Writing: Bringing the Past to Life

 

Contributed by Karen Cioffi, Children's Writer

I’ve written a fantasy chapter book based on 16th-century China, Walking Through Walls, and I’m working on a sequel. These stories are pure fiction, aside from the period. 

I’ve also ghostwritten a historical fiction chapter book that was based on a real person and era. The client had much of the needed information, but I also needed to do quite a bit of research. This, too, was a fantasy.

So, what is historical fiction?

According to Celadon Books, “Historical Fiction is set in a real place, during a culturally recognizable time […] Characters can be pure fiction or based on real people (often, it’s both). But everything about them — their attitudes and look, the way they speak, and problems they face — should match the era.” (1)
 
In literature, historical fiction serves as an engaging bridge between the past and the present. Writers of this genre navigate the delicate balance of accuracy and creativity to transport readers to bygone eras. 

Whether you're a seasoned historical fiction author or a novice eager to embark on a literary journey through time, these ten tips will guide you in crafting a vivid and immersive historical narrative.

1. Immerse Yourself in the Era: 

Before putting pen to paper, dive into the historical context of your chosen era. Immerse yourself in the culture, customs, and events that defined the period. The more you understand the nuances of daily life, the more authentic and convincing your narrative will become.

To get a sense of the era, I researched everything I thought might be included in the story, such as food, geography, agriculture, clothing, family structure, speech, code of the period, and so on.

2. Research, Research, Research: 

Thorough research is the backbone of any historical fiction piece. Explore primary sources, historical documents, and personal accounts to ensure accurate depictions. From clothing and technology to societal norms, meticulous research enhances the credibility of your storytelling.

Aside from initial research, I researched as I wrote the story. Anything that needed authenticity or needed clarification was researched.

It’s essential that your story rings true for the era and characters you’re portraying.

Avenues of research you might consider are newspapers, autobiographies, and even reenactments.

3. Develop Multidimensional Characters: 

Create characters who resonate with readers and embody the complexities of their time. Ensure that their motivations, beliefs, and struggles reflect the historical backdrop. Readers should witness the era through your characters' eyes and empathize with their journey.

Set in 16th-century China, “Walking Through Walls” needed a specific social atmosphere, honor, and respect. I worked to ensure all aspects of the story and characters were infused with these elements.

4. Dialogue Authenticity: 

Craft dialogue that mirrors the language of the era without alienating modern readers. Strike a balance between authenticity and accessibility, avoiding anachronisms that might disrupt the historical atmosphere. Pay attention to idioms, slang, and speech patterns to transport your audience seamlessly.

I eliminated all contractions from the dialogue in “Walking Through Walls.” 

You’d be amazed at how many times a contraction slipped in. I had to use the “Find” function in Word to find them. 

5. Utilize Setting as a Character: 

Make the historical setting an active participant in your narrative. Describe the environment with sensory details that evoke the sights, sounds, and smells of the era. By transforming the setting into a dynamic force, you enrich the overall reading experience.

I included the landscape in “Walking Through Walls,” among many other setting elements. In one particular scene, the protagonist suddenly noticed what he had passed every day:

“Wang walked slowly back to the cottage. He noticed his favorite flower, the lemon lilies, in full bloom. They draped the landscape. Hmm, they smell so good.”

Satisfying historical fiction should include as many realistic elements as possible, such as scents, landscapes, phrases, clothing, attitudes, and so on. 

6. Weave in Real Historical Events: 

Interweave your fictional narrative with actual historical events to anchor your story in reality. Doing this not only adds depth but also educates readers about the period. Ensure that the timeline of your narrative aligns with significant historical milestones.

7. Embrace the Unfamiliar: 

Don't shy away from exploring lesser-known aspects of the historical era. Highlighting unique customs, traditions, or forgotten historical figures adds a layer of authenticity that sets your work apart.

8. Capture the Spirit, Not Just the Facts: 

While accuracy is critical, strive to capture the essence and emotions of the era. Transport readers into the mindset of those who lived during that time, allowing them to experience the era’s joys, sorrows, and challenges.

