Book Proposal Help from Publishing Company CEO

There's no doubt about it, getting an agent and then getting a publisher to take on your book is becoming harder and harder. One big reason for this is all of the uncertainty that's going on in publishing today. For example, just a few of the questions publishers are wringing their hands over include: What kinds of books will people continue to pay for and what price point will work? Will e-books gain market share and will they help or hurt sales and profits? And of course, the big one, how can we continue to make a profit?

With all that being the case, publishers aren't taking huge risks on unknowns. New writers can still get published (more likely with smaller publishers) just realize the writing has to be top notch and then some. But before anyone will ever notice your writing, your book proposal will have to grab them and make them take interest.

So how do figure out how to do that? CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing Michael Hyatt offers a lot of help in his two e-books that I just discovered. There's one for fiction proposals and one for non-fiction. They're based on decades of experience in the publishing world and his generous spirit. If writing a great book proposal is on your list to do before the year is out I'm sure these books would be worth checking out.

Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett

I just came across this excellent post by Chris Brogan which provides a nice list of how to use sites social media like Facebook or a blog if you have something to promote. Just having a presence and sharing bits and pieces from your day is far from the whole story.

The big take away point is that selling today is mostly about connecting with people. I'm sure you, like your customers, are weary of being bombarded by advertising. It's always been around of course, but with as technology gave us more options, it also gave us the ability to get messages and information, good, bad, useful, useless 24/7/365. We're overwhelmed more often than not. That's why we rarely listen, or give up our valuable attention anymore -unless we connect. That's why "social" media is named the way it is. It's about people connecting to people, sharing what they have to offer and hopefully enriching each other's lives.

How have you used sites like Facebook or Twitter or a blog to connect with your readers and potential readers? Let us know your success stories (however it is you define success).

Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett