Tag: book proposal

Meet Cristen Iris, Developmental Editor

Posted on by Sue L Canfield
This entry is part 10 of 11 in the series Book Industry Experts

This is the first in my 2021 series of book industry experts that will include editors, ghostwriters, book coaches, and other experts in the book industry. Cristen and I first connected a few years back when we both worked with the Nonfiction Authors Association.

Tell us a little bit about your business.Cristen Iris headshot 2

I’m a developmental and substantive editor and book proposal consult who loves developing long-term professional relationships with my clients and other publishing industry pros. I predominately work on nonfiction projects written by experts but am keen to work on well-crafted fiction with a literary bend.

Memoir with its nonfiction base and fiction-like narrative style is one of my favorite things to work on, but I jump at the opportunity to work on anything even remotely related to medical anthropology, sociology, sports, entertainment, or business.

My clients include a New York Times bestselling debut novelist, a GRAMMY Award ® winner, attorneys, researchers and medical doctors, competitive athletes, advocates and activists, and an international entertainment entrepreneur. I’m delighted to have worked with Linda K. Olson (triple-amputee, retired MD, and Parkinson’s advocate) on her recently released memoir, Gone: A Memoir of Love, Body, and Taking Back My Life, listed by Parade Magazine as one of the 24 best memoirs to read in 2020.

I love helping clients develop their writing craft and market acumen, so they can share important information and tell meaningful stories that attract the attention of literary agents, publishers, and readers. What I love most about what I do is the ability to partner with others to do work that has the potential to change lives and shape culture.

How would you describe your ideal client?

My favorite clients are Type As with a sense of humor, the type that are serious about the work but don’t take themselves too seriously. I also prefer working with clients who are multi-book authors and aspire to be traditionally published or published by a publisher that exercises editorial discretion. I also like working with authors who choose to indie-publish for strategic reasons.

Authors who are looking for a one-time, do-this-and-I’ll-pay-you-and-leave aren’t a good fit. The most fulfilling relationships for me are dynamic, collaborative, and strategic because they’re the most fun and get the best results.

How did things change for you in 2020 and how did you manage to weather through the year during the pandemic?

My pandemic year started the first week of January with the sudden death of my 42-year-old friend and brother-in-law. Another relative died suddenly in February, and in March, another one of my young relatives was hospitalized with COVID-19 and according to his doctor, “could have gone either way.”

By April, clients who’d booked large, multi-month projects had put their projects on hold or were moving at a snail’s pace due to interruptions in their lives and concerns about cash flow. The dip was brief. Within a few weeks, emails started flowing in. Lockdowns and layoffs allowed many aspiring authors to focus on their books. I haven’t done the math, but I’m sure I’ve done more projects this year than any other. Having said that, my income compared to last year is down because pricing and timelines got all out of whack early on, and I’ve done more lower-fee projects than high-dollar ones.

On the business side, I have to say that it’s been a great year. The pandemic exacerbated a project management and cash flow frustration I’ve had for several years and was the push I needed to eliminate the service related to it and start offering an hourly consulting rate service that’s been a surprising hit.

If I had to boil the change and the benefits that followed down into two words they would be “focus” and “efficiency.”

On the personal side, I’ve become more aware of how important my husband, sister, and children are to me. That’s given me perspective and a sense of belonging that I haven’t experienced in a while.

What is your favorite tip for using social media?

Well, first I want to encourage you to consider any tips I offer with a degree of skepticism because unless you’re an editor who works with clients like mine and share my goals, this is likely bad advice. But if you see yourself in anything I’ve said about myself, my tip regarding social media is to get off it as soon as possible.

Perhaps a better tip is to consider whether your ideal clients are hanging out on your favorite social media platform and if they go to that platform when looking to hire someone like you. Social media is a time suck. Each of us only have 24 hours in the day. If we want to succeed, we must keep customer conversion expenses low. Time and energy, like money, is limited.

I’m also an introvert (not shy, an introvert). Social media wears me out. My energy is best applied elsewhere. But when I started my business, I spent a lot of time on social media because that’s where authors who were willing to take a chance on a new editor hung out.

