Publishing Monday: What makes a book proposal successful?

My last post hinted at the subject matter for my newest book (though it’s probably more accurate to describe this project as “think about the influence of pink” than just “think pink”. But wasn’t that a great Funny Face excerpt?). As I mentioned Friday, the new book is currently in nascent book proposal form. This means that I’ve:

~ Done enough research to convince myself (and hopefully my editor) that my book concept is sustainable for approximately 60,000 words.

~ Written a basic book outline. I know this will shift as I work, but it gives me a map to start my journey from.

~ Looked at lots of art and design, to help me finetune the look of my book. I know this is unusual — most authors aren’t also designers — but, strange as it may sound, it does help me to figure out how to structure the written content of my book. Despite that my initial idea for a book usually arrives accompanied by a clear vision of their physical form, I still have to do a fair amount of research along the way. For example, my novel The Lover’s Path led me to studying the history of early Venetian printed books; Doomed Queens was inspired by Victorian penny dreadfuls. This new book is no different. So far, it has me delving into some of William Morris’s Kelmscott Press volumes. It’s still early in the game, though — who know where else inspiration will lead?

Now I’m trying to get all of these above materials to congeal into the final book proposal. Yup, I’ve created many a book proposal before. Even so, each time it’s still a tricky process, like trying to tip the contents of my brain onto the page and arrange the mess into something coherent.

I know I’ve written about creating book proposals before here, but this seems like a good opportunity to reiterate the obvious: They take a lot of work. Way back when, when I was first working in children’s book publishing, I was often able to sell a book on the basis of a strong query letter and sample illustrations. Jump forward twenty years: Thanks to the advances of computer graphics and print-on-demand technology, it’s possible for me to make a book proposal that looks like a mini-book onto itself. And that’s exactly what I do.

Though my book proposals are more finished-looking than the average bear, I’m not guaranteed success. There are still many things for a publisher to consider before acquiring one of my books: marketability, my track record, production and distribution issues. To insure that my book proposals can successfully become books, I make sure to include:

~ My pitch, or unique selling proposition — what makes my book different from others previously published, and why this is a good thing.

~ Market information — what similar books are out there. Or not, preferably.

~ Promotion plan — how the book can be effectively marketed to the public. I usually break this down by media (print, online and others) and by retailers (catalogs, special markets).

~ Finally, author info — my bio and publication list.

This is on top of the book proposal itself. But even all of this won’t fly if the creative content of my book proposal isn’t extraordinary. And that is where the true struggle often lies.

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On Friday, I’ll be writing more about this process of creating book proposals, this time about designing with type (aka “playing with fonts”). Stay tuned!

• Filed under creativity, new projects, publications, publishing, publishing 101 | 5 Responses

Last call: Publishing 101 workshop and Tarot Salon. And more.

This week is about to jump into high gear for me. Thursday, I’m doing a radio show for Tarot by Misha. On Friday, we’re holding our bimonthly Tarot and Psychic Salon at the gallery here in Brooklyn. At the gallery on Saturday, I’ll be offering a Publishing 101 workshop. Finally on Sunday, we’re holding Thea’s fourth birthday party. (Yes, my little mermaid daughter turned four this week! Where did the time go?) On Monday, I’ll catch up on rest.

The Publishing 101 workshop is almost fully booked. But there are still a few spaces left, for anyone who’s procrastinated on registering. Right now, I’m coordinating and organizing all my materials for the workshop — I have so much information to share that it’s a matter of deciding what’s most pertinent. I think it’s going to be a fun afternoon!

Here’s the info for the gallery events:

Friday, March 20, 6 – 9:30 pm
TAROT AND PSYCHIC SALON
Free admission and refreshments.

In time for the Spring Equinox, the seer’s salon is back — and ready to answer any questions you might have for the new season. This time we’re adding a masseuse to the mix, who will offer chair massages. Reading prices vary by reader. No reservation required.

Saturday, March 21, 2 – 4:30 pm
PUBLISHING 101
$40. Includes materials fee.

