On Thursday I found out that Avalon publishers are looking for writers. I’m familiar with their books–used the Baja one, and love the new Metro guides. So naturally, I got all excited when I didn’t see that Queensland was on their pub list. They’ve only done one book on Australia and it won the Lowell Thomas Award. The 2nd edition came out in 99, so they’re do for some new material from that front.
I was all ready to write up my proposal, when my friend calmed me down and suggested that I call them to find out if they already have one in the works. Good spot! I emailed them this morning.
Lately I’ve been planning on moving to Portland to do some adult things, and I just haven’t been excited about it. But I tell you, I’d be off my rocker happy for the rest of this year and all of next if I got to do a project in Australia. All I can do is give it my best shot…and I’ve got two outlets to try. This one, and Bakpak Travelers Guide Writing Contest.
More more info on proposals…
So, you want to send in your proposal to Avalon? Here’s my advice.
1. Study up on the publishers and their books. Here’s their acquisitions page where they walk you through who they are, give links to their different book lines, and outline what they are looking for in their proposals.
2. When writing your proposal, choose a book that you have some ties or experience that will give you an advantage. I chose Queensland because I was there for six months last year and got to see numerous parts of the state. I didn’t choose France because oh look, they don’t have one on France yet! Why would they pick me to do their France guide if I haven’t been to France before? Minimize your work load and propose a title based on your experience. It will increase your chances.
3. It is a good idea to email the acquisitions editor and see if they are already working on the book you want to do. Why waste our time doing up a perfect proposal if they’ve already got a writer on it? I’ll let you know if they respond to my email, and how quickly.
4. Have someone look over your proposal before you send it off. An extra eye can catch grammatical errors, and could make a suggestion that would improve your pitch.
Good luck!