Below, weve collected 11 different agent pitch letters that actually worked for different kinds of nonfiction writers. I like one great sentence, but that doesnt always work. Get an agent interested before you write the proposal october 7, 2017 by lynette padwa lots of firsttime nonfiction authors are thrilled to learn they dont have to write an entire manuscript to acquire an agent and hopefully a publisher they just have to write a book proposal. How to write and sell the novel of true events, by peter rubie quill driver books, 2009 the proposal is a description of, and sample of a proposed book. When i entered the terry pratchett prize my covering letter included a logline generated using the killogator formula. Crafting the perfect nonfiction elevator pitch by leila campoli, literary agent, stonesong literary whether youre shopping around a personal memoir or a prescriptive guide, having the perfect pitch for your book is the most essential tool you have in crafting a wowworthy proposal. Dont start writing your book without first creating the structure.
Enabling third party cookies on your browser could help if you have trouble leaving a comment. Sounds too good to be true, but if the book is nonfiction, its in the realm of possibility. Using different author names or a pseudonym as a writer. How to write the perfect query letter query letter. How to write a nonfiction book proposal with template. The language should be lively, engaging and sophisticated. Her debut mystery, a borrowing of bones, was named one of library journals best debuts of fallwinter 20182019 and made drus book musings best books of the year. To craft a pitch, i suggest writing a draft of 75 words or so. Write a great elevator pitch for your book or novel.
If you write fiction, check out our collection of 23 fiction query letter. In fact, you can define an elevator pitch like this. Youre going to have to essentially sell them your book, sending them a document that contains details about your qualifications, a chapterbychapter outline, and most importantly, how your. Review the list and consider the common thread between these pitches. A book proposal argues why your book idea is a salable, marketable product. This weeks refresher friday takes an updated look at an old favorite writing a great pitch for your novel. You can find downloadable book proposal templates online.
And also how my manuscript is different than other travel books already on shelves. If your book pitch doesnt tick those boxes, your book is unlikely to sell. A book proposal is a document most commonly associated with pitching a nonfiction book. For example, the publishing platform reedsy includes detailed explanations of. The aim is to get them to read the book to get on to the next level. Ill give you three examples from my presentation and if i can get creative next week, ill try and grab examples from literary fiction and other genres. It makes your writing stand out before the publisher has read the first word, getting them excited about your novel. Write a great elevator pitch for your book or novel jericho. In such cases, the query really ends up being a cover letter and doesnt have to be labored over that much.
Ill provide a sample proposal and give you examples of what to do and what. Nonfiction book proposals can top out around 5075 pages, not including sample chapters. One line elevator pitch novel examples check out examples of pitches for successful books for a better idea of what makes a decent elevator pitch. Here are four write ups from the new york times bestseller list for november 2017, two fiction titles and two nonfiction titles. Tucker has sold over 5 million books as a 4x nyt bestselling author and is the cofounder of scribe.
It needs to be focused, accompanied by supporting materials, and. Search for a few strong words that capture the theme and conflict in your story or message and build from there. A pitch means several things the terminology is used interchangeably, so lets clarify what i mean first. Instead of writing the entire book, then trying to interest an editor or agent which is how it works with novels, you write the proposal first. Not bad, nothing wrong with it, but not much different than the copy.
A wellcrafted pitch tantalizes with a hook that sets the manuscript apart from the rest. At the san francisco writers conference, the rule used to be 25 words now its about 50 words. It should give publishers editors a fast, clear idea of what your story is broadly about. Shes also a writing teacher and author of the bestselling plot perfect, the writers guide to beginnings, writing with quiet hands, and the acclaimed memoir fixing freddie. How to write a darn good query letter ny book editors. Heres an example of an amazon book description of life after life by kate atkinson. Jul 23, 2015 here at writing forward, were primarily interested in three types of creative writing. Pitching a nonfiction novel is a lot like selling a business idea.