• Filed under blogs we read, events, publishing, publishing 101, queens, reviews + press, studio and gallery, tarot and oracles | One Response

Publishing Monday: Getting to Yes, part final

Read part one of Getting to Yes here. Read part two here.

Gah, it’s late here — it’s been that kind of day — but at least it’s still early on the west coast. Before Publishing Monday turns into Tuesday, here’s our last installment of Getting to Yes.

So, from my previous entries on how to get a book published, here’s what we can safely surmise:

1. It’s hard to get a publisher to look at unsolicited submissions.

2. It’s even harder to get a publisher to acquire (ie: buy) a manuscript.

Bearing these unalterable facts in mind, how do we work around these roadblocks? Here are a few time-proven suggestions for those of us without friends in the biz:

1. Make your manuscript as stellar as you can. Even if you think it’s perfect, even if you love it more than you can imagine, it can always be improved. Believe me, I’ve learned this one the hard way. I’ve revised some manuscripts so many times that they bear little resemblance to their original versions. Ultimately the final version was always improved, even if I couldn’t recognize it at the time. Time and distance go a long way toward sharpening critical facilities.

2. Once you get your book to that place where you don’t know what more you can do, run it past some readers. (I can write much more about the revision process, but for the sake of brevity…). Revise as needed. Only then is it time to research publishers.

3. Visit bookstores and see who’s publishing what. Go to independent book stores as well as the big chains, such as Barnes and Noble or Borders. Look in related books’ acknowledgments to see if the author has acknowledged their editor. Most do. Once you have a dozen or so publishers and editors on your list, then visit the publishers’ websites and see what else they’ve published. How would your book fit in? Have they published anything too similar recently? For additional information, I like to check out Publisher’s Weekly and other publishing sites, using their search function for an editor’s name. This is a great way to see what other books they’ve acquired, and where their interests lie.

4. Read the publishers’ submission policies. Follow them to the letter.

5. If your chosen publisher doesn’t accept unsolicited manuscripts — most don’t these days, though smaller publishers often do — you’ll need a literary agent. Follow step 3 again, this time looking to see if the author has acknowledged their literary agent in their book.

6. You can doublecheck your research with publisher and agent guides and websites. A caveat: Doublecheck on your doublecheck, since information may not be accurate or up-to-date. True example: When I worked at Dial Books, we frequently received submissions via Writer’s Market. How did we know? Writer’s Market misspelled the editor’s name — a sure giveaway. Again, I recommend the Literary Marketplace and Publisher’s Weekly for this.

7. The bottom line is that persistence is more often important than talent, though talent goes a long way. Alas, rejection is part of the game. Ultimately, it’s not personal. It’s information — information about your manuscript, information about what the publisher is acquiring these day. Use it.

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In closing, here are two more getting published stories from me, one which ends successfully, the other not-so-much.

Story one takes place early in my publishing career. I had put together a rather elaborate proposal for an illustrated anthology of opera stories. My publisher turned it down because they felt it had too limited a market, though they loved the idea. A fellow illustrator suggested I show it to an editor at a different house; this editor was known to love opera. Here came my second rejection: Reader, she hated my book. I was so discouraged that I filed the manuscript away until several years later. Now working with a new publisher, I mentioned my opera book idea. Nothing happened — that I was aware of, anyway. Two years later, I was perusing their catalog and noticed they had published a book on (yup!) opera stories. So that was that.*

Story two has a much happier ending. When I began to work on the proposal for Doomed Queens, I decided to design it with black and white illustrations. The reason: So the production costs wouldn’t be prohibitive. After so many years, I had learned from my past experiences selling The Lover’s Path and similar full color gift books. But I also thought that Doomed Queens‘ darker (heh) subject was better served by these production limitations. Could you imagine Charles Addams or Edward Gorey in full color?

Because Doomed Queens was a black and white book, my literary agent was able to submit it to a much wider market than she would usually — she didn’t have to limit herself to publishers who only specialized in full color printing. Within five days she had offers from five major houses, one of whom acquired it in a preemptive offer.

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* I don’t know if this was coincidence or not. Either way, intellectual property rights are notoriously slippery in these circumstances.

