“Your Book Is Your Hook” Show – Literary Agents Michael Larsen & Elizabeth Pomada Plus How to Write A Book Proposal
October 25th, 2010
By Jennifer S. Wilkov, host of the “Your Book Is Your Hook!” Show on WomensRadio
www.yourbookisyourhook.com
Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada, prominent literary agents with their own agency, Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency, will talk with radio personality and host Jennifer S. Wilkov about why they feel now is the best time to be a writer and also why they think now is the easiest time to find an agent.
Mr. Larsen and Ms. Pomada will share some of the biggest mistakes authors make when approaching them as agents. They will also discuss how authors benefit from attending a writers conference and why it might just be the right place for authors to find their own literary agents. Insights about the upcoming Writing for Change Conference hosted by Mr. Larsen and Ms. Pomada in San Francisco in November will also be provided.
As an author, Michael Larsen will discuss with radio personality and host Jennifer S. Wilkov his Writer’s Digest classic book, How to Write A Book Proposal, currently in its 3rd edition and referred to as the definitive resource for crafting effective book proposals.
Mr. Larsen will talk about why he wrote the book, how he got it published and how he’s using his book as his hook as an agent helping authors to write great book proposals.
Host Jennifer S. Wilkov will discuss why agents and publishers are picky for good reasons during her Education Corner segment during the show.
Click Here to Listen Now: http://bit.ly/aG4Gay
If you have questions about any of these interviews or the education corner topic included in the show, please put them here in this discussion thread and I’d be happy to answer them.
13 Reasons to Go to a Writer’s Conference
October 25th, 2010
By Guest Bloggers, Elizabeth Pomada & Michael Larsen
Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency & Hosts of the San Francisco Writers Conference
www.larsen-pomada.com
Now is the best time ever to be a writer. And whether you are a new writer or a published author, a writer’s conference can be one of the best tax-deductible investments you make in your career.
At the 2008 San Francisco Writing for Change Conference, Cami Walker brought the manuscript for a book about giving 29 gifts in 29 days to help heal herself. She met her agent, Rita Rosenkranz, and her editor, Katie McHugh of Da Capo Press, and 29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life spent several weeks on the New York Times extended bestseller list. Cami, Katie, and Rita will discuss how they did it at this year’s conference.
Kirk Boyd met Jeevan Sivasubramanian, Executive Managing Editor at Berrett-Koehler, at the 2007 Change Conference. This year, they’ll talk about how they made Kirk’s book, 2048: Humanity’s Agreement to Live Together, a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller for four weeks, and how Kirk is using his book to build a movement to create an enforceable agreement of human rights around the world.
A conference gives you the chance to
- Get up-to-the-minute knowledge and advice from agents, editors, authors, and other publishing pros about
what agents and editors are looking for.
the state of the business and industry trends.
the challenges and opportunities awaiting you.
how to write.
get published.
promote your work.
become a successful author.
- Hear keynotes from successful authors who explain how they achieved success.
- Choose the breakout sessions that best suit your needs.
- Learn how to write a pitch for your book that will excite agents and editors.
- Pitch your book to agents and editors.
- You may find the agent and editor you need.
- Read and get feedback on your work at open mics.
- Build a lasting community of writers, published authors, and publishing people who will help you.
- Balance the solitude of being a writer by spending time with writers who have the same goals you do.
- Meet freelance editors who may be able to help you improve your work.
- Have books autographed by authors you like.
- Get a fresh perspective on your writing and your career.
- Visit a place where you, and perhaps your family, would like to spend time.
The Third San Francisco Writing for Change Conference: Writing to Make a Difference / November 13-14, Hilton Financial/Chinatown / www.sfwritingforchange.org / Keynoters: Million-copy selling authors Dan Millman (Way of the Peaceful Warrior) and John Robbins (Diet for a New America).
We are offering a special $50 discount to listeners of Your Book is Your Hook. To take advantage of this opportunity, listeners should send a check for $395 made out to San Francisco Writing for Change Conference to us at 1029 Jones St., San Francisco, 94109. On the memo line, write Jennifer Wilkov. Listeners are welcome to call us at 415-673-0939 with questions.
Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada, Co-Directors.
Get Paid to Write Your Book
October 25th, 2010
By Guest Blogger, Michael Larsen, Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency
www.larsen-pomada.com
If you have an idea for a nonfiction book, the ability to write and promote it, and you prepare a strong proposal, you can get paid to write your book. Proposals range from 35 to 50 pages and have three parts:
- The Overview
- The Outline
- A Sample Chapter
The Overview
Your overview must prove that you have a marketable, practical idea and that you are the right person to write about it and promote it. Provide as much ammunition about you and your book as you can muster, including:
- The opening hook that will most excite editors about your subject.
- The book hook:
* the title and selling handle, up to fifteen words of selling copy about the book.
* the books or authors you’re using as models for your book.
* the suggested (or actual) length of your manuscript and when you will deliver it.
* the book’s benefits (optional).
* special features (optional).
* information about a self-published edition (optional).
- Markets: The types of readers and retailers, organizations, or institutions who’ll be interested in your book. The size of each group and other information to show you know your audience and how to write the book for those readers. Other possible markets: schools, businesses, and subsidiary-rights markets such as film and foreign publishers.
- The Author’s Platform: A list in descending order of importance of whatever will impress editors about your visibility to your readers. Online, this may include the number of unique visitors or subscribers to your blog or website, your contacts on social networks, and online articles you’ve published.
Offline, your platform may include the number of articles you’ve had published in print media as well as the number of talks you give each year, the number of people you give them to, where you give them, and your media exposure. Editors may not expect authors of quote books to have a platform; business authors must. For certain kinds of books, an author’s platform is important for big and midsize houses.
- About the Author: Up to a page about yourself with information that isn’t in your platform. Begin with the most important information.
- Promotion: A plan that begins: “To promote the book, the author will:…” followed by a bulleted list in descending order of impressiveness of what you will do to promote your book, online and off, during its crucial two-week-to-three-month launch window and after. Start each part of the list with a verb and use numbers when possible. Publishers won’t expect big plans from memoirists, and the smaller the house you’ll be happy with, the less important your plan is.
- Competing Books: A list of the six or so strongest competitors for your book—not just bestsellers. In addition to basic info about each book (title, author, publisher, year of publication), include two phrases—each starting with a verb—about each competitor’strengths and weaknesses. List the competitors in order of importance.
- Complementary Books: A list of up to six books like yours that prove the market for your book.
- (Optional) Spin-Offs: The titles of up to three related follow-up books
- (Optional) Foreword: A forward by someone whose name will give book credility and salability in fifty states two years form now. Obtain commitments for cover quotes as well, if you can.
- (Optional) A Mission Statement: One first-person paragraph about your passion or commitment to write and promote your book.
(The Table of Contents)
One or two paragraphs in the present-tense about every chapter, using outline verbs like describe, explain, and discuss. For an informational book, you can use a self-explanatory bulleted list of the information the chapter will provide.
A Sample Chapter
Usually one chapter that will excite editors by proving you will fulfill your book’s promise to readers and make your book as enjoyable to read as it is illuminating. Include about 10 percent of the book, or about 25 pages. Memoirs should be finished, and agents and editors will request more chapters.
Adapted from the fourth edition of How to Write a Book Proposal by Michael Larsen (April, 2011).
The Third San Francisco Writing for Change Conference: Writing to Make a Difference / November 13-14, Hilton Financial/Chinatown / www.sfwritingforchange.org / Keynoters: Million-copy selling authors Dan Millman (Way of the Peaceful Warrior) and John Robbins (Diet for a New America).
We are offering a special $50 discount to listeners of Your Book is Your Hook. To take advantage of this opportunity, listeners should send a check for $395 made out to San Francisco Writing for Change Conference to us at 1029 Jones St., San Francisco, 94109. On the memo line, write Jennifer Wilkov. Listeners are welcome to call us at 415-673-0939 with questions.
Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada, Co-Directors.
Why Agents & Publishers Are Picky For Good Reasons
October 25th, 2010
By Jennifer S. Wilkov, host of the “Your Book Is Your Hook!” Show on WomensRadio
www.yourbookisyourhook.com
As authors and writers, we’re always learning about resources and industry tools that we can use to improve our book project performance and the enjoyment of our writing and marketing experiences. Today let’s talk about why agents and publishers are picky for good reasons.
