The Art of Proposals

This week on Scribble Chicks, we are going to be talking about a few of the nuts and bolts of the publishing biz - what do you do after you have a manuscript ready?

I wrote this a little while ago for my blog, and forgive me for copying and pasting tonight - I'm in the midst of making caramels for Christmas and I'm also dealing with a spacey brain (I'm blaming it on this one). :)

I want you guys to imagine the day you get proposed to with me. You've been dating this guy for a while and you're pretty sure he's The One.

So, one day, he takes you out on a date. You're all dressed up, but when he rings the doorbell, he's wearing shredded jeans, a grass-stained sweatshirt and his hair looks like it hasn't been shampooed in a little while. "Ready, baby?" he asks you.

You're a little wary, but you climb in his car and he drives straight to an alley between two buildings, right behind a dumpster. You look at this guy and say, "What are you doing?"

"Well, I'm getting ready to propose," he says. "I love you and I want you to be my wife. I just want you to know that I am probably not the most romantic man. I require dinner on the table at five-thirty on the dot. I am not planning on working hard ever, so you're going to have to bring home most of the money before you make dinner. And I really would like kids, but I don't want to help raise them, so if you wouldn't mind doing that. And taking care of the laundry, because obviously, I can't even dress myself. Oh, and I'm out of shampoo and I hate going to the grocery store, so I was hoping you would go get it afterward tonight. Pretty much, I'm going to just squash on the sofa and watch ESPN all the days of our lives."

Then he takes your hand and says sweetly, "What do you say, honey? Oh, I think I just saw a rat next to that dumpster."

If you have any sense at all, you'll be screaming, "NO, NO, NO!", jumping out of the car and running for your life, carefully avoiding the rats.

But...what if your proposal went something like this instead?

You open the door and your boyfriend is standing there, dressed in an amazing suit and holding a bouquet of gorgeous flowers. He takes you to the most beautiful outlook in town, leads you out of the car and to a picnic table he had set up there. There's a whole steak dinner made just the way you like it and flowers on the table.

"Baby," he says. "I love you so much. I will always love you. I'll always take care of you. Whatever you need, I'll make sure you get it as soon as I can. I've been preparing for this for the last several months, so I already have money saved up so we can buy a house or whatever it is you want. You never need to worry about the future. Will you marry me?"

Odds are, you would probably be more inclined to say yes to the second guy. He took the time to plan it, prepare for it, and he's promising to take care of you.

Now compare this to writing. Why would a publisher take a chance on someone who is like the first guy? Who doesn't know what they are doing, who doesn't care what they are doing and who hasn't prepared for it?

Proposing your story to a publisher is actually very similar to a guy proposing to a girl. You are trying to look your best, sound your best and you'll be promising some type of security in the future - a completed book.

So, how do you propose?

First, finish your book. We've already mentioned this, but the unspoken rule in publishing is that publishers prefer first-time authors to have a complete manuscript. It's security for them and less stress for you.

Second, you'll write the proposal. A proposal is a document about three to five pages long that contains everything anyone needs (and didn't need) to know about your book. It's a frustrating thing to write. Ask any writer and they'll probably say they hate writing proposals more than cleaning moldy food out of a sink disposal.

Now that you're all excited to write this proposal... :) Here's the elements that every proposal needs:

1) Your name, address, phone number and email address * This goes in the top left corner of the page. DOUBLE CHECK THIS!! You don't want an acquisitions editor to love your work and not be able to get a hold of you.

2) The approximate word count
* Write this in the top right corner of the page. Don't worry about putting something like this: 70,231 words. Just stick with 70,000.

3) The title
* Put this about a fourth of the way down the page, centered. You can write "Book Proposal" underneath it, if you like. Word of the wise: Don't get too attached to the title. It's very likely it will change.

4) The teaser
* Ever heard the term "elevator speech"? It's a three-sentence synopsis of your book that you could theoretically propose in an elevator ride. This goes underneath the title. Draw the editor in. Don't reveal the ending and it works perfect to end it with a question. "Will Gertrude ever find love?"

5) The synopsis
* You do get to reveal the ending here. Make this about two pages of your proposal. Don't get too wordy, you're focusing on showing the editor that you know how to create characters and craft a plot. Play with this! If you are going to break rules, here is the place to do it. Explain exactly what happens in your story.

6) Your qualifications
* Why are you the one who should write this book? What makes you more qualified than anyone else? Put down anything and everything that could possibly relate to your book that you have done or accomplished. If you are writing a book about a girl who is a marine biologist, and you are a marine biologist, definitely put that in there! If you've published magazine articles, newspaper articles, or whatever, write it down. If you have a blog that reaches 3,000 people a day, definitely write it down.

