This week, we are pleased to welcome Mary E. DeMuth as our guest judge and guest blogger.
Mary helps people to turn their trials into triumphs. An expert in Pioneer Parenting, Mary enables Christian parents to navigate our changing culture when their families left no good faith examples to follow. Her parenting books include Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture (Harvest House, 2007), Building the Christian Family You Never Had (WaterBrook, 2006), and Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God (Harvest House, 2005). Mary also inspires people to face their trials through her real-to-life novels, including Watching the Tree Limbs (nominated for a Christy Award) and Wishing on Dandelions (NavPress, 2006).
A pioneer parent herself, Mary and her husband, Patrick, reside in Texas with their three children. They recently returned from breaking new spiritual ground in Southern France, where they planted a church.
Mary has created a new product to help us writers, and I asked if she'd share some of it with us. She also offered to give one away as our prize this week! Read the details below.
Are you ready to write a nonfiction proposal
that grabs attention?
by Mary DeMuth
First things first: You need to know a few things before you start.
1) Know your passion. I’ve alluded to this earlier. A good book proposal emerges from a passionate idea. Examine yourself. Think about the topics you get passionate about when you talk to folks. Talk to others who know you well. Share your book idea and see if they catch your passion for it. It’s a huge undertaking to write a proposal, so be sure you have the passion to carry an entire book.
2) Know your book. What genre is your book? Where it would be shelved in a bookstore? How well do you know what the book will be about? Do you have access to good research, great interviews? How unique is your book? Will a pub board find it unique?
3) Know your immediate audience. The first audience of your proposal is actually the agent or publisher you’re querying. Find out everything you can about the agent or publisher. Do they specialize in the genre you’re writing? Do they take new authors? How many? Have you attended a writer’s conference and spoken directly to the editor or agent? What kinds of books are they looking for? Purchasing a market guide is a great first step. Analyzing books already represented or published is another great step. (If an agent already represents three mom authors, chances are he/she won’t want to take on another mom author.)
4) Know the bookselling industry. Do you know what is selling in the industry? What has oversold? What trends are up and coming? Go to bookstores and walk the aisles, sign up for newsletters and updates from the publishing industry, go to conferences, talk to booksellers. It’s absolutely imperative that you know what you’re getting into before you embark on this journey.
5) Know yourself. Writing a proposal is the first step in a very long journey. Do you have what it takes to count the cost of bringing a book to fruition? Can you take constructive criticism? Do you have the time it takes to not only write the book, but to edit it in a timely manner and promote it when it releases? Do you have a critique group to support and help you through the process? Author Jan Winebrenner says publishing a book “is like giving birth to an elephant—only more painful.” Are you ready for that?
Excerpted from Nonfiction Book Proposals that Grab and Editor or an Agent by the Throat (in a good way!) by Mary E. DeMuth.
Or, you can win one this week, with our contest.
Since Mary writes a variety of genres, and a variety of topics, AND she is also a talented photographer, our contest this week is WIDE OPEN. Submit any type of writing (short story, article, essay, letter, poem - your choice) or photography for your chance to win Mary's designation of BEST OF THE BEST! Just limit your written portion to 2000 words or less, and your photographic submissions to no more than 4 photos per entry.
Email your entries to me at tracyruckman @ gmail. com by Friday, December 14th for your chance to win! I'll post the entries as they arrive and Mary will judge them over the weekend. The winning entry, announced on Monday, December 17th, will receive a free copy of Mary's download, and all the regular promo perks.
You can learn more about Mary DeMuth at:
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