If you had a business and you wanted to represent quality products and services in your business, you would create a policy for what standards each item you represented should meet. After all, how would you be able to determine if they qualify until you set a standard?
Being an agent requires careful consideration about the books one chooses to represent, as being an agent means you are subtly stating that you are a good judge of great books and books that will sell in the marketplace. It also means that a keen eye for a quality book is essential, as representing each one is a reflection on your business and of your ability to pick out a book that will resonate with its readers. The bottom line is to determine whether the agent can sell your project and stand behind it as a project they believe in. After all, your book is not only your hook for getting the agent, it’s also going to be the agent’s hook for getting you a publisher.
Being a publisher is a different experience and perhaps an even pickier one. The publisher is investing their money to secure you as an author and pay for the design, production and distribution costs for your book. An investment in you is on the line for them. More than that, like any business, the publisher wants to feel confident in their return on investment that they will receive as a result of selecting your project to bring to market instead of someone else’s.
When an agent or publisher listens to your pitch and presentation about your book, they are listening for a project that meets their standards and catches their attention. After all, books are a business.
All the time, energy, money and effort you have invested in writing and crafting your 300 page novel, 200 page business book or 32 page children’s book is appreciated and acknowledged by an agent or publisher. But it is sometimes not enough to meet their standards of what they are willing to invest in.
That’s why you hear so many agents and publishers on the “Your Book Is Your Hook!” Show say that, first and foremost, you have to write a good book. Without this, your chances of being picked up to be published are minimal.
Understand that if you are not accepted by an agent or publisher, it’s not personal. It’s business. Books are their business and how they make their livelihood and pay their bills. They are not condemning you or your project when they say no. They are merely applying their standards for what they feel will sell – so that everyone, including you, will win.
The old saying of making a project a “win-win” for everyone holds true in the author-agent-publisher relationship and supply chain. When your project meets the standards of the agent and the agent feels confident in presenting you and your project to publishers, everyone has a much better opportunity to win and succeed.
The next time an agent opts not to represent your book, keep in mind that they are letting you know that in viewing your book as a business, they just don’t feel confident that it meets their standards. It also doesn’t mean that other agents agree and, in reality, they may feel differently about your book.
However, if you are receiving rejections from agent after agent, you may want to take a second look at your book through eyes of the book business – as a quality product for a business that wants to succeed. If professionals are telling you that your book isn’t meeting their standards for quality, you may want to take another pass at it to make sure it is polished up as a product others will want to represent.
Your commitment to your project and making it the best product it can be can give you a slight advantage for attracting an agent’s and publisher’s interest. On the other hand, when you react personally to an agent’s rejection, it may repel the very interest you’re seeking for your book.
Look, listen and inquire about what can be done to make your book saleable in the eyes of the agents and publishers. Be open to suggestions and listen for guidance. Then see if what you hear makes good sense to you for your project. Stay true to yourself and make your project the best it can be. After all, before it reflects on an agent or publisher, it’s going to reflect on you.
For more information on this Education Corner topic and others, please refer to www.YourBookIsYourHook.com/blog for more articles and resources to help you with your books.
“Your Book Is Your Hook” Show – Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing and An Author’s Infertility Roller Coaster
October 24th, 2010
By Jennifer S. Wilkov, host of the “Your Book Is Your Hook!” Show on WomensRadio
www.yourbookisyourhook.com
Nancy Cleary, founder and publisher of Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing, will talk with radio personality and host Jennifer S. Wilkov about her award-winning independent press and how she selects the authors that she chooses to work with.
Ms. Cleary will also discuss how she works with authors throughout their publishing process and encourages their entrepreneurial approaches. She will also share her insights and perspectives of the future of the book publishing industry.
Author Iris Waichler will discuss with radio personality and host Jennifer S. Wilkov why she wrote her book, Riding the Infertility Roller Coaster: A Guide to Educate & Inspire, and why she chose to publish it through Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing.