How to write a one sentence pitch nathan bransford. It includes information on the content, the author, the market, and the salability of the project. Jan 05, 2016 the appropriate length for a nonfiction query is somewhere between 1 and 1. If you know what your book is about and you know why someone should want to read your bookwhat benefits it will provide and why it is uniqueyou should be able to write something pithy in 50 words or less that describes your book perfectly. Heres what michael hyatt says in his guide writing a winning nonfiction book proposal. It may connect to the tone of the book, but dont write your pitch in the style of the book. We want to help you understand the perspective of literary agents, to show you what agents and publishers are looking for, and provide you with tips to make your book proposals and manuscript submissions stronger. Translate this 30second pitch to 150200 words or copythats your description.
An elevator pitch is the term given to any sales pitch that could, in theory, be delivered in the space of a short elevator ride. One of my biggest tips when teaching people how to pitch to literary agents is to avoid generalities. Read these successful query letters writers digest. Agents are looking for something more specific when it comes to nonfiction. The idea is that you might find yourself in the elevator with someone important who cant, for those twenty or thirty seconds, escape or deflect your attentions so you can use that time to deliver a sales pitch so utterly compelling that that person of. How to make your memoir stand out two agents and publishing veterans share insider tips for pitching in this popular genre. And no book succeeds unless its pitchable in that way.
Its what you say when someone asks whats your book about. Thats the basic skeleton, though each writer can and should give it their own flavour. She is the publisher of the hot sheet, the essential newsletter on the publishing industry for authors, and was named publishing commentator of the year by digital book world in 2019 in addition to being a columnist for publishers weekly. See logline examples for dozens more example loglines, from movies, novels, comics and games. One of my biggest tips when teaching people how to pitch is to avoid generalities.
One of the easiest ways to learn what makes a good, standard query letter is simply to see an example of one that does its job well. If you start writing without a good outline template, the process will take forever and your book. This allimportant two or threesentence summary of your writing project has a dual purpose. Actually, its rude to go over one page in a query letter, not to mention unprofessional. Pitching a nonfiction book to agents or editors takes less than 30 seconds. In this paragraph of your query letter, write a pitch for your book. These 12 steps will help you generate excitement in as few words as. A pitch paragraph is the entire description of the novel and the bulk of your query. It quickly and efficiently shows people that youre a player, not a dreamer.
How to write a book proposal includes plenty of examples and a book proposal template you can follow. Pitch paragraphs can either focus on one of these elements to make it strong or a combination. Oct 26, 2012 writing a pitch shouldnt be too difficult after going through the steps ive outlined previously. If you understand these two things, the book proposal format makes perfect. Its really not something that is going to sink or float your book. To get started writing your books description, try these 4 easy steps for nonfiction book descriptions. So you want to write a nonfiction book the washington post. Building the pitch paragraph part one nelson literary agency. Writing a killer logline using the killogator logline formula. You might also tie the topic of your book into a statistic that proves the market for your book.
Submitting an already written nonfiction book as a proposal is a great way to. But i found my pitch worked best when i touched on why i took the trip, what motivated me to go to africa. Crafting the perfect nonfiction elevator pitch the official. How to craft a books pitch i was in the ad biz back in the postmad men days and rather than quaffing martinis and playing office politics, we spent a lot of time focusing on the promise of a product. Ive written and published four works of nonfiction and have been involved as a ghost or behindthescenes editor on a couple of other things too. Agent query letters that actually worked for nonfiction. How to write a winning book pitch write nonfiction now. How to outline a nonfiction book with free template. How to write a nonfiction book proposal with examples. A notsogood pitch, well, they may tune out the rest of what you have to say even if you have a great idea for a book. What i recommend strongly, and this is something you wont always hear when it comes to pitching, is to make your pitch character driven in the same way your book will be. The guaranteed way to get your screenplay or novel read, covers all types of pitching, but primarily deals with what i term the 60second pitch sometimes known as the telephone pitch, or the elevator pitch, or the pitch fest pitch. Mg and crossover ya, highconcept sff, and nonfiction. Pitch it if you had 30 seconds to explain to readers why they would enjoy your nook book, what would you say.
The premise is a two or threesentence statement of the books basic concept or thesis. Youll also have to include a full sample chapter, which is a. How to pitch your nonfiction manuscript like a pro ny book editors. If you can send the book proposal along with the query, you should.
One simple way to sharpen your pitch writers digest. A guide to writing creative nonfiction writing forward. Write a twoparagraph summary when pitching agents your book, you dont have time to cover every plot twist and character. Writers need to get across to the reader the promise of what reading their book will deliver on. You might be able to do this simply by using the first paragraph of your book, if you have accomplished this same feat in the manuscript. So whats the best plan of attack to creating a pitch. An awardwinning writer, allen is the author of eight books, including starting your career as a freelance writer, the writers guide to queries, pitches and proposals, and writing to. Proposals have an overview about the book and author, an outline, and sample text, usually about ten. Writing the perfect conclusion for your nonfiction book. How to write a book proposal that agents will love jericho writers. Creating an irresistible elevator pitch for your novel. This bears little to no relation to a nonfiction book proposal.
How not to write a darn good query letterdont go beyond one page. Instead of writing the entire book, then trying to interest an editor or agent which. An elevator pitch for a novel is a very short summary of what makes the book. Moira allen is the editor of writing, and has written nearly 400 articles, serving as a columnist and regular contributor for such publications as the writer, entrepreneur, writers digest, and byline. Most nonfiction is sold via a book proposal a structured outline of the book you. When it comes to fiction, few agents or editors expect or require book. For nonfiction writers, your premise is a two to threesentence summary of the main argument or narrative of the book. Sep 29, 2017 shes also a writing teacher and author of the bestselling plot perfect, the writers guide to beginnings, writing with quiet hands, and the acclaimed memoir fixing freddie.
The truth is the nonfiction book proposal is an entirely different beast. I dont want to oversell the importance of a one sentence pitch. Holy crap, im having gradeschool playground flashbacks. The tips below will help you craft a better proposal.
In your book, you can add layers of backstory and extra pages to let your full story flow. How to finally write your nonfiction book the new york times. Nina also is an award winning blogger and journalist, international speaker and founder of national nonfiction writing month, also known as the write nonfiction in november challenge, and the nonfiction writers university. Because a generality could mean anything, it fails to draw us in to the story because its not clear what youre getting at. Can you secure a book deal before you even finish writing the book.
If you write fiction or narrative nonfiction, a query letter is your first and often, your only chance to get an agent interested in. Book proposals are used to sell nonfiction books to publishers. Loglines and pitches how to reduce your book to a sentence. Its primarily a sales and marketing tool for you, and for your book. It acts as a business case or business plan for your book that persuades a publisher to make an investment. If youre ever wondering about what constitutes a generality in a pitch, look no further than this example. Oct 19, 2012 the pitch is not far from something like, theres a good guy. In a query letter, you basically have four tiny paragraphs to say pick me.
I offer a selfstudy course on nonfiction book proposals. Knowing how to write a book proposal or pitch is crucial for hooking publishers interest. In brief no pun intended, a logline is a one or twosentence summary of your book s plot. Your book outline is the structure of your book, and thus incredibly important. A good pitch is not going to mean your book gets published and a bad pitch doesnt mean your book wont get published. This part is optional, as a good overview and sample chapters will help convey the same point. Conquer the nerves nervous though you may be, dont tell the agent, im so nervous. Check out examples of pitches for successful books for a better idea of what makes a decent elevator pitch. Aug 17, 2012 one way to start writing your hook is to jot down some sentences about the main plot or topic of your book and the main characters fiction or people and ideas nonfiction. If youre just starting to outline your nonfiction book or arent sure how your novel will end, save the pitch until you know what youre pitching.
How to pitch a literary agent in 5 easy steps tomi. Here are four writeups from the new york times bestseller list for november 2017, two fiction titles and two nonfiction titles. The elevator pitch is a summary of what it is about your book, and about you, that means your book will sell. The appropriate length for a nonfiction query is somewhere between 1 and 1. How to pitch agents at a writers conference jane friedman. When novel writers talk about pitching, it usually means a verbal, oneonone with a publisher or agent where your novel. Mar 07, 2018 loglines, i discovered, were a way of pitching movie ideas when a filmmaker only has a minute or less to pitch an idea to a producer. So if youre preparing your pitch and want to know what worked for me, keep reading and find out how to craft pitches that make agents request your book. Darkly comic, startlingly poignant, and utterly originalthis is kate atkinson at her absolute best.
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