Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office, CA
Yesterday we talked about the Book-At-A-Glance. Almost as important is the author info. Few publishers are interested in looking at a disembodied book. They are interested in the unique combination of author and content.
Today I’ll break this up because it’s really very different for novelist and nonfiction writer. The nonfiction writer has a much tougher job convincing the publisher (or agent) that he has a “platform.” With fiction, the skill of the storyteller is most important.
But before I get started, a word to the wise. All the author information is written third person– as if you are writing about someone else. In spite of this be careful not to “oversell” yourself. Nothing is quite as off-putting as an author who uses hyperbole to sell himself or seems egotistical, even in third-person. Sell yourself as the perfect person to write the book but do it professionally.
Remember, much of the bio info will be reused for one thing or another. It will take on a life of its own. Be interesting but not too cute.
Fiction:
- Offer a great bio. Make it interesting. If you write funny, let the bio reflect that. If you write history, give a nod to that in your bio. In other words, make sure your bio is a representative reflection of your book and your writing. Include any contest wins and awards. Go easy on the personal stuff.
- Photo. I always insert a headshot in the bio section, especially if the author meets an underserved demographic. The jury is out on this. I’ve heard some ABA editors mock this practice but I’ve has several editors or publishers tell me how much they liked putting a face with the name. I am ever aware that there is ageism at play here, so if I had an 88-yer-old debut novelist (like my own favorite, Helen Hooven Santmyer) I may not offer the photo lest the publisher think the author won’t be around long enough to build a significant career.
- Past (or selected) publication history: This is very important. You’ll want to end this section with a graph giving actual numbers sold. No, you can’t fudge. If you have no publication history, omit this part. Don’t try some fancy footwork. Also, don’t add any academic writing– apples and oranges.
- Blurb Possibilities: If writers have offered to blurb your novel, have a paragraph that lists those writers along with the title and publisher of their latest (or greatest) novel. Remember, the best endorsers are those with whom you may share an audience. If you are yet unpublished, don’t ask published authors for blurbs. They are overwhelmed with requests. Once you are contracted, it’s soon enough to ask.
- Author Marketing Ideas: Here’s another area that depends on your target. In CBA, an author marketing plan is required. In ABA, I’ve heard editors on panels snicker at author marketing plans, “We have a whole department of professionals to do that. Why would we want to see an author marketing plan?” Be sure to outline the scope and size of your social network. Most editors now see that as the primary sphere of influence for an author.
Nonfiction:
- Again, offer a great bio that stresses why you are the perfect person to write this book. Study other excellent bios if in doubt. Make sure to give your credentials if the book you are writing requires your track record.
- Photo: See above.
- Past Publication History: See above. Published articles on your subject are important as well.
- Influencers and endorsers: If you have the imprimatur of leaders in your field, that could well be a tipping point. Be careful not to overwhelm but a good solid list of recognizable names can be gold.
- Author Marketing ideas: Here’s where you have to pull out all the stops. If you speak, detail that, giving your upcoming schedule. Publishers like to quantify this– “I speak to groups, both inspirational and motivational, about 25 times a years, including two platform appearances each year and one stadium event. Altogether, I speak to over 100,000 people annually.” Talk about the size and scope of your social network. List some of those who will be willing to influence on your behalf. If you’ve been on national television and radio, outline those in detail.
The key for both novelists and nonfiction writers is to let the editor or agent know who you are and why you are the perfect person to write this book.
Sarah Grimm
For me, this has been the toughest part of my query letter because I am a new writer with no history of prizes, contest wins, or publications.
So, what is the weight, would you say, on this part of the proposal? Are my chances severely stunted as a brand new writer?
Thank you for going into detail on this topic, I find it helpful.
Cheryl Malandrinos
More great information. What would I do without you folks.
Working in book promotion, I cringe at some of the bios clients have written. If it’s truly bad, I might even suggest we rewrite it together. I honestly don’t care if a woman loves cats, unless it’s applicable to her book, and I don’t know that others would either.
This post has me rethinking my social media strategy again. I have to think about creating some separate accounts to be more effective. Is a new fan page or Twitter account seen as a negative, or is it okay if I explain why I opted for the change?
Thanks for all your help this week.
Judy Gann
Wendy, thank you for these excellent posts on writing proposals. I’m saving your tips–paying special attention to the fiction ones. 🙂
If you’re writing a fiction proposal and your publication history is a nonfiction book, do you include those sales numbers?