9. Edit with a Critical Eye: 

After completing your initial draft, edit with a focus on historical accuracy and narrative flow. Check for consistency in details and ensure that your characters and events align with the historical context. 

10. Stay True to Your Voice: 

While historical accuracy is crucial, don't sacrifice your unique voice and storytelling style. Infuse your narrative with your personal touch, blending historical realism and literary artistry. 

Summing It Up

Writing historical fiction has its own unique set of rules. Merging the past with the present through in-depth research, authentic characters, and a ‘make them want to read it’ narrative. By following these tips, you'll transport readers to long ago eras. And if writing for children, you’ll, hopefully, spark an interest in history and how people lived in those eras. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Karen Cioffi is a children’s author, ghostwriter, rewriter/editor, coach, and self-publishing consultant. If you’d like to learn more about writing for children or need help with your story, visit Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi. 

You can check out Karen’s books HERE.

Connect with Karen on SOCIAL MEDIA. 

How Both Readers and Writers Can Support Books

                                                                                                        

Here’s How to Keep  Bookstores and Books Alive

 

 

Here’s LA’s “New” Way Anyone Can Support Books

 

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson, writer of fiction, poetry, and

the HowToDoItFrugally Series of How-To Books for Writers 

 

This article comes to you along with a thanks to the LA Times for a wonderful article titled “Bookworms, this one is for you” that appeared at a time when there is so much bad news surrounding the publishing industry, journalism, and retailing in general. The article was about an “inaugural LA Book Crawl.” 

Let’s pay attention to that word, inaugural. I mean, really? We who live in Los Angeles  had to wait until 2026 for one of these fun ways to support books, publishing, and readers and for a book-friendly newspaper to cover it and pass along how it’s something any organization—indeed anyone—can do to help keep beloved bookstores and real paper books alive.

 

Yes, readers and writers alike! We need everyone and there is a way for anyone to borrow “Los Angeles’ new/old idea” of live bookcrawls.

 

Yep, we (again, anyone) can coordinate a book crawl and persuade  bookstores to support our effort with something that is sure to introduce them to new customers, up their profit for the day and beyond, and, in the long run, make a difference in our community. Further they could be tailored to special interests of the reading and writing crowd…everything from specific genres to the kinds of bookstores like little free libraries sprouting up in communities throughout the country, stores that sell used books, to stores that specialize in children’s literature. And you can use the above point to convince retailers (bookstores?) to participate!

 

As long as we’re at it, let’s expand our efforts to support our city and college libraries. A “crawl” can include all library venues or all bookstore retailer venues or a combination of bookstores no matter what their specialty. You might come up with other categories to make you crawl a hit! Let’s volunteer! Here are some starter ideas:

§  LA’s bookcrawl included only retail bookstores but it was even more narrowly focused than that! It specialized in indie bookstores. And it helped make a point: LA is not lacking in erudite efforts beyond Hollywood. And they managed to do that looking squarely at the temporary closure of West Hollywood’s iconic Book Soup. And they used a successful crawl in San Diego (and sought advice from its planners) which has been celebrating book in this way for nine years now! 

§  Their crawl included a “passport system;” it’s kin to loyalty programs where attendees got to include getting a stamp on the crawl passport for every $10 they spent on books. Those stamps were good for prizes featured at participating bookshops like merchandise from their gift departments or even  audio books!  (That’s a grand opportunity for a writer to be featured at celebrations like this along with the address of their websites  like the one for this inaugural, LAIndieBookcrawl.com.) Jump on the volunteer bandwagon to get other ideas for your book cover image and link to be featured on all the promotional materials!

§  The owners of passports were entered in a raffle for a $325.00 gift card.

§  Extend your crawl to the length of time needed to accommodate exposure to widespread bookstores in large cities or even more rural regions.

§  Expand your crawl to a variety of activities to emphasize that bookstores are community jewels where people in all walks of life can be comfortable together sharing their own books as well as their favorites.

