Creating Good Fiction Proposals by Jeff Gerke, Part 4

This Manuscript Monday Jeff Gerke will wrap up his series on proposals. We've appreciated all his tips (and his fun sense of humor).

Creating Good Fiction Proposals, Part 4*
by Jeff Gerke

Let's focus on a few last items you'll want to include in your proposal.

The Synopsis

Since I've done such a brilliant job of explaining this elsewhere [pauses for applause], I'll just refer you to that article.

One note: I can't stress enough the importance of a good, 1-page synopsis. A synopsis that is too long (more than 2 pages) or poorly done or that does not give away the ending may sink you.
Some agents and acquisitions editors will skip over all your front matter and go straight to the sample chapters. Artistic purists! But if they like what they see there they will inevitably come back and read your synopsis. So it had better be good.

Note that you can begin the synopsis on the bottom of the one pager mentioned last week if you have half a page or so available. Otherwise begin it on its own page.

The Other One Pager

Very often there is about one more page's worth of pertinent information that needs to be conveyed in the proposal.

It could be any one or more of a variety of things: a brief (1/4-page) bio of you (recommended), a one-paragraph summary of each of the other books in the proposed series, or some other historical note or personal experience piece that will cause a "buyer" to be more inclined to invest in your "product."

Take a page or two to include that information.

Keeping in mind, of course, the section on What Not To Include.

Last thought: if you're especially good-looking, a photo of yourself on this page would not hurt you. It's hard to find photogenic novelists, let me tell you, and the publicity department will be interested in finding a new one.

The Sample Chapters

Here, more than in any other portion of your proposal, your chances rise or fall.

As I've mentioned, many agents and almost all fiction acquisitions editors are fiction purists. We love to discover great fiction. That's why we'll often skip over everything else and turn to the first pages of your actual writing. If we love it, you're golden. If we don't, you're sunk (er, dross?).

Note that I said you want to include the first 30-40 pages of your novel. Agents and editors need to see that you know how to start a novel well. That tells so much. This is not the time to include chapter 12 because it's really cool and chapter 21 to show that you can write snappy dialogue.

Give us your first 30-40 pages and make sure they're your best writing because they will determine your publishing future.

Notice also that I've said to include the first 30-40 pages. I didn't say include the first three chapters. Why? Because some people write chapters that are 2 stinkin' pages long and others write 65-page chapters. We don't want that little or that much. We want 30-40 (double-spaced) pages.

Go Now, My Child, and Find Your Destiny

Wow, that's a little melodramatic, wouldn't you say?

Anyway, that's all I have to say about how to create fiction proposals that will give your novel its best chance.

Oh, a word about writer's guidelines. If the publisher you're targeting has published writer's guidelines that determine what they want to have included in any proposal sent to them, then by all means do it the way they say even if it violates what I've said here.

But by and large if you include these elements, abide by the formatting rules, and write incredible fiction, you'll have a fighting chance, young padowan. Go now and find your destiny.

~~~
Jeff Gerke is a mild-mannered author and book editor living in Colorado Springs. He and his wife have a daughter and a son and in 2009, they adopted a little girl from China. See this site for more. Jeff's first novels appeared in the mid-1990s, followed in the early part of the 21st century by his Operation: Firebrand novels. His nonfiction books were published in 2003 and 2005. In 1999 Jeff came on staff with Multnomah Publishers in Sisters, Oregon, as an editor. Over his career he has been on staff with Multnomah, Strang/Realms, and NavPress. In October 2008 Jeff became the founder of Marcher Lord Press, a small indie publishing company dedicated to producing the finest in Christian science fiction, fantasy, and other wonderfully weird genres.

* This series of articles was taken from Jeff Gerke’s Where The Map Ends Web site. Used by permission.

Creating Good Fiction Proposals by Jeff Gerke, Part 3

Please welcome back Jeff Gerke as he continues his proposal series this Manuscript Monday.

A Closer Look at What To Include*
by Jeff Gerke

There are guidelines for how to format your proposal so that it looks professional. I've written them up in Tip #2, so please be sure you adhere to them. (see this site for more information on Tip #2)

All right, on to the elements.

The Cover Letter

This is just like a query letter except without the query.

A query letter is basically the proposal on one page. You pitch your idea, summarize your qualifications, and ask for permission to send the proposal to the editor or agent.

For your proposal, you're obviously past that stage (because it's included in the proposal), so you can dispense with the "May I please send you the proposal for...?" bit. Instead, replace it with a "I am pleased to present..." sentence. If you'd like, you can ask for permission to send the full manuscript.

(If you need help on what goes into a good query letter, consult the many books and Web pages on the topic.)

Only one note: In your cover letter you need to mention whether or not you're sending this to more than one agent and/or publishing house at the same time. If you're doing that (and the term for it is simultaneous submissions) you need to be sure to let everyone know.

The One Pager

This is like a tip sheet for sales. It's a one-sheet, a brief, sometimes bulleted sheet with the facts about your novel.

The hook is a little (10-word) grabber or tagline for your novel: "What happens when cloned vampires drink their clones' blood?" or "Jennifer loves Thomas--too bad Thomas died nineteen centuries ago."

The blurb is a short but arresting summary of your story. Here you can give sizzle but no steak. In other words, this is marketing copy designed to further hook your reader while giving a little more detail about your story.

"When molecular biologist Jennifer Reeves discovers a lost source of prehistoric DNA..."

The Title, Genre, Wordcount, and Audience of your novel should be self-explanatory. As for genre, read Tips 16-18. Understand that certain genres and topics are trigger words that will automatically raise or lower an agent's or editor's interest in your project. It's just reality.
As for your book's length, be sure you speak in wordcount. Pagecount is all but meaningless as font size, margin size, spacing, and a host of other variables make quantification impossible. But wordcount tells no lies.

Note that you can include several of these in one paragraph. You could say, for instance:

Death by McNugget is a supernatural thriller for preteens set in the dark crevices of a Cleveland mall's food court. The manuscript is complete at 90,000 words. Available upon request.

The Series Description is where you explain that this novel is the first in a proposed 4-book series that follows Jennifer Reeves as she uncovers further prehistoric mysteries. Just mention the series here. You'll have an opportunity later to summarize other books in the series. Your previously published books should also be self-explanatory. You either have them or you don't. If you don't, just leave this portion out of the proposal.

If you do have other books, the editor needs to know their titles, who published them, when they released, and (most importantly) how well they sold. Give exact sales data.

One note: if the previous books were published by another publisher, the acquisitions editor is going to wonder why you aren't being published again by that publisher. You might want to go ahead and provide that information here--unless it makes you look bad, in which case a don't-ask-don't-tell rule applies.

Jeff Gerke is a mild-mannered author and book editor living in Colorado Springs. He and his wife have a daughter and a son and in 2009, they adopted a little girl from China. See this site for more. Jeff's first novels appeared in the mid-1990s, followed in the early part of the 21st century by his Operation: Firebrand novels. His nonfiction books were published in 2003 and 2005. In 1999 Jeff came on staff with Multnomah Publishers in Sisters, Oregon, as an editor. Over his career he has been on staff with Multnomah, Strang/Realms, and NavPress. In October 2008 Jeff became the founder of Marcher Lord Press, a small indie publishing company dedicated to producing the finest in Christian science fiction, fantasy, and other wonderfully weird genres.

* This series of articles was taken from Jeff Gerke’s Where The Map Ends Web site. Used by permission.