• Filed under publications, publishing, publishing 101, queens | 3 Responses

Publishing Monday: How to tell you’re *never* getting published

It’s a snow day here, so my blogging schedule has been shifted about. (In other words, my daughter didn’t have preschool today. Welcome to March!) So my final post on getting to yes will have to wait until next Monday.* In the meantime, here’s some inspiration — or not, as the case may be.

One of my new favorite publishing blogs is Editorial Anonymous. It’s written anonymously (get it?) by a children’s book editor. I’m not sure if the blogger is a man or woman, but for the sake of simplicity, let’s call Editorial Anonymous a woman.

Anyway, her posts are wickedly funny and harshly realistic — ie: not for the faint of heart or easily discouraged. So consider yourself warned. That written, there’s a lot of great insider information that I haven’t seen elsewhere. I devoured her archives in much of a single sitting. I’m not sure what that says about me — maybe that I’ve worked in publishing for too long? — especially since it’s rare for me to read a blog all the way through in this manner.

One of Editorial Anonymous’s blog categories is the bluntly titled “how to tell you’re never getting published.” In it, she writes about everything from slush piles to query letters from hell. It’s strangely addictive reading in a “there for the grace of god go I” manner. My personal favorite: the book proposal about magical spaghetti that was painted in tomato sauce. One recoils to think of the stench. Ugh.

Oh, and while you’re there, make sure to check out the sidebar which enumerates the strangest items Editorial Anonymous has received in the slush pile. Dental x-rays, anyone?

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* To make up for it, I’ll do my best to make next week’s post an extra good one. And, as always, feel free to post any questions you’d like me to address about getting to yes in the comments.

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The above photograph of Brooklyn under snow is © Anna Kucsma 2000. Distributed under Creative Commons attribution. This is similar to what it looked like this morning in my neighborhood. And, yes, many trees grow in Brooklyn.

• Filed under be-mused, blogs we read, publishing, publishing 101 | 3 Responses

Bookmaking and publishing workshops. (Or, William Morris would approve. I hope.)

When I first opened my little studio-gallery here in Brooklyn, I had an ideal. (Well, don’t we all?) I thought of William Morris and his ideals:

With the arrogance of youth, I determined to do no less than to transform the world with Beauty. If I have succeeded in some small way, if only in one small corner of the world, amongst the men and women I love, then I shall count myself blessed.”

Using these words as his true north, William Morris designed fabric, stained glass windows, furniture, houses, books and so much more — including a utopian vision of how humans can transform their world through their ideals. Anyone who’s spent any time with me knows how deeply Morris’s work has influenced my own as a bookmaker. I’ve long fantasized about having my own Red House and Kelmscott Press; to create publications of surpassing beauty and integrity.

As for my studio-gallery, I aim for my small corner of the world to be a haven for beauty and inspiration, albeit on a much smaller scale than what Morris accomplished. (I know what I’m doing here can’t possibly compare to his staggering achievements, but one has to have aspirations, right?) I’ve decorated Kris Waldherr Art and Words in the style of an arts and crafts atelier, complete even with Morris-upholstered cushions and drapes. So far, we’ve been open to the public for just over six months. During this period, we’ve held exhibitions, a political fundraiser, tarot salons, a children’s art workshop and hallowe’en party, a film festival. We’ve also drunk wine and absinthe, talked about art, writing, and politics, and done our best to encourage an active arts community. Most memorably, we’ve met many wonderful, warm, talented people whom we probably would not have crossed paths with otherwise.

And starting this spring, we move onto including bookmaking and publishing workshops, here in our studio-gallery in bucolic Victorian Brooklyn.

These workshops will be personally taught by me. One class will be for children. Two others are for adults, and utilizes my twenty-plus years of professional experience. We’re keeping class sizes small, so I can give each participant individualized attention. Learn more here.

It’s all part of our mission at Kris Waldherr Art and Words to create beauty. I hope William Morris would approve. And I hope to see some of you here!

• Filed under art and words, be-mused, creativity, events, publishing, publishing 101, studio and gallery | 3 Responses