Novel Proposal Writing Tips from Chip MacGregor Part 2

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If you had an opportunity to read my last post, we talked about Novel Proposal Writing basics - part 1.

Using Chip MacGregor's helpful tips, we covered the purpose of the proposal, hook, overview, and synopsis. Today we're going to discuss the latter section of the proposal that not only lets the proposal readers know about your story, but about YOU. :-)

1.  Genre - where does your book fit. Historical Romance? Contemporary or Southern Romance? Speculative Fiction? Young Adult Historical?

2. Audience: who might be interested in reading your book. For example, Demographics (your people group) and Psychographics (what makes it interesting).
Here are a few examples from one of mine.

If a reader wants to laugh at the plights of loveable characters and enjoy a wonderful clash of cultures, A Twist of Faith is a book for them. The Mitchell’s Crossroads series confirms Pepper’s tagline- Blue Ridge romance peppered with grace and humor. Its light-hearted feel with deep spiritual elements blends romantic tension, humor, and redemption in a tight braid of a heartwarming story. Expanding upon the unique and quirky Appalachian setting, this series showcases clashing cultures and gives a southern accent to classic tales.

Characteristics of the audience:

• female fiction readers from their 20’s to their 40’s (I’ve even had readers in their 50s and 60s enjoy this)
• buyers of fiction by Jenny B. Jones, Tamara Leigh, Janice Hanna