Angela Hoy’s Writer’s Weekly had an article that piqued my interest this week.
“10 Things NOT to Say in Your Book Proposal”
I’d like to think that you’re above making these kinds of statements in your book proposal, but you never know. The thing I liked the most about this article was the hint at not showing desperation or a lack of confidence. Absolutely believe that you have a product worth selling. But be humble enough to seek advice on how to package your proposal or edit your mss to a cleaner state of being. Other than that, stand tall.
Good luck!
I just read the list. Oh, my! Knowing this, alone, prompts a little more confidence in pitching my own work. 😉 Your item about Bill Fink is another great reminder of the universality of our experiences in pitching our work.
More confidence and a thicker skin will definitely help each of us get farther in our pursuits. Write on, brothers and sisters! Thank you, Jen, for reminding us of that.
Jen, I just sent in my first book proposal this week. (Actually, I was *invited* to send it in! Woo hoo!) I started to sweat a little when I saw this post, fearing that in my painful novicehood that I’d probably committed one of these errors, but miraculously, I managed to get through the whole thing without threatening to kill myself. I’m not as green as I thought!
I still won’t hold my breath though.
Leif! That’s progress! Congrats on all your hard editing work bringing you a step closer to publication! And guess what? Then there will be a whole avalance of marketing work! Ha ha, we’ll talk about that then. 🙂
It’s great to hear that you were invited to send something in. Let time pass, don’t bug them prematurely…
And email me if you have any concerns. I’m slammed to the gills right now, but I’ll do my best to answer any qs if I can.
And thank you for your kind words, Johanna. I’m glad to hear that you’re still following along. 🙂
The “A Sense of Place at the Pan Pacific San Francisco” event is on C-SPAN 2 tonight at 6:10pm PST.
Burt