I’ve edited quite a few book proposals lately, and am noticing a common thread among them. Some authors are so passionate about their projects that they tend to lose their focus when attempting to pitch their books to agents or publishers.
Sometimes an author is so in love with the concept of her book and the way she presents it that they can’t appropriately pitch it. She sees it as a classic piece of literature—a fabulous story that must be told or a meaningful book needed by many. Of course, the publisher is more interested in the economics of the project. He looks at it as a product. He needs to know if this book is worth his investment in time and money. While the author views her manuscript as a work of art, the publisher sees it from a commercial point of view.
If you are a first-time author, you probably understand the comments I’m making here about the passion an author has for his/her project. But you have trouble considering your book a product. You can’t relate to it from a commercial perspective. And this is why so many authors have trouble communicating with agents and publishers in their query letters, proposals and even face-to-face.
When you approach a publisher or agent, you must think more like a publisher. Save the flowery description of what inspired you to pen this book for your writers’ group. Reserve the comments from your mom, sister, husband and friends for your Facebook page or your diary. Omit, altogether, the mention of your most fervent dream: a movie contract with Julia Roberts or Matt Damon playing the lead.
The publisher wants to know:
- What is this book is about?
- How does it differ from other books like it on the market?
- What makes it better (more useful, interesting, entertaining) than what’s out there?
- Who is the target audience and how large is?
- What is your platform (your following, your connections)?
- How do you plan to promote this book?
- Will this book make me some money?
Even when I spell this out to authors through my books, lectures, articles, blog posts, courses, etc., some of them still have trouble eliminating the passion from their pitch.
Now don’t get me wrong—of course, it is good to be passionate about your project. You won’t get very far with it, if you don’t believe in it. But, neither will you succeed if you don’t direct that passion in some more practical areas. For example, get passionate about the business of publishing.
- Study the publishing industry to learn more about your options, the possible consequences of your choices and your responsibility as a published author.
- Practice thinking like a businessman/woman. Set aside your dreams and fantasies related to your project and consider the needs/desires of your audience—are you truly meeting them through your book? How large is your potential audience? Where are they? How will you reach them? (Do they purchase books like yours? Where do they shop for books? How much will they pay? Is it reasonable to expect your audience to purchase a $75 coffee table book or would they be more apt to buy a $19.95 handbook on the topic?)
- Get into the publisher’s head. In your query letter/proposal, present what he wants/needs in order to entice him to invest in your project. What can you offer to convince him that this is a worthwhile investment—a money-making venture? It is up to you to provide the facts, statistics and other information that makes a strong case for the potential for your book.
- Adopt a sound marketing persona. Learn what it takes to promote this book and begin building those skills. At the same time, develop or add to your platform. This may mean making more connections with appropriate individuals, organizations and other entities and/or establishing and building a following. In other words, become known among your prospective readers. There are countless ways to do this.
- Get help with your book proposal from an industry professional before sending it out to an agent or a publisher. I can’t tell you how many proposals I see that simply miss the mark. Authors sometimes spend weeks or months perfecting their proposals only to have them fail where it counts—with the publisher. You may have a viable book project and the qualities necessary to successfully promote it, but lack the ability to appropriately promote yourself and your project to a publisher.
Authors, today, come from all backgrounds and few authors are experienced in or have a natural ability toward pitching their book to publishers. They don’t even understand the function or mindset of a publisher. Some are so attached to their projects that they can’t see beyond their passion. If this describes you, let the tips in this article help you shift gears and begin to think more like a businessman/woman.
Patricia Fry is the author of 31 published books—most of them about publishing and book marketing. She is the Executive Director of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) www.spawn.org. Patricia also teaches 6 online courses. www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm. Visit her newest website: www.patriciafry.com.
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