So, my tip is to remember that marketing isn’t a one-size-fits all deal. Marketing fiction requires a different approach than nonfiction and both require strategies that keep the ideal reader’s needs and habits top of mind. If you can afford to, hire an experienced consultant who knows your genre and understands your personality and goals and can help you develop a customized social media strategy that gets results. Sue has been doing this a long time and as an author herself can speak directly to what works and doesn’t. I’d start by talking to her.

What are your goals for 2021?

My goals for 2021 are the same as they are every year and are more strategic than specific, which allows me to take advantages of changes in the market and opportunities that always surprise me. In general, they are:

  • develop more high-value industry relationships;
  • stay connected to clients by celebrating their wins and promoting them whenever possible;
  • submit more of my own writing to literary magazines;
  • become even more effective and efficient, so I can serve more clients;
  • and get more outdoor time by taking walking breaks each weekday and hiking, biking, paddle boarding, and snowshoeing with family and friends on weekends.

Where can authors find you?

The best place to find me is at cristeniris.com.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

I’d just like to encourage anyone who feels beaten down, inept, and bone tired. I feel that way most days, especially when I feel forced to choose between answering emails that keep piling up and doing the actual work.

Running a sustainable and growing business is hard. We must keep all the plates spinning at least fast enough to keep them balanced on the pointy sticks they sit on.

It’s o’dark thirty, and I’m sitting in my bathrobe looking like a two-year-old that nobody’s bothered to hose down lately. It’s easy to feel like we’re doing something wrong, like we have little in common with those real professionals we admire.

But never mind Instagram, photoshopped headshots, and holiday everything-is-wonderful newsletters. That’s all fluff. The meaningful work is ugly work, but it’s the only work worth doing and the stuff that produces results that prove to ourselves and others that we’re competent and resilient.

May your 2020 failures and triumphs propel you into 2021 and may it be your best year yet!

Bio

Cristen Iris is a craft-focused, results-oriented developmental and substantive editor and book proposal consultant. Her clients include a New York Times bestselling debut novelist, a GRAMMY Award ® winner, attorneys, researchers and medical doctors, competitive athletes, advocates and activists, and an international entertainment entrepreneur. Recently, Parade Magazine listed client and triple-amputee Linda K. Olson’s book as one of the 24 best memoirs to read in 2020. Cristen’s personal essays and business columns have been published by, among others, IDAHO magazine, Idaho Business Review, Unbound Northwest, and on the Nonfiction Authors Association blog. When her nose isn’t stuck in a book or her fingers glued to a keyboard, Cristen and her feet can be found anywhere there’s dirt, trees, or water.

Literary Agent Jennifer Chen Tran Answers My Questions

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

Jennifer Chen TranLiterary agent Jennifer Chen Tran graciously answered my questions. Thank you Jen! These questions were asked with the nonfiction author in mind. However, I let her know that if she had information that might differ for a fiction author, I’d love to know that as well.

What is the first step an author needs to take to find a literary agent? There’s not one right way to find a literary agent, different methods work for different people. Publications like Writer’s Digest Guide to Literary Agents or Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors and Literary Agents, are good resources to start with and they are updated annually. There’s also agent spotlights in various trade publications. I also suggest talking to other writers you know or looking at the Acknowledgements section of books you enjoy reading. Take notes. Read the agent’s bio and get a sense of the authors she or he represents. This will help you narrow down the right agents for you.

Does an author need a literary agent in order to get a traditional publisher? Yes, if you are talking about the Big Five publishers. Editors and publishers need literary agents to be the initial gatekeepers since there is so much volume in the literary world. We sift and sort through the bad so that the editors can see what’s good or better than good. Unless you have a direct relationship with an editor or are super famous (read: celebrity), it’s difficult to get a book deal with the Book Five. On the other hand, if the publisher is independent or medium-sized, you may or may not need a literary agent to get a traditional deal. It depends on many factors such as whether you are a debut author, the type of book you are writing (fiction vs. non-fiction), etc.

