Kat
asked
W. Terry Whalin:
I have a book that is the actual journal of when my newborn son died, and the 3 yrs following. An experienced author told me it needs to be published but I simply cannot do the cover letter. Do you have any ideas if this book is worth pursuing and can I find help in writing the cover letter?
W. Terry Whalin
Kat,
Sounds like an idea with potential. Here's the challenge: ideas are everywhere. You have to determine if the idea is a book length idea (40,000 to 50,000 words) or if it is short magazine article (1,000 to 1500 words). You will reach more people with your magazine article than 99% of the books published and it is easier to accomplish.
Also what is your purpose writing this book? Is it simply to capture the information for your family or to help others who face this same experience? If it is the later then maybe you have a book project. You aren't writing for everyone but a specific target audience.
Finally how to you make your idea stand out from the other ideas? Not to discourage you but you have to understand that editors and agents receive hundreds of emails each week. Your pitch has to be worth pursuing. Editors and agents do not read manuscripts, they read book proposals. I have a number of free resources that I've created to help other writers:
http://AskAboutProposals.com (a free teleseminar)
http://terrylinks.com/bookcheck (a free book proposal checklist)
Hope this helps you determine the viability of this concept and whether it is a book length project or a magazine article.
Warm Regards,
Terry
__________________________
W. Terry Whalin
Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Straight Talk from the Editor (FREE Ebook):
http://straighttalkeditor.com
Follow Me On Twitter:
http://twitter.com/terrywhalin
My blog, The Writing Life (over 1,000 entries):
http://www.thewritinglife.ws
Sounds like an idea with potential. Here's the challenge: ideas are everywhere. You have to determine if the idea is a book length idea (40,000 to 50,000 words) or if it is short magazine article (1,000 to 1500 words). You will reach more people with your magazine article than 99% of the books published and it is easier to accomplish.
Also what is your purpose writing this book? Is it simply to capture the information for your family or to help others who face this same experience? If it is the later then maybe you have a book project. You aren't writing for everyone but a specific target audience.
Finally how to you make your idea stand out from the other ideas? Not to discourage you but you have to understand that editors and agents receive hundreds of emails each week. Your pitch has to be worth pursuing. Editors and agents do not read manuscripts, they read book proposals. I have a number of free resources that I've created to help other writers:
http://AskAboutProposals.com (a free teleseminar)
http://terrylinks.com/bookcheck (a free book proposal checklist)
Hope this helps you determine the viability of this concept and whether it is a book length project or a magazine article.
Warm Regards,
Terry
__________________________
W. Terry Whalin
Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Straight Talk from the Editor (FREE Ebook):
http://straighttalkeditor.com
Follow Me On Twitter:
http://twitter.com/terrywhalin
My blog, The Writing Life (over 1,000 entries):
http://www.thewritinglife.ws
More Answered Questions
Stephen Hiemstra
asked
W. Terry Whalin:
Terry: I notice that you are involved in publishing. In the summer, I self-published my first paperback, A Christian Guide to Spirituality, and this past weekend published a Kindle Edition. I had thought to team up with a publisher to come out a hardcover edition , I have puzzled over whether this collaboration would be interesting to a publisher. What advice can you offer me? Stephen
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