7) Marketing
* What genre is this book? Where would it be placed on the shelves? What is the targeted audience? And what are you going to do to get it in the hands of the targeted audience? Be as specific as possible here. Don't say this: "My book will pretty much be loved by every person who reads it." Say this instead: "This book is aimed for Christian women ages 16-24." Are you a speaker? No? You're going to have to change that fast - editors want writers who will market themselves. Be sure to say something to this effect and mean it: "Erynn will do whatever she can to help market this book!" (Just don't use my name - I can't promise I'll do whatever I can to market your book) :)

8) Uniqueness
* How is your book different than everything else out there? What are books it is similar to? How does it stand out from the ninety other proposals on this editor's desk? Again, be very specific. "This book is different from the competition, because all of the characters have a third eye."

9) Sample chapters
* These aren't taken into account in the three to five page count I gave you earlier. Insert the first three chapters (and polish those within an inch of their life!) into the end of your proposal.


And there you have it! Get it all typed up and looking sharp (remember the guy with the grass stains versus the guy with the spiffy suit). Knock the editor off their chairs with your charm and charisma. Editors want to be wowed!

If you have more questions or want to see a sample proposal, send me an email at erynnmangum@gmail.com. I'll be sure to send you one. :) To quote High School Musical, "We're all in this together!"

Merry Christmas!


Photo credits go to AlanBabb and Vocaris from stock.xchng (sxc.hu) :)

The God of Creativity

I was listening to a teaching CD awhile back by Rev. Dr. Ladonna Osborn and something she said really stuck out for me:

"Thinking for a Christian is waiting for the Holy Spirit to generate a creative idea in you."

What a profound statement.

As creative people we're constantly searching out our next story idea, our next blog entry :), our next letter to friends . . . but why is it that so often we dig and dig by ourselves without waiting to hear what God might be speaking to us? I'm just as guilty of this as the next person, so don't think I'm pointing fingers here.

I don't want to forget that God is just waiting to speak to me, and He does all the time. It's ME who either doesn't hear, or more often than not, doesn't take the time to pause and LISTEN.

As Christians, we're supposed to be a little bit different from everyone else. We're not supposed to think like the world. I encourage you to take time to pause and wait on the Lord at some point during your day today and listen to the ideas that pop up in your head. And don't let your mind talk you out of receiving a creative idea just because you think it's you and not God. Chances are it's the Holy Spirit nudging you, like He so beautifully does.

Think about it. Your next creative endeavor could come straight from the Lord Himself! Will you receive it?

I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.
--Proverbs 8:12 (KJV)

Giving Procastination the Heave-Ho...Now!

Ok, since nobody wanted to weigh in on the social networking front last week, I'm taking my thoughts in a new direction today...:)

But seriously, if anyone has any sudden epiphanies on how you fit twittering, facebooking, myspacing, etc. into your life (and what tangible results it has provided), still feel free to give a shout in the comments section. I do all of these things regularly, but I'm still curious about how fellow writers view all that extra time spent online.

Today, however, I've got something else on my mind, namely procrastination and the upcoming new year.

For the record, like many writers, I'm the queen of procrastination. I thrive from the sheer buzz of being so dangerously close to a deadline. And no matter what's going on, I can find a million ways to stay distracted while the clock ticks closer and closer to said deadline. In fact, my favorite way of not concentrating on my work is IMDBing my favorite actors (and even some I couldn't care less about) and reading their respective pages, right down to the really random trivia.

Of course, given that I review movies for work, too, I can easily justify this as "research," which makes me feel way better while I'm wasting time. But if I'm honest with myself, I'm thinking I'd get a little further on my current WIP if I wasn't reading about Hugh Grant's favorite restaurants or Jude Law's shoe size.

But I digress...

As the New Year gets closer and closer, (something I still can't believe, even if the calendar assures me that it's so), I think it's tempting for many a writer to put off his/her literary goals until the ball in Times Square has officially dropped. Starting on January 1st just feels a little more tidy somehow, a little more definite. But if the Queen of Procrastination has anything to say about it (and she points that finger right back at herself, too), she'd encourage you to keep right on writing. Yes, NOW!

After all, that's how New Year's resolutions get broken year after year, isn't it? We create this ginormous laundry list of things we want to change about ourselves and our habits, and then get upset when it doesn't exactly work out. But if we start being disciplined (or at least having a semblance of discipline) before January 1, well, that's one less resolution to break, right?

Now that doesn't mean that you shouldn't actually take time to enjoy the holidays. I'm all for that (and can't wait to do that myself). But getting into the mindset that you'll really start writing once the New Year rolls around is a whole lot of pressure to put on yourself. Remember Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will your story be, so you'll want to take each and every opportunity you can to start crafting it.

So step away from the IMDB.com and start writing now. You won't regret it, I promise.