Does a literary agent expect the author to already have in place the following: website, blog, social media presence on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn? For non-fiction I would say it’s more important than ever to have a social media presence. At a minimum, you should have a website and/ or blog and some social media presence, whether it’s on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. In my humble opinion, it’s better to have a website than nothing at all but try to use your name as part of the website name. Also, more is not always better. If you are terrible at Twitter for instance, don’t force yourself to do it ‘just because,’ but do try to stay open-minded about social media and see it from the publisher’s perspective–who wouldn’t want to buy a book from an author with a built-in audience? Social media is just one way to measure potential audience engagement but it’s becoming very important, especially to secure non-fiction deals.

How often should an author blog? I think an author should blog at least twice a month. That seems to be a solid number that is realistic and won’t subject readers to attention fatigue.

Is a larger social media following (i.e. many followers on Twitter) a factor in whether a literary agent or publisher accepts an author’s manuscript over another author who may have a smaller social media following? I don’t think social media would be the deciding factor, at least for me. I look at the whole picture–the book has to be compelling, the author has to be professional and work well with agent feedback, and yes, they do have to have a social media following of some sort but many of my authors have less established platforms when I sign them and we work together to achieve the most realistic social media numbers in a certain amount of time before pitching to publishers. So no, I don’t use social media as a tie-breaker but it is important. As for publishers, you will have to ask them, but I do know that they take social media seriously and that often that is the weakest link in a proposal–sometimes the social media numbers just aren’t high enough to warrant a deal for a particular book–there are always exceptions though.

Is a book proposal necessary to get a literary agent? A publisher? Does a fiction author need a book proposal? At this point in my career, I will not offer representation for a non-fiction author if the author doesn’t have some semblance of a book proposal. The proposal doesn’t need to be perfect but the author does need to show substantial effort and a solid understanding of who the audience is for his or her book and what the competitive books are. That gives me a really good sense of whether the author ‘gets’ why the book is needed and also how to market it. I believe the same is required of most, if not all publishers of non-fiction–if you don’t know how to market your own book, how can you expect the publisher to do all the heavy lifting? Fiction is sold on the strength of the manuscript, not a proposal, so no, for fiction a book proposal is not needed.

Does a book proposal need to have a section about social media marketing? Yes, absolutely. Ignore at your own peril.

Does a literary agent and a traditional publisher do marketing for the author? I’ve been told, “Most agents don’t care whether you have a website, a blog or a social media platform”. I think any literary agent that is invested in his or her author’s career would be willing to brainstorm marketing and promotion ideas. But the more you bring to the table as an author, the better. In my view, publishing and publishing well requires you to have a big picture mentality and that includes marketing! Marketing doesn’t always have to be expensive to produce results but you do need to be strategic and not put all your eggs in one basket. Remember, agents work on commission–our job is to get you the best deal for your investment but we do not and should not have to originate all of your marketing ideas. Remember, this is your book, why wouldn’t you want to use all the tools available to market your book successively and get the word out?

The more successful authors are those that take an active role in promotion and marketing, not those who passively expect the agent and/ or editor and publisher to do everything for them. While it’s true that publishers do help with marketing and promotion, some of the best ideas again, come from the author. Publishers are relying more and more on authors to have original ideas regarding marketing and promotion–they will help you build a plan based on the foundation you have provided. And I heartily disagree with whomever said that agents don’t care whether you have a website, blog, etc.–even for fiction, you need to build your author brand and presence, and that includes being on the internet! If I can’t find an author online, whether for fiction or non-fiction, I really hesitate, as an agent. So the short of it is that the answer is somewhere in between: you can’t do nothing but you aren’t expected to do everything if you have the right partnership with the right publisher.

Jennifer Chen Tran
Literary Agent
Bradford Literary 
@jenchentran

Your Book Proposal and Book Marketing

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

Your Book Proposal and Book MarketingReady to send your book proposal to a publisher? They are more likely to take notice of your proposal if it includes a strong Book Marketing section. This section should be the biggest part of your proposal and detail your ongoing book marketing efforts. As an example of what to include in a book proposal, here’s one author’s book proposal contents.

Contents of a Book Proposal

  • Overview
  • About the Author
  • Target Market
  • Marketing and Book Promotion
  • Competitive and Complementary Books
  • Contents of the Book
  • Chapter Summaries
  • Sample Chapters

This author’s Marketing and Book Promotion section is 10 pages long with several specific sections.