§  What about the aforementioned library crawl? Sure, why not, but there are other ways to support them Including. 

a.     Offer to read to children one afternoon a week or during summer vacation—and then make sure the library does their job by marketing it. They probably distribute a newsletter for their own library fans—paper or e-mail—anyway. Making a fuss over a crawl or a volunteer event will not be taxing for them!  Ditto for fliers they distribute at their checkout desk for those who borrow books often. Both are usually free and the librarian-editor in charge of these things needs fresh news frequently. 

b.     If you have a creative urge, offer to do a display of books for them—using a title or titles you  authored or any favorite you love recommending to the world. 

c.      If they have a display window, offer do it up with holiday themed books and decorations that you bring and set up for them; let your hometown newspaper know about that, too. 

d.     Authors can offer to spearhead a critique group for blossoming authors in the community. They work especially well in branches to keep travel time at a minimum for writers  trying to carve out time to write. Do remember to urge the library to promote its existence.

e.     Suggest a tour of the library for members of an organization you belong, too.

f.      Suggest a panel of authors who can speak to an important subject like tolerance to your library’s events director. How could she/he resist! That list of three to five names will have done their work for them! It sure didn’t take any wheedling when I tested this idea for Glendale, CA. ‘s central Library. 

     WritersontheMove’s readers will want to  put the new bookstore contacts they make in an Excel file to use for book signings for the release of their own new releases or other promotions they are doing. Remember to mention that you have a list of xxx former visitors to your events and that combining your list with theirs can easily raise their usual day’s sales figures by 10% (and be prepared to mention a few you’ve done or give them the contact information they can use for recommendations—you know, sorta like people do with résumés. ) 

      Here is a bonus list of the Los Angeles indie bookstores who participated in its inaugural bookcrawl:

Richard Turner, owner of Diesel, Brentwood, CA. who organized the event with these indies in LA and surrounding suburb cities:

     Chevalier’s in Larchmont, an LA neighborhood.

Vroman’s in Pasadena, CA,

Once Upon a Time, Montrose, CAChildren’s Book World, Cheviot Hills, CA

Ripped Bodice (specializing in  romance books), Culver City, CA

Malik Books, Culver City, CA

Book Jewel, LA’s Westchester neighborhood,  and Manhattan Beach, CA

And keep your fingers crossed that Book Soup will be back in Hollywood soon! 

Triptych courtesy Amazon.com for their newly introduced

page exclusively for KDP-published series.

 

More About Your #WritersontheMove Contributor: 

 

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is now the author of a Modern History Press Series that began in 2004 with The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't. It’s now published in its 3^rd edition as a hardcover, paperback, and an e-book! One of the books in that series is even available as an Audio! Find them on Carolyn’s series page on Amazon’s new benefit created for series only at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTXQL27T. That Amazon feature is one of #TheFrugalBookPromoterTips she shares with writers so if (when?) they write a series, they’ll be aware that benefit is waiting for them to install at no cost  through AmazonCentral.com 

 

Carolyn has used most of the ideas featured in today’s column to promote her #HowToDoItFrugally Series as well as her fiction and poetry. Contrary to hearsay, many libraries have events directors who welcome help, ideas, and are grateful for community involvement. Ditto for bookstores.

 

Special thanks to Julius Miller who covered this story in my 2^nd Favorite newspaper of all time! The first is The Salt Lake Tribune, a Pulitzer Prize-Winning newspaper where a very special editor, Mary Chachas, helped me hone my own journalism skills in my first professional writing job.

 

Weave Magic into your Story Idea

My latest book, A Home Run Friendship,
for 8-to-12-year-olds, weaves humor, preteen
challenges and angst into a heartfelt story 

By Linda Wilson   bit.ly/44Dx1t9

Where do you get your ideas? It’s a frequent questions reader ask. Do we tell them that we authors have a sixth sense? Or we wear antennae on our heads? Or do we tell them the truth. Story ideas come from as many places as you can think of.

