Turn the Page Blog
Thoughts, Musings & Advice on All Things Writing
The point of the Competitive Analysis is to show agents and editors that you are savvy, and to illustrate that there is already a market for a book like yours – and then illustrate for them why your book deserves a spot on bookstore shelves. There is a good chance that you are already pretty familiar with other successful books in your genre/subject area.
Much like the Overview, the Author’s Bio is pretty self-explanatory. This is where you tell the reader (the literary agent/editor) all about you. However, it is important that the information and qualifications you share relate to your expertise as an expert on your book’s subject matter and/or as an author. (With an emphasis on the former). It doesn’t matter if you are an award-winning gardener, unless you are writing a gardening book.
So, really quickly, what is a book proposal? A book proposal is essentially the sales plan for your book – it serves to answer the questions of agents and editors before they ask them. It tells them what your book is about, why you’re the one to write it, and who is actually going to go out and purchase this book. Publishers want to invest in books, but they want to invest in authors, too, and they want to know that they will be making back their investment. (And agents want to know that the clients they are pitching are actually going to sell.)
Are you new to the world of book publishing? When you first start out, it can seem like a complicated – even overwhelming – world to navigate through. Who are the decision makers and gatekeepers? What do they do, and how can they do to help you and your book? Let’s talk about the traditional publishing journey.
Back in the olden days, there was really only one way to publish – with one of the big, traditional publishers. If you wanted to be an “author,” you needed a New York-based editor to make you one – and you could only buy books from bookstores? Nowadays, things are much different! Did you know that now close to two million books are self-published each year? And that Amazon is responsible for 60% of all book sales? It’s a crowded, exciting world out there, and there has never been a better time to add your unique voice to the mix.
You’ve probably heard that quote about the journey of a thousand miles beginning with a single step, and are quite possibly rolling your eyes at the reference. But the reason the quote is used and re-used so frequently is because it is true! Your book will not write itself, and it will not get written overnight.
My career has been a bit of an adventure, beginning in the entertainment industry before finding my home in the world of publishing. After working in business and legal affairs in television and film production, I realized I needed to follow a new path. I had already been editing book and script projects, so publishing felt like the logical next path – a path I’m so glad that I took.
I used to dread January, which always seemed like the rainiest, darkest month. The anticipation and excitement of Christmas is over, and January always represented the return to the same old, same old. Over the years, however, my perspective has changed. Now January is all about finding that spark - spark of hope, spark of creativity, spark of beginning. It's not just about resolutions but about goals - dreaming them, defining them, and putting together an actionable plan to achieving them.
How are you doing? Are you hanging in there? This is one crazy (scary/frustrating/sad) time to be alive, huh? There have definitely been some adjustments here - two parents are working from home now, we have a stir-crazy toddler, and another baby is due just next month. Of course I am thinking about you and your book projects. Have you made any progress? Or have you been focused on other things? The editor in me wants to say, "WHY ARE YOU READING THIS EMAIL? USE THIS EXTRA TIME AT HOME TO WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!" Turn off Netflix and get busy churning out those pages!
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