Second thought is a wonderful thing. Six months after I sent out my first wave of book proposals I decided to rewrite the overview. I opened the file to take yet another look before printing it out. As I read it, I cringed. It was a load of preamble that didn’t say much about the book.
An overview should say something about the content of the manuscript. Mine seemed to have missed the point. Of course I thought it was brilliant when I wrote it. It gave an idea of the area in which I was writing. I honestly thought that was good enough.
No. No it isn’t. An overview should give the acquisitions editor, more likely her assistant, more than just a hint. I think it should flat out say to expect. And it should be interesting, informative, and well written.
Anyway, I cut out about 100 words and reworked it so it says what it should. I’ll let it cool for a while, then go in and proofread it. I’m going to take my time with this batch. It’ll be a few more days before the packages are sent, but at least I’ll be sending something sensible.
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4 comments:
good luck. Is your proposal fiction or non fiction?
It's non fiction, Talia.
Thanks for the well wishes,
Good luck with your proposal! And yeah, I hear you on the benefits of letting a query percolate for a while. It helps freshen the eyes! :)
Good luck with the proposal. Take the time to get it right.
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