Furthering My Education
On the recommendation of an author from a local writing group, I bought a copy of Jody Rein and Michael Larsen’s How to Write a Book Proposal.
I was mainly looking for guidance on how to create and format a synopsis, but as the woman seemed to feel this was an excellent book for a writer to have in her library, I took the leap.
The first few chapters didn’t yield what I was looking for, but did provide some interesting information about the various pieces of a full-on proposal to a traditional publisher or agent, so I read on. But when I came to the chapter on “Author Platform” I nearly threw the book at the wall, or would have had I not been reading it in Kindle Cloud Reader.
The authors state unequivocably that if you don’t have at least 25,000 followers, you won’t be taken seriously. OK, not in those words, but they view the lack as a show-stopper.
If the Point is To Discourage New Authors…
The first thing I did when I saw that was to pose the question to an Author’s group on Facebook where I found to my relief it was faulty information at best. In fact, at a recent conference the question was posed to a panel of agents who voiced my own concerns. If you haven’t published a book yet, how in the name of all that’s good and holy are you going to have a large number of followers? Essentially, Mr. Larsen and Ms. Rein are discouraging new authors from even attempting to enter the game until they’ve found a way to establish themselves as authors. Sounds rather “Catch 22 ” to me.
Of course, the authors do state, early on that there are a lot of opinions concerning what is acceptable and what isn’t, so I’m inclined to believe the 25,000 figure is just that; their opinion. Still, it did give me pause, and I admit, I’ve yet to pick the book up again and read the last 15 or so chapters which, admittedly might prove more helpful anyway. To be honest, I really haven’t considered pitching a traditional publisher at this point.
To Pitch, or Not to Pitch
Why not? You might ask. In part because I lack the confidence I’d need to, in the first place 
write a complete pitch; a manuscript in itself, and in part because, frankly, I’m not sure I’m willing to put in that much work knowing there will be rejections before I find someone willing to take a chance on me. At any rate, I’m still looking into two possibilities: self-publishing and hybrid publishing with a company I met at the Southern California Writers’ Conference last year.
Which brings me to why I bought the book in the first place. The hybrid publisher requires a 3-page synopsis. I have no idea how it’s supposed to be formatted, what it should include (aside from a couple of lines about each chapter) or even where to begin. I hoped this book would provide some guidelines so I could get off the dime and start writing.
It does have a chapter on memoirs towards the end, and it isn’t exactly heavy reading, so I haven’t given up hope I’ll find a useful nugget or two in my quest for clarity and direction.
No Lesson is Wasted
Every leap we take, every opportunity we follow teaches us something. Even the worst how-to books can teach us something, even if it’s what not to do. As I make my way through the latest in a long stream of books designed to teach me something, I try to keep an open mind, knowing the authors speak from their own experience. But times change, and though this is a revised edition, it may or may not include the most recent school of thought.
Still, some advice is timeless, else books like Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style might have died on the vine decades ago instead of being revised and re-released several times.
The digital age has changed the publishing industry, and authors ignore those changes at their own peril, but so do publishers and agents. We all need to be conscious of the impact on readily available material, attention spans of readers, and a million other factors introduced when so much became available at the touch of a few keys.
For now, I keep learning, and will try to share more of what I learn as I go along. If nothing else, it helps me clarify what I’m learning in my own mind. It also allows for input from people like you who have different experiences, and can provide insight I may have overlooked, or simply not encountered.
About the Author
Sheri Conaway is a writer, blogger, ghostwriter, and advocate for cats. Sheri believes in the Laws of Attraction, 
but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful and help entrepreneurs touch the souls of their readers and clients so they can increase their impact and their income. If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author. And check out her new group, Putting Your Whole Heart Forward.
Be sure to watch this space for news of the upcoming release of “Life Torn Asunder: Rebuilding After Suicide”.
