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 …
book proposals
Can You Trust Your Agent?
blogger: Cynthia Ruchti
Can you trust your agent? Coming alongside a client often puts an agent in the position of saying, “Don’t do that.” Kindly, of course. Or firmly. Depends. Much like the difference between a mother who urges her …
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 …
Refining a Proposal
blogger: Cynthia Ruchti
Writers spend innumerable hours, bags of M&Ms (or baby carrots, but let’s be real), and cups of coffee/tea refining proposals before they’re sent to an agent to send to an editor. 
Later that afternoon, the agent sends …
Don’t Put Me to Sleep!
Blogger: Rachelle Gardner
Hi Rachelle,
I’m working on a book proposal, and was wondering if I should interject my personality/humor into it? Or are they usually personality minus? I believe I tend to write better when I can be humorous …
Writing Success: A 3-Pronged Approach
Blogger: Mary Keeley
Let your heart not grow weary from the increasing volume of proposals competing for fewer publishing slots. If you are patient, you’ll continue to have opportunity with traditional publishers as long as they are still acquiring. I …
Productive Communication
Blogger: Mary Keeley
You reach a milestone when your manuscript is finally “perfect,” and you are now ready to pitch it to agents. Then it dawns on you. “Whoa, I’m actually going to have to TALK to these people.” Yes …
Why You Need a Book Proposal
Blogger: Rachelle Gardner
Authors sometimes ask me, “Why do I need a book proposal? My book is finished—can’t I just send you that? I don’t see the need to write a proposal.”
So, here is a quick outline of the …
Why Agents Don’t Submit Your Proposal Right Away
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
A misconception writers have about agents is that, when a client submits a proposal, the agent downloads it, adds his/her contact info to the submission and blasts it out that same day to every even-vaguely possible …
Arcs and the Synopsis
Blogger: Mary Keeley
This week an author asked me to take a look at her synopsis and offer suggestions because she was struggling to get it right. She isn’t alone. I talk to writers all the time who say the …