Congratulations, you have a perfect book proposal that hits all the right notes when it comes to market research, author bio and marketing plan. Now, what do you do with it?
Not all editors/publishers are alike. You need to do careful research to find advocates who specialize in your type of writing. So, if you have the next Great American Sea Monster Novel, don't send it to an editor who specializes in spy novels or your proposal will be tossed or worse - return in an SASE with a mysterious white powdered substance.
You already researched your competition. Take it one step further and check to see who published those books. If the first set of Dogs Around the World books was successful, the publisher might be looking for Cats on the Beach.
Peruse your Writer's Market for agents that have a history of working with Quilting and Dummies guides for your Easy Stitching in the Dark book. This is for your protection and theirs. Agents don't want to be bothered with pitches for books they don't have the expertise to judge and you don't want an agent who doesn't have the connections to publishers of your genre. Propose carefully and you will save a lot of tears all the way around.
Once you have targeted the correct advocates, talk to your MasterMind Writer's Group to see if you can get an introduction. This can go a long way to getting your work to the top of the stack. Some agents won't even talk to an author or look at a proposal until they get a recommendation. This is where your network can be very valuable.
Now, fire away. As we said last week, you can't sell your book until you send it out. So start proposing. And let us know how it goes.
Yours in Writing
Promptmasters
Jennifer Sander
JT Long
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