Ms. Waichler will also talk about how she’s using her book as her hook including her funny story about how she sat in the audience of a bookseller before she was a published author and then, 18 months later as published author herself, she was booked as the speaker at the very same bookseller with an audience of her own.
Host Jennifer S. Wilkov will talk about why picking and pitching the right publisher and agent is essential to your publishing success during her Education Corner segment during the show.
Click Here to Listen Now: http://bit.ly/9WwWjA
If you have questions about any of these interviews or the education corner topic included in the show, please put them here in this discussion thread and I’d be happy to answer them.
Mission: Publish
October 24th, 2010
By Guest Blogger Nancy Cleary, Publisher, Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing Inc.
http://www.wymacpublishing.com/
Your mission, if you choose to fulfill it, could be advanced exponentially by the decision to publish a book.
Whether it is a personal mission or part of a business plan, anyone who wants to make their book dream come true, or elevate their career to the next plateau, can do it successfully with self-publishing (and without self-destructing).
Why now? The publishing industry is being leveled. Social media is removing the gatekeepers to publicity. Technology is flattening the book world with international distribution and instant downloads of electronic and audio books. Now is the time when anyone — with the guts, the know-how, the energy, the editorial excellence and the finances to do it right — can, and should, publish their expertise or passion.
Chances are, you may already be researching self-publishing and have discovered the industry world-leader, Ingram’s Lightning Source, for on-demand distribution and printing. Visit their site for a list of companies offering self-publishing services: http://tinyurl.com/authorservicecompanies
Whichever publishing option suits you best — here are Five Directives for Mission: Published
First Directive: Polish
Your manuscript must be polished and ready to publish. Work with a ghostwriter if you have a great book idea but can’t get it into words; a substantive editor if you need in-depth editorial advice and assistance; a line editor if you only need to review spelling, grammar and usage; plus a proofreader. Seek peer reviewers through the writing process. Their input can be invaluable and they can be integral in your promotion later on.
Second Directive: Platform, Publicity & Pitch
Strategize your social media presence — Twitter, Facebook, website with blog, YouTube videos — all it takes is time, energy and creativity to leave a footprint and build a platform. Get national publicity through media-lead newsletters ( http://helpareporter.com, http://pitchrate.com, http://ReporterConnection.com ) by learning how to pitch with relevance. Getting publicity is not about you or your book It’s about answering a question from your perspective that is pithy, entertaining and concise.
Third Directive: Packaging & Positioning
Be sure your book cover design has branding in mind and your title is unforgettable. Work with a professional graphic designer and supply the best marketing verbiage. The look of your cover should reflect both the market and how you want to position yourself in it — your personality, your style, your distinguishable author brand.
Fourth Directive: Publish
Choose the most empowered option — be your own publisher with the help of industry professionals. If you have the first three directives in place, and you have an entrepreneurial spirit, then you have the power to launch your own publishing entity with the help of a team: editor, proofreader, book designer, author branding and positioning expert, platform-building and publishing consultant, and publicist, to walk you through the intricacies of the complex book industry.
Fifth Directive: Promote & Propagate
Set your publication date months ahead to prepare a marketing plan around it. Make promotion an on-going creative effort. Enter book awards and join associations like http://www.ibpa-online.org for opportunities and education.
Use http://cafepress.com to create s.w.a.g. for monthly contests on major blogs and Twitter campaigns. And finally, produce multiple formats — ebooks, apps, audiobooks, translations, licensed editions — to generate new buzz and more revenue.
How I Use My Book as a Hook to Help People Experiencing Infertility
October 24th, 2010
By Guest Blogger Iris Waichler, Author, Riding the Infertility Roller Coaster
http://www.infertilityrollercoaster.com/
I was sitting in the audience of my favorite bookstore listening to the feminist author, Naomi Wolf, discuss her book, Misconceptions. She described her frustration with doctors that wanted her to have a C-section. She discussed feelings of anger and outrage at the loss of control of her body. I felt myself fading away. I became lost in my memories. I had experienced multiple miscarriages and years of infertility treatment. Anyone who has had infertility immediately understands the sense of failure and outrage attached to the inability to become pregnant. I was lucky enough to have a daughter on our final attempt. I had made a promise to myself that if I did have a child I would do what I could to help others experiencing infertility.