  If you ask AI the question, you will come up with answers that are familiar to us, the authors:

Ask the “What-if question”

Ask Who, Wants, and What’s in the Way

Keep an Idea Journal

Try your hand at writing prompts

In my experience, the story ideas for books come from more than one experience, set of facts, people we know, and much more. 

Look for Magic in your own Backyard

My good writer friend and I run our story ideas by each other to see if we think they will work. Sometimes the ideas are already whole and intact. The idea is already fully formed, even if we don’t realize it. Other times we have a fragment of an idea. Saying it out loud gives it a measure of credibility. If we think it will work, then we are driven to develop the idea further. 

Of course, some ideas don’t work. Those either morph into a better idea or are rejected. The good news for rejections is that they make room for new ideas.

Here are some examples of how our published books came to be:

     The inspiration behind my Abi Wunder ghost/mystery trilogy:

On a special occasion, we had an overflow of guests and needed a place for some of them to stay. I paid a visit to a B & B down the road from us. The proprietress regaled me with tales of the many renovations her husband had recently completed. The kitchen, modern, yet decorated with antique earthenware jars, pitchers, teapots and tin boxes, had been his latest project, she crowed.

On our way upstairs to see the bedrooms, I thought she said, “Oh, here’s my husband now.” I turned, expecting to see her husband climbing up the stairs behind us. But I saw no one. Her eyes fell on a silhouette stenciled on the wall. I followed her gaze, of a man in overalls and straw hat, lantern in hand, appearing to hurry up the stairs beside us. Without another word, she continued up to the second-floor landing.

I followed, perplexed. Where was her husband, I wondered? I asked her, still expecting to see him. She looked surprised, tilted her head in the oddest way and said, “Why, I lost my Herbert a year ago, to this day!” She added, “I painted Herbert’s silhouette on the wall, as he so often looked on his way to bed.” Color rose to her cheeks, “I suppose it’s silly, but it’s my way of keeping him close.”

I wanted to say, Herbert, dead? But he’s here. I can feel his presence. He hadn’t yet left your side.” I didn’t have the heart to voice my thoughts out loud. Why I thought that I’ll never know. 

Perhaps you can see why I’ve never been able to forget the experience. One eerie incident turned into a trilogy of stories in my Abi Wunder series.

    How my friend’s story about a pet pig came to be:

My friend read about a 1-year-old, 50-pound pet pig running along a major freeway in our town. He was caught by a policeman and taken to an animal shelter. The incident was in the papers and on TV. When his owner couldn’t be found, he was put up for adoption. A couple adopted him after seeing his dramatic escape on the news. He was joined by a few curious dogs and a female resident pig. And has lived happily ever after.

That wasn’t quite enough for a story. Then my friend read about a contest for Pet Mayor taking place in a nearby town. Voila! She had a story!

    A tapestry woven from my own experiences with kids:

The idea for my latest book, A Home Run Friendship, first took root many years ago. A friend told me that her dog longed to go next door to play with the neighbor’s dog. He would stand back and make a run for the fence, never quite making it over the top. So, my friend’s family propped ramps on both sides of the fence. Both dogs happily ran up and down the ramps for daily visits from then on.

Again, that wasn’t enough for a story. I’d been wanting to write a story from a boy’s point of view. All my characters so far have been girls, using what I learned from raising two daughters. I was in for a surprise. After many years teaching elementary school, I didn’t realize how much I had observed about the boys in my classes. Before I knew it, Bo and Iggy became my main characters, their voices ringing in my ears. Juan, a boy from Mexico, moved in next door to Bo, and the fireworks began.

The result: A story with lots of humor from memories of the things boys in my classes did. And a heartfelt story of a boy from a different culture seeking to be accepted among Bo’s and Iggy’s friends and classmates.

In my opinion, the advice given by AI is excellent for jotting down ideas. Taken a step further, when you take an idea you’ve jotted down and add to it an additional dimension, then a story is born. 

Readers are given a craft to make a bird's nest
when they purchase Cradle in the Wild and 
the Spanish version, Cuna en la Naturaleza,
formatted and illustrated by
1000 Storybooks.com.