Hmm, interesting that you should mention Helen Santmyer in this post. I get the message. 🙂
Wendy Lawton
Sarah, a lot depends on whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction. In fiction, the main thing is the writing and the story. Every agent and editor dreams of discovering the phenomenal debut writer. If you are a debut writer you’ll need to use that writing skill to create an interesting bio, sans awards, publishing history, etc. Don’t mention the negative– that you haven’t published before. Be creative but not too quirky (see Cheryl’s comment about cats.) Try to make it fit with your book. You could say something like, “Jane Doe came to writing naturally. Her father blah, blah blah. In third grade she earned praise blah, blah, blah, When she did a tally and realized she’d read over two thousand books in the last decade or so, she decided to put her fears aside blah, blah, blah.” Some would say that’s too “cute.” I say it’s an inventive way to tell me you are a reader, you have a background of reading and writing and you can spin a great bio that focuses on you as a reader and writer.
If you are writing nonfiction, it’s harder. Above all else, publishers would like to find the writer who is addressing the topic of his life. They are looking for the new go-to person for that topic. They want credentials. If that isn’t the case, they are then looking for someone who already has a great platform, lots of followers and a solid publishing history. If this is your first book and you have no platform to speak of, the only thing you can do is stress your connection to the subject and why you are the perfect person to write this book. In the meantime– get building that platform!
Wendy Lawton
Cheryl, you ask about starting a new fan page and whether it would be seen as a negative. I’m guessing you are understanding it will take time to get people to migrate over and your numbers may dip. I’m not sure anyone is analyzing social media that closely these days but in your marketing section a short explanation of your new social media strategy would be an interesting addition.
All of these things are just a very small part of the overall. It’s not so much about numbers as it is about visibility. If I submit something to an editor and the client has a vigorous social media presence, they always comment that they’ve seen her, follow her, are amazed at her savvy, etc. It’s more about visibility (commenting, getting out there, following the right people) and less about numbers.
Sarah Grimm
Ms. Lawton,
Thank you for your response. I do write fiction. Still, I have a tendency to write “cute” when talking about myself. I’d rather keep it professional for first impressions. Your suggestions are very helpful. Thank you!
I hope to write non-fiction someday, but that’s a longer-term goal. Since it’ll be a book on dog training (I am a professional dog trainer) I’ll save my “loves dogs” comment for that. 😉
Larry Carney
Cheryl got me to thinking about my own social media strategy. I had almost completed my website and blog after finalizing the design, creating a good starting number of topics so that there would be fresh content to keep readers coming back, and lined up a good number of guest authors when I realized it was entirely redundant; there was nothing fresh and other writers and industry folk with greater resources have already made their own product with effective, cool design and more importantly, had already covered the sort of tone and ideas I wanted my social media strategy to explore.
After going back to the drawing board I realized what it was I really wanted to accomplish with my social media presence and have been working on crafting it. [Even after finding out the name I wanted for the blog was already used by some obscure blogger, which forced me to craft something which more strongly captures the brand].
Which leads me to my question: Out of all the social media strategies and platforms you have encountered as an agent Wendy, is there anything that you feel writers should include in their proposal or authors’ marketing strategy which tends to be overlooked? For example, should authors not only show what their strategy is as individual components, but how they will incorporate the parts into a cohesive whole?
Wendy Lawton
Hmmm. Great question, Larry. I think the strategy needs to show a balance of regional efforts, social networking, working the author’s own reader database, influencers and any unusual connections and alliances. I’m probably missing something.
Maybe the one that is most often left out is the regional emphasis. Many books started as regional successes and it spread nationwide. You need to be making friends with influencers in you immediate sphere– with booksellers and media. It’s like ripples in a stream– it spreads.
And, yes, cohesive whole. (Sounds like you’ve thought a lot about this.)
Anybody? Chime in.
Rick Barry
Once again this week, I’m sharing your explanations on Facebook. This is valuable, need-to-know intel.
Just wish I’d had this series before I recently sent out a couple proposals! Live and learn.
Amariah
How do you build your platform first without giving away your book?
Cheryl Malandrinos
Wendy, regional emphasis is where I felt I lacked last year. I focused most of my attention online, but now realize that I forgot about the audience in my backyard.
Also, what about book launch parties? One of my clients holds a party every time she has a new book out (twice a year). Sometimes she travels to an area featured in the book. Other times she might go to a certain organization that has ties to the book in some way.
Larry, you caught my eye with this: “I realized it was entirely redundant; there was nothing fresh and other writers and industry folk with greater resources have already made their own product with effective, cool design and more importantly, had already covered the sort of tone and ideas I wanted my social media strategy to explore.”
I would love to hear how you recrafted your idea.
Wendy Lawton
Amariah, platform building begins long before a book comes out. If you want to study a master at this, study the social network strategy of Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. there’s an excellent article about her in the New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/05/09/110509fa_fact_fortini?currentPage=1
Her blog receives approximately 23.3 million page views per month and 4.4 million unique visitors. She built those followers one reader at a time, long before she had a book.
You’ll build your platform by speaking, writing articles, blogging and becoming the go-to person for your subject. (Always collecting names and addresses along the way.) By the time your book comes out, you’ll have a built-in readership.