While I drove home I remembered my promise. I began to think of topics I would address in a book about infertility. By the time I had gotten home I had the outline for a book in my head. The first thing I always do before writing a book is see what has been written on the topic. It doesn’t make sense to write about something that has already been said. I do my research. I pay attention to publishers that published books on the topic I am addressing. I use this as a guideline about which publishers to pitch.
I noticed the books I saw did not address the range of topics I was looking at. I also realized that there were no men’s voices in the literature. Men and women approach infertility in different ways. I decided it was critical to interview men and women and get their candid insights. It was also significant to talk to people making different choices regarding their infertility. I spoke with couples who adopted, used a variety of infertility treatments, and a woman who chose to remain childless. The mixture of personal experiences of these couples and me combined with my clinical expertise as a licensed social worker was original and appealed to me.
In my experience, writing a book can be easier than getting it published and marketed. I contacted 60 publishers. Some had gone out of business and some told me that infertility was not a topic that interested people. I knew they were wrong. Nancy Cleary was a publisher at Wyatt MacKenzie publishing company. She believed that women, especially stay at home moms, had important things to say. She took a leap of faith and helped my publishing dream become a reality.
Eighteen months after hearing Ms. Wolf, I found myself standing on the podium she had stood on in that same bookstore. This time the room was full of my family and friends. They were cheering me on at my first author event promoting my book, Riding the Infertility Roller Coaster: A Guide to Educate and Inspire. I looked out in amazement at their smiles and tears as I read from my book and fielded questions and comments. I had come full circle.
Why Picking and Pitching the Right Publisher and Agent Is Essential to Your Publishing Success
October 24th, 2010
By Jennifer S. Wilkov, host of the “Your Book Is Your Hook!” Show on WomensRadio
www.yourbookisyourhook.com
As authors and writers, we’re always learning about resources and industry tools that we can use to improve our book project performance and the enjoyment of our writing and marketing experiences. Today let’s talk about why picking and pitching the right publisher and agent is essential to your publishing success.
Each book has a genre and bookseller category of its own. Its individual success depends on the category it’s in and how it competes with other books that serve and support the consumers who buy it.
From the publisher’s and agent’s perspective, your book has to be one they are interested in and be in a genre that they are accustomed to supporting and selling.
The truth is not every publisher and agent represents every kind of book. Instead, many of them specialize in a particular genre or genres that they enjoy selling projects in. They tend to repeat their great sales experiences they’ve had with new books like yours.
Too often I see authors getting rejected by agents or publishers for their projects and wonder what they need to do differently. Sometimes, the answer may be as simple as you submitted your project to the wrong person or company. Why is it wrong, you ask? If that person or company doesn’t work with your type of book, it’s not going to be considered for representation or publication.
It doesn’t mean that your book is no good or that you really need to change much. In these circumstances, it just means you didn’t knock on the right door.
Let me give you an example. I had a client a few years ago who showed me his file of rejection letters that he had collected for his innovative cookbook that complimented his unique personal training business. Letter after letter said no – and that was enough for him to shelve his book… for eight years before he met me.
As I leafed through his letters, I started to smile and shake my head. I recognized some of the agents who had been kind enough to send him a rejection letter – a standard one – that neglected to include that they didn’t represent cookbooks.
His story is a perfect example of what I hear happening to many authors. They just don’t know who to turn to so they send their book to everyone!
In order to better position yourself for your successful pitching and publishing journey, do your homework and find out what types of books interest the agent or publisher you want to approach.
Just like the guests on my show have said – including today’s guest, Nancy Cleary, the publisher of Wyatt-MacKenzie, don’t send them just anything. Send them the books they are hungry for – the ones they like to publish and want to have in their stable.
It’s a shame to see authors work so hard on their projects, only to see them shelve them when they receive a few rejections. While publishing is about being persistent, and every author will tell you that persistence pays, you can simplify your own path to pitching your book and getting published by doing your homework first. After all, when you do, everybody wins with your great book that they can join you in getting behind and enjoy supporting it.
For more information on this Education Corner topic and others, please refer to www.YourBookIsYourHook.com/blog for more articles and resources to help you with your books.