  

Boundaries Without Guilt

 by Suzanne Lieurance

See if any of this sounds familiar. 

You sit down to write, close the door, and begin working. A few minutes later, someone asks for your help with something that could easily wait. You explain that you are writing and will take care of it when you finish.

The request is gone but the guilt remains. Now part of your attention is on the manuscript, and part of it is wondering whether you were selfish. You may even stop writing so you can complete the task and relieve the discomfort.

The task gets done, and your writing session is lost.

For many writers, creating a boundary feels easier than keeping it after guilt appears.

Why Boundaries Can Feel Wrong

Guilt often appears when you begin behaving differently from the way people expect you to behave.

Maybe you’ve always been available when someone needed you. You answer messages quickly, adjust your plans, and find a way to help even when your schedule is already full.

Other people may have come to depend on that availability. You may depend on it, too, because being helpful is part of how you see yourself.

When you begin protecting your writing time, the change can feel uncomfortable. You respond later. You ask someone to wait or handle something on their own.

That discomfort can make a reasonable boundary feel wrong.

Guilt sometimes signals that you are stepping outside an old pattern. Your behavior has changed, and your self-image needs time to catch up.

You are still a caring, responsible person. Your identity now includes a writer whose work deserves time and attention.

Is the Guilt Giving You Useful Information?

Some forms of guilt deserve your attention.

Guilt may tell you that you have neglected a real responsibility, spoken unkindly, or failed to keep an important promise. In that case, the feeling gives you useful information. You can correct the problem and make a better choice.

Guilt may also appear because another person is disappointed.

Before giving up your writing time, ask yourself what actually happened.

Did you ignore something urgent, or did you ask someone to wait until your session ended? Did you refuse a genuine responsibility, or did you decline a request that someone else could handle? Did you behave unkindly, or did you state a reasonable limit?

Your answers will reveal whether the situation requires action.

Useful guilt points to something you need to repair. Habitual guilt often appears when you choose your own priority after years of automatically accommodating other people.

If you acted responsibly and communicated respectfully, allow the boundary to remain in place while the uncomfortable feeling passes.

Define Responsibility Clearly

A responsible person handles what is truly theirs to manage. They keep important promises, respond to genuine needs, and take care of the people and obligations that belong in their life.

Responsibility still leaves room for limits.

Constant availability gives other people access to you whenever a question, task, or preference arises. You may respond before deciding whether the matter belongs to you, requires immediate attention, or can wait.

Writing requires you to understand the difference.

You may be responsible for preparing dinner, taking someone to an appointment, or completing work for a client. You can decide when you will handle those responsibilities and keep your writing session in place.

Real needs will sometimes arise. A reasonable boundary leaves room for you to respond when something truly matters.

When every request receives the urgency of an emergency, your writing loses its protected place.

Stop Asking Everyone to Agree

You may hope the people around you will understand why writing matters so much to you.

Some will. They will respect your schedule, encourage your work, and recognize that writing is part of who you are.

Others may have a different view. They may see writing as something you enjoy rather than work that requires concentration. If the current project is not producing income, they may believe household tasks or social plans deserve priority.

Their understanding can make the boundary easier. Your commitment can remain steady without it.

You can respect another person’s priorities while keeping your own. You can also ask someone to respect your writing time even if they place a different value on it.

Waiting for everyone to agree gives other people authority over a decision that belongs to you.

Your writing needs your commitment. Unanimous approval may never come.

State the Boundary as a Normal Part of Life

Boundaries often become more difficult when you present them as dramatic announcements.

State your writing schedule in the same calm way you would mention any other commitment.

“I’ll be available after eleven.”

“I write on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.”

“I can take care of that when I finish this chapter.”

Neutral language helps the boundary feel like a normal part of your life. You are simply explaining when you will be available.

When possible, discuss regular writing time before an interruption happens. A calm conversation gives everyone a chance to understand the plan.