Marketing and Book Promotion

  • Introductory paragraph
  • Networking
  • Global Vision
  • Social Media
  • Public Relations
  • Outreach
  • Specialty Venues
  • Presentations

Social Media Section

The social media section of this nonfiction author’s book proposal includes reference to his website and blog and the purpose of his website. He states, “It serves as a platform to support the author’s brand. It is updated regularly to keep it fresh and interesting.”

This section also includes a chart showing quarterly numbers for website page views, Twitter followers, Facebook Page fans, Facebook page reach, Facebook page engagement, Instagram followers, and LinkedIn Pulse followers. He provides percentages of increase for each social media platform for the past year. He also details the LinkedIn groups in which he is active.

A screenshot of the results of a Facebook promotion are included at the suggestion of a publicist. This particular promotion was done of a blog post that is a book excerpt to show a publisher that the book is already garnering interest.

Need help getting your social media platforms optimized so a publisher takes notice of your book proposal? Sign up for our Peace of Mind Social Media Audit & Consultation.

Publicist Joanne McCall on Literary Agents & Social Media

Posted on by Sue L Canfield

A great conversation ensued on a LinkedIn group when I posted on the topic of what literary agents expect from authors using social media based on what I wrote in a previous blog post.

There were over 40 comments on the post in the LinkedIn group. Many authors were not very happy that I said literary agents expect authors to have a solid social media presence if they wanted to get noticed.

  • If an author must do their own marketing, why should we pay a literary agent? Isn’t it their job to market the book?
  • If an author needs to have their own marketing plan, what will the agent do for me? Isn’t marketing supposed to be done by the traditional publisher?
  • Most agents don’t care whether you have a website, a blog or a social media platform . . . because publishers have their own marketing departments.

There were many comments also from authors who do understand the need to have a solid social media presence.

  • If you want your book to shine above the rest, you need to put in the hours and do the leg work. The good news is social media is basically free. It just takes time & persistence. 
  • There are over 4,500,000 titles on Amazon. To get your book noticed, it must be excellent and have excellent marketing and promotion backing it along with social media marketing skills. This does not guarantee book sales, but it helps.
  • Agents need to have a strong pitch to publishers. Publishers spend little to promote books and authors unless it’s expected to be a best seller. The author needs to show they can fill in the gap with social media and promotions.

I read an article by Jane Friedman (she has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry) where she states, “The most common problem leading to rejection: no author platform.” She goes on to say, “An agent or editor is going to evaluate your visibility in the market, and will want to know the following:

  • The stats and analytics behind your online following, including all websites, blogs, social media accounts, e-mail newsletters, regular online writing gigs, podcasts, videos, etc.
  • Your offline following—speaking engagements, events, classes/teaching, city/regional presence, professional organization leadership roles and memberships, etc.
  • Your presence in traditional media (regular gigs, features, any coverage you’ve received, etc.)
  • Your network strength—reach to influencers or thought leaders, a prominent position at a major organization or business
  • Sales of past books or self-published works

Joanne McCall, publicist to literary agentsAll of this inspired me to reach out to Joanne McCall, who represents a group of New York literary agents. We had an extensive phone conversation on this topic. I asked these questions with the nonfiction author in mind and asked her if she had information that might differ for a fiction author to please share it. Joanne reminded me that all the information she provided is valid at this point in time. Things are always changing.

What is the first step an author needs to take to find a literary agent?

Joanne explained that it’s really a two-step process. First, before looking for the agent, start building your platform: social media and blogging, if it makes sense to have a blog for your book. Second, approach literary agents who deal in your genre. Some specialize in fiction versus nonfiction. Others might even just specialize in business books or health and wellness books. Do your research and find out exactly what each agent wants from you when you approach them. Joanne recommends Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors and Literary Agents.

You’ll be sending a query letter to an agent and Joanne says, yes, you will get noticed more if you mention your marketing plan, including your social media plan, in your query letter. Most literary agents will look at your social media platforms even before they respond to your letter. Your query letter is sort of a short book proposal and this applies both to fiction and nonfiction. The difference is that with fiction your book is already written. With nonfiction, your book may not be completed. You may only have sample chapters or a Table of Contents when you send out your query letter.

Does an author need a literary agent to get a traditional publisher?