Q & A

Well, guys, I hate to "take the easy way out" for my post, but Little Miss and I have both been under the weather this week, and now my grandfather is in ICU for having an emergency double bypass last night. We're appreciate prayers for his full healing. I gave my info on his situation on my blog at www.betsy-ann.blogspot.com

So you can see how my brain isn't in deep-thinking mode today! However, I would like to offer the chance for our readers to ask questions. We started this blog with a lot of questions, and they've phased out, so if you have anything new you'd like to us, please go for it! Just ask in the comment section here and us Scribble Chicks will answer as we can during the day. =)

And hey, if you stump us - free books for life. J/k! haha. ;)

Or if you don't have questions but would just like to share where you are with your writing and glean some encouragement or sympathy, well that's great too. Have at it!

Working While You Wait

Want to know what an author's least favorite word is?

It's not copyedit. It's not proposal. It's not outline, research or rewrite.

An author's least favorite word? Wait.

And if you're wanting to become an author or you are already established as an author, you'd better get used to waiting.

A lot.

You wait for an agent to get back to you on whether or not they'll take you as a client. Once they say yes, you wait for them to look over your proposal. Then, they make suggestions, you make changes and you wait for them to okay it. Then the hard waiting comes. You wait while they propose it to publishers.

And you wait for a response. And wait and wait and wait.

In the words of Indigo Montoya, a character from one of my all-time favorite movies The Princess Bride, "I hate waiting."

But then I notice how many other things God has us wait for. We wait for husbands. We wait for kids. We wait for dinner, vacations, promotions. And I wait for Christmas starting December 26th every year.

"Wait on the Lord," the Bible says over and over.

Be still. Wait on the Lord.

But being still does not necessarily mean being inactive. Writing through the wait is not only cathartic (I'm still writing!), but it is also a smart idea. Try your hand at new ideas. Experiment with different cultures and times. Listen to what the Holy Spirit is teaching you and write about it.

Not only will you then have a bunch of other ideas and proposals on the back burner should the current proposal not pass with the publisher, but you will have grown that much more as a writer.

So what are you waiting for? :) And how will you work in the midst of it?

Going With Your Gut

Most writers think about their stories and characters at all hours of the day. We'll be in the shower and a scene idea will pop into our head (and we'll scramble to write it down on the wall with a bar of soap). We'll be making dinner and a snappy line of dialogue will appear out of nowhere. This is especially true if you're brainstorming for ideas of what to write.

After I wrote my first novel Thicker than Blood, I really struggled with what to write next. Should I write a sequel or something new? I bought a little notebook at Barnes and Noble, called it my Novel Notebook, and started jotting down ideas. Early on in the book I made myself answer the question, "What I really want to write about is ____". I got the idea from James Scott Bell in his book Plot & Structure, and I figured if it worked for him, then I could give it a try.

Weeks passed. I kept writing in that idea book. I asked myself the question, "What I really want to write about is ____" again. I had an answer, but I still didn't know if it should be a book. I had so many different snippets of ideas, but I kept shooting them down. I was floundering and miserable.

But that's not really the point of this post. :) Fast forward several months, even a year. I eventually decided on an idea and started writing my second novel. Then one day I finished it and happened to go back to that original idea notebook just for fun. I discovered something that shocked me. Every one of those responses to the "What I really want to write about" question I had incorporated into the novel . . . unconsciously.

Or maybe not.

There often comes a point in our writing when we have enough information (even if it doesn't feel like it), and the breakthrough will come when we sit down and write. You know more than you think you know about your story. Why not try the unfettered approach today? Just write. Trust your instincts. I bet what you really want to write about will come through.

Putting the "Social" Back in Social Networking

I've got sunny California on my mind, and that's because I'm heading to L.A. tomorrow for a movie junket. Before you get too jealous, however, (ha ha) I must disclose that it's a movie junket for Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.

But hey, a writing assignment is still a writing assignment even if singing chipmunks are involved, right? And when warm weather in California is part of the perks package along with the paycheck, which is absolute bliss for a Minnesota girl like myself, well, I don't care what movie I'm writing about.

Even if they're butchering Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," a song I don't care for much without all the squeaky delivery.

Getting ready for a trip is always a fun challenge when you're on deadline...or in my case, several deadlines today. But like oh-so-many days in the life of a freelance writer who also moonlights as an author, a good chunk of my day is spent in the social networking sphere. Yes, that's a just a fancy way of saying that I'm tweeting. Or Facebooking. Or MySpacing. Or all three.

For me, this is the trickiest part of my schedule to manage because you have to do it (after all, a great deal of being a successful author is all about the marketing and networking, right?) but still, you can't exactly measure it's value. Basically, I don't know if my tweets are making a twinge of difference at getting the word out about my work or the building of my brand (an idea that's still feels a bit pretentious if I'm honest), yet I know it still plays an important part somehow...

So I guess instead of giving advice or offering my proverbial .02 on writing, authoring and the like today, I'm asking for yours. As a writer, published or otherwise, how do you fit social networking in your day, and what do you believe its value is? You know, other than being an technologically savvy excuse for procrastinating on the writing of my next novel?

Ok, with that question hanging in the air...I'm back to my regularly scheduled packing...see ya next week!