Explain when you write, how long the session lasts, and what kinds of situations would justify interrupting you. Clear expectations prevent many problems before they begin.

Let the Boundary Stand

Sometimes a writer keeps a boundary and then tries to make up for it afterward.

You finish the writing session, feel guilty that someone had to wait, and spend the rest of the day accommodating every request. You may take on extra tasks, apologize repeatedly, or give away more time than the original interruption would have required.

This turns the boundary into a debt.

An hour of writing does not create a debt to everyone around you.

Once you have made a reasonable decision, let it stand. Complete the responsibility at the time you said you would. Allow yourself to feel good about protecting the writing first.

Notice what happened while the boundary was in place. The task may have waited without causing a problem. Someone may have found another solution. The world probably continued turning while you wrote.

Collect that evidence.

It will help you remember that guilt often predicts consequences that never arrive.

Let the Boundary Become Familiar

A new boundary may feel uncomfortable at first.

You may question yourself, worry about another person’s reaction, or feel tempted to abandon the plan so everything can return to normal.

Stay with it long enough to discover what the new normal can become.

Other people may need time to adjust, and so may you. The boundary becomes easier when it is clear, reasonable, and repeated consistently.

You will still make exceptions. Sometimes another need will be more important, and you will change the schedule. A conscious exception allows the boundary to remain strong.

A healthy boundary gives writing a meaningful place alongside your relationships and responsibilities.

You can care about other people, meet your responsibilities, and protect your writing time. All three belong in the life you are creating.

And now, learn how you can write a short nonfiction book in one month and self-publish it on amazon. 

Learn More Here...

 

Beginning Writers Can Get Published

 

Over the last 30 years Greg Stielstra, author of Pyromarketing, marketed hundreds of Christian books including The Purpose Driven Life. During that time, he noticed a disturbing trend. Some Christian authors sought fame because they believed only celebrities could influence culture. What’s more, they thought to sell lots of book required hiding their Christian content. In a sort of publishing bait and switch, some authors thought they must achieve a platform with secular books—or at least books that minimized faith content before they could use their platform for good. The formula was, “First become famous and then make a difference.”

Greg saw things differently. He saw authors like Lee Strobel achieve tremendous success by writing books with clear biblical content that helped people. The formula was reversed; first make a difference and then the platform will follow. “Aim at Heaven,” C.S. Lewis correctly noted, “and you get Earth thrown in. Aim at Earth and you’ll get neither.”

It's a myth that beginning writers do not get published. Because it happened years ago, many people forget about a brand-new fantasy writer who was looking for an agent named J. K. Rowling. There is a little discussed story about Harry Potter that I read originally in this article in The Observer.

Almost everyone knows that J. K. Rowling was an unpublished children’s writer and single mother who wrote Harry Potter in a coffee shop and dreamed of getting published. How was the book discovered and brought into the publishing world?

J. K. Rowling overcame incredible hurdles to secure that initial book contract. Some of those hurdles she passed through with sheer good luck. There is no other way to categorize it. Rowling’s experience definitely fell outside the normal way of publishing.

Here’s the two key paragraphs (in my view) from this article: “The agency, run in ‘cramped’ and ‘near-Dickensian’ offices in Fulham, south-west London, was cash-strapped until touched by Potter’s magic wand. Literary folklore has it that Rowling, then a penniless 29-year-old single mother, walked into a public library in Edinburgh, looked up a list of literary agents and settled on the name Christopher Little because it sounded like a character from a children’s book.”

“Bryony Evens, the office manager at the time, has said that it went straight into the reject basket because ‘Christopher felt that children’s books did not make money’. But its unusual black binding caught her eye, prompting her to read the synopsis and show it to Little. He recalled: ‘I wrote back to JK Rowling within four days of receiving the manuscript. I thought there was something really special there, although we could never have guessed what would happen to it.’ He managed to sell it to Bloomsbury for £2,500, but later it reaped huge rewards from international rights and he has won a reputation as a brilliant deal-maker who puts Rowling first.”

