As a literary agent my goal is to champion the writers that I represent. A champion is committed to guide the writers journey even if that looks different than they thought it would. With that in mind, here are three …
Book Proposals
Is There a Perfect Time to Submit?
Ever since I became an agent, I’ve been trying to figure out the rhythm of this industry— the perfect time to submit proposals. Every industry has “seasons” and because we agents are always trying to second-guess things, we are ever …
QR Codes: What’s Old is News
A few weeks ago I boarded a plane for the first time in 20 months. Heading out to visit my Colorado family, I was surprised to discover that QR codes, which were popular in 2010 or so and old news …
How to Shape a Proposal
Most times my clients’ proposals are constructed not just by the author but also by me. I thought it would be helpful for you to see how that type of teamwork unfolds.
Consider the Challenges
This particular nonfiction project was …
Authors’ Magical Thinking
I’m sympathetic regarding what a pain it is to create a proposal. When I was writing books, I felt grumpy when I had to do a proposal. That’s when I dipped into what I call Authors’ Magical Thinking.
That’s when …
The Perfect Time to Submit
By Wendy Lawton
Ever since I became an agent, I’ve been trying to figure out the rhythm of this industry— the perfect time to submit proposals. Every industry has “seasons” and because we agents are always trying to second-guess things, …
Proposal Prep: Your Bio
by Janet Kobobel Grant
Lately I’ve been preparing a lot of proposals to send to editors, which has sent my mind spinning around the areas I see where authors tend not to strut their best stuff. Part of the proposal …
The Case for the Book Proposal
Last week, Janet Grant wrote about the importance of writing an excellent comparative book section in your book proposal. You can find that post here. Those kind of specifics are invaluable.
But I can almost hear the collective writerly …
Proposal Prep: The Competition Section
by Janet Kobobel Grant
After a client submits his nonfiction proposal to me, I suspect he thinks I’ll have that baby in the hands of an editor within the hour. Not exactly. Before that big event occurs, I’ll take a …
Fatal Submission Fails
Blogger: Wendy Lawton (Still touring the beautiful English Countryside)
I sense much submission angst out there in writer land. I think a quiz is in order to help you identify some of the fatal submission mistakes a writer might inadvertently …