Joanne said it is possible to get a publisher without an agent, but not many do that. It’s better to have an agent since they have industry contacts and know what to look for. An agent can help you write a proposal that gets noticed. They also understand contracts and rights. If you don’t get a literary agent, she suggests you at least hire a lawyer who deals with literary contracts so you don’t give away things such as ebook rights. This applies to both fiction and nonfiction authors. For fiction authors to get media attention, most of your focus needs to be on reviews, unless you have a really strong nonfiction angle.

Does a literary agent expect the author to already have in place the following: website, blog, social media presence on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn?

Their job is not to get you on social media Joanne says. It already needs to be in place. Too many other authors are already embracing all of this and if you don’t, your book may not get noticed. There may be an exception. An agent might be willing to start without all of that if they really love your topic, for example, but as a general rule, they will reply to authors who already have those things in place versus ignoring those who don’t. This applies to both fiction and nonfiction authors.

The literary agent’s job is NOT to market your book. Their job is to find a publisher. 

Publishers will be looking at your social media platforms and numbers and these things need to be included in your book proposal. That doesn’t mean you have to be everywhere on social media. Joanne and I agree that you need to be where your market is and then go deep. Pick just one or two social media platforms and then really engage. Pick something you like. The main thing is to be consistent. Joanne says video can be very important. But if you hate it, then trying to force yourself to do it means you’ll probably not come across well and you will resent it.

How often should an author blog? Are book excerpts good blogs?

Joanne advises authors to be consistent. If you can blog three times a week, great. If not, then at least blog once a week – consistently. Don’t do it and then skip a couple of weeks.

Book excerpts can be good blog posts, particularly if you can show it causes engagement. This will show publishers that there’s already interest in your book.

Is a larger social media following a factor in whether a literary agent or publisher accepts an author’s manuscript over another?

It used to be the norm that bigger numbers won. Since some authors are buying likes and followers, this doesn’t apply as much. Now they are looking more at engagement. Do your posts and messages engage people? Are they sharing your posts and commenting?

Joanne advises authors not to be too self-focused. Reframe your messages to show how others can benefit from what you are sharing. Don’t be afraid of sharing your competitor’s messages as well. She calls competitors “niche-mates”.

Is a book proposal necessary to get a literary agent?

No, but a query letter is necessary to find literary agents, and it should include some information on how you plan to market your book.

Is a book proposal necessary to get a publisher?

Yes, particularly for nonfiction authors. Even fiction authors should consider writing a book proposal to help define their target market, know what the competition is, help determine what you need to write, and to plan your marketing and book promotion.

Does a book proposal need to have a section about social media marketing?

Yes. According to Joanne the marketing section is the biggest part of the book proposal – both in its importance and in the number of pages it takes. The marketing section shows the publisher how you’re going to help sell your book. Are you going to speak, do webinars, hire a publicist and a social media expert to amplify your efforts? An agent and publisher may have a catalog of books and may include your book in it. Publishers may market your book on various media outlets and on their website. But most of their marketing dollars will be spent on books that are expected to do the best. You can help them see your book will sell by showing them what your marketing efforts will include. 

Joanne McCall is a media insider, veteran publicist, and adventure athlete who knows how to capture the attention of national, regional and local media for authors. On a first-name basis with hundreds of top-rung producers, editors, writers, and journalists, she secures coverage for clients including Brian Tracy, Ken Blanchard, Dave Ramsey, Geneen Roth, Andrea Lee, The Deepak Chopra Center for Wellbeing, and the founder of NLP, Dr. Richard Bandler. Her Media Strategy Sessions helps those on a budget to learn how to become a Media Darling.

Your Social Media: What to Include in Your Book Proposal

Posted on by Sue L Canfield
Today we’re delighted to share a guest post from editor, proofreader, writer, and writing coach Candace Johnson.

You have a unique idea for a nonfiction book, and you’re writing a compelling proposal that you’re certain will knock the socks off an agent and then a publisher. And then you get to the part where you illustrate author platform, including your social media footprint.

Your Platform as a Nonfiction Author

If you’re confused about what you should include in your proposal to illustrate your platform, you’re not alone.

… more … “Your Social Media: What to Include in Your Book Proposal”