I interviewed a publisher and an agent for the February issue of the SPAWN Market Update. Don’t you love to know what publishers and agents are thinking—what they want—what sort of author they want to work with—how they want you to approach them, etc.?
Well, if you hope to publish your book, you’d better be interested in how agents and publishers think, how they make their decisions, what sort of projects they are seeking and why.
Several of the agents I researched, before making contact with a few, indicated in their listings which writers’ conferences they attend. I questioned a few agents about this practice of attending writers’ conferences.
Of course, those of you who frequent this blog site know that I recommend conferences to authors in search of an agent or publisher. And agents are telling me how important these conferences are to them. They actually do sometimes find that gem of a project at writers’ conferences. It really is worth going with your excellent project, but only if you are fully prepared.
One thing an agent told me was how important it is for attendees who have scheduled a meeting with an agent to know how to talk briefly about their project in some sort of meaningful way. She said that she doesn’t want a blow-by-blow description of the story, just the essence of it.
Last week I read Goldilocks and The Three Bears to a 3-year-old. It occurs to me that one should take into account this story before approaching an agent. You don’t want to inundate her with too much information and material. You don’t want to give too little. You must offer just the right amount. Go on and on with your story or the premise of your nonfiction book and you will miss the opportunity to listen. If you oversell your book, you very well may lose your opportunity. If you state simply, “It’s a nonfiction book about dogs,” or “It’s a mystery,” well, that’s not nearly enough information, is it? Is the dog book a how-to, self-help, informational, reference, book of true stories or what? Is the mystery true, paranormal, graphic, chic lit, young adult or ?
While preparing your spiel for the agent, practice capturing the very essence of your book.
I often give you homework assignments. If you are working on a book, here’s what I want you to do this week: Come up with a succinct sentence (or two) that describes your book. Share the sentence with me and let’s discuss it. This isn’t exactly what you would be presenting to an agent, but it is a starting place. This exercise is for you—to help you to put your book in a nutshell. You can work from there to capture the essence of it to share with an agent.
For more about how to meet, approach and work with an agent or publisher, how to determine which publishing option is best for you and your project, how to establish a platform that will help you to sell more books and so much more, read The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html
My online Book Proposal course starts tomorrow. Contact me: PLFry620@yahoo.com for more information.