With the current exchange rates, £2,500 is just a bit over $3,100. Also, this article mentions the agent has received an estimated commission of over $100 million. Not a bad return for pulling a manuscript with an unusual manuscript with black binding from the reject basket.

Don’t assume your material can go into this “other” category for how it becomes published. I’d encourage you to work through the normal channels as much as possible but be aware that sometimes a project will jump to the front of the line. 

Why Every Book Needs a Proposal (Even Self-Published)

No matter what method you choose in the publishing world, I encourage you to create a book proposal. Whether it is fiction or nonfiction, you need to create this document because it is your business plan for your book. Years ago, as a frustrated acquisitions editor, I wrote Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets to Speed Your Success. This book has over 150 Five Star reviews and many people have used it to get published. Also I have a free book proposal checklist and a free teleseminar about proposals. 

I’ve read thousands of book proposals as an acquisitions editor and a former literary agent. I continually teach on the topic because I believe many writers don’t understand the critical nature of this specialized document called a book proposal.

On the traditional side of publishing, editors and agents read proposals. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve written nonfiction or fiction because this document includes information which never appears in your manuscript yet is critical in the decision-making process. 

Many authors have not written a book proposal because have written a full manuscript. From my perspective of working in book publishing for over 30 years, every author should create a book proposal for their book—whether eventually they publish the book with a company where they pay to get it published (subsidy or self-publishing) or whether they find a traditional book publisher. In the proposal creation process, the author learns critical elements about their book concept plus they are better positioned in the marketplace.

Here are four of the many benefits of proposal creation:

1. You Define Your Target Market. Many authors believe their book will hit a broad target—everyone. No successful book is for everyone. Each book has a primary target audience, and the proposal creation process helps you define, pinpoint and write about this audience. It is important in nonfiction but it is also important in fiction. For example, romance is the largest fiction genre yet there are many divisions within the romance genre. The proposal helps to define this division and helps the publisher understand who will be creating the sales.

Every proposal needs a target which is defined—yet large enough to generate volume sales. You learn and achieve this balance when you create a page-turning book proposal.

2. You Understand Your Competition. Book proposals force writers to take a hard look at what is already on the market, and what if anything they bring to the conversation.  Many new authors believe they are writing something unique with no competition. It’s not true. Every book competes in the marketplace, and you will be a better equipped author if you understand your competition.

3. You Create A Personal Plan For Marketing. As you create a book proposal, you will include practical, specific and measurable ideas that can executed when your book enters the market. The proposal will be a valuable reference tool for you because you’ve done this important evaluation process.

4. You Possess A Valuable Tool To Pitch Agents and Editors at Traditional Houses. Literary agents and editors do not read manuscripts. They read book proposals. Even novelists need a book proposal for their initial pitch to an editor or agent. And if you self-publish and are successful with selling your book, because you own everything, if you receive an attractive offer from a traditional house, then you can move the book. Without a proposal you can’t properly pitch the concept and you’ve eliminated this possibility. 

Throughout my years in publishing, I have made multiple trips to New York City and met with some of the top literary agents and editors. Almost each time, I am asked, “Where is the next Prayer of Jabez or Purpose Driven Life or Left Behind or ______ (name the bestselling book)?” Each of these books sold millions of copies. The Left Behind books continue to sell over 100,000 copies a year—and they were originally published over 30 years ago. These professionals are actively looking every day for the next bestseller. Yes, they may be telling you their agency is full and they have no room on their list for your book—but the reality is something different. 

I encourage you to keep looking for the right fit for your manuscript. It’s part of the editorial search that every writer undergoes to discover the right place for their book to be published.

Tweetable:

It’s a publishing myth that beginning writers do not get published. This bestselling author and editor shows that every publishing professional is actively looking for the right author and book. Learn the details here. (ClickToTweet)

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. Get Terry’s newsletter and a 87-page FREE ebook packed with writing insights. Just follow this link to subscribe. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an associate publisher at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including  Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. Get Terry’s recent book, 10 Publishing Myths for only $10, free shipping and bonuses worth over $200. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.