What do you have to show potential publishers? What is your special kind of leverage when you are approaching a publisher with your book project? Do you have a dynamite book proposal? What are the most valuable aspects of your proposal?
Have you ever thought of adding book reviews—getting your book reviewed before it is a book?
We often collect testimonials from professionals within the topic of our books to include in our proposals. But have you considered soliciting actual reviews to help sell your manuscript to an agent or publisher? Here are some ideas:
• Contact experts and professionals in your field (the topic of the book) and ask if they would read your complete manuscript and write a 100-500-word review.
• Ask a few individuals from your perceived audience if they would read the book and comment.
• Offer guidelines for the expert and other readers to follow in writing the review—a list of questions, for example. I suggest this because not everyone is comfortable when confronted with the task of writing a book review.
• If you would like to include five reviews from experts, professionals and end users, solicit a dozen or more. Not everyone will respond.
It is possible that there will be some slightly negative feedback or some suggestions you will want to incorporate into your book before sending it off to a publisher. I finished my revision for my publisher this week—but someone brought up a question yesterday on a topic I want to include in the book. So I’m back at the drawing board. My deadline is more than a month away, but I will finalize the book within the next few days and send it in early.
Have any of you added reviews from professionals and/or end users with your book proposals? What were the results?
Looking For a Book
Are any of you familiar with “Start Your Own Self-Publishing Business” by Entrepreneur Magazine? I heard yesterday that there is an extensive interview with me in this book. I would be curious to see it and also to review the book for SPAWNews. I found the book on Amazon.com, but I would like to contact the publisher and get a review copy. So far, my search keeps dead-ending. Do any of you have an idea about how I can obtain a review copy of this book? PLFry620@yahoo.com.