luck Marketing Club; to Martha Holmes; and to my Perigee editors, Jennifer Repo, Christel Winkler, and Michelle Howry.

My family endured a particular strain during the pressured time period during which this book was produced, rewritten, and revised. As always my parents, Don and Ella Redditt, remain my anchor and inspiration. My great kids, Kris and Elaine Lyon, and my ex-husband, Charley Snellings, all gave selflessly of their time and help. Like it or not, they now know more about nonfiction book proposals than just about anyone else.

Foreword

When Elizabeth Lyon first told me she was planning to write a book about how to write and submit nonfiction book proposals, I was delighted. I had long felt I needed specific guidelines for my clients and prospective clients and found existing books to be inadequate. I knew Elizabeth was exactly the right person because I had sold several of the proposals she had worked on and mentored. They were far superior to the usual submissions we receive. In addition, I knew that Elizabeths teaching expertise would lead her to organize the needed information in an accessible and understandable way.

There are many reasons why you would undertake the major work involved in writing a book. You may believe it will assist you with career advancement in another field; you may want to establish a new career as a writer; you may feel passionately and often altruistically that a certain subject must be presented to the public, and, you may believe publication will be a road to fame, fortune, self-understanding, or a legacy of your lifes work.

Most writers are usually not prepared for the challenge of researching and writing a proposal. You may think this is a task that agents will do for you. Some writers resist the necessity of treating this literary child of the heart and mind as part of a business plan. Often, some parts of the proposal process are troublesome. In some cases, they discover they are really experts and not writers at all. Perhaps they need to work with a coauthor or ghost writer. The services of an editor of Elizabeths stature are invaluable in helping writers to achieve their goals and grapple with the problems they encounter in moving from expert to author.

One of the things that is most important in going through this daunting process is to continually refocus on why you are doing this and clarify your goals. Eventually, if you get an agent, you will need to communicate these goals to her so that she can help you to get what you want from publishing. This focus will keep your sense of commitment to and passion for your subject alive.

It is important to keep in mind that the process of selling something to someone else is not a matter of convincing someone to buy something that they dont need or want. It is rather a process of sharing your vision so clearly that the other person is swept up in it, experiences a contagion of your passion and excitement, and wants to share it with others. You want the agent or editor to wish your book was already written, so they could share it with a friend or loved one or benefit from it themselves. When you begin to feel overwhelmed by the information you are accumulating about the market, publicity, chapter organization, and so on, when your book begins to seem like a term paper, always come back to what prompted you to start this process in the first place and tell us about that.

I have never worked with a writer on a proposal without the writer feeling, at some point, that the effort was too hard or not worth it. There is always a point where it seems easier to give up. Yet, without exception, writers have said at the end of the process of developing a proposal that they understood their books far better than they had before and were far more prepared to write them. Even authors of self-published books that have done well and are being presented to the industry gain new insights and often decide on revisions when they are thinking about how to tell editors why their books are new, better, different, more timely, or more insightful than other books available.

Next page

1234567...65

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody can Write»

Look at similar books to Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody can Write. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.

Ryan G. Van Cleave

The Weekend Book Proposal: How to Write a Winning Proposal in 48 Hours and Sell Your Book

Stephen Blake Mettee

The Fast-Track Course on How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal

Donna Murphy

How to Write a Query Letter: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply

Rick Frishman

Author 101 Bestselling Book Proposals: The Insiders Guide to Selling Your Work

Sharlene Martin

Publish Your Nonfiction Book: Strategies for Learning the Industry, Selling Your Book, and Building a Successful Career

Arielle Eckstut

The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published: How to Write It, Sell It, and Market It . . . Successfully

Brewer

2014 Writers Market

Larsen

How to Write a Book Proposal

Fry

Propose your book: how to craft persuasive proposals for nonfiction, fiction, and childrens books

Robert Lee Brewer (Editor)

Guide to Literary Agents 2020: The Most Trusted Guide to Getting an Agent: Information on More Than 1,000 Agents Who Represent Writers and Their Books

Burt-Thomas

The Writers Digest Guide To Query Letters

Susan Rabiner

Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction--and Get it Published

Discussion, reviews of the book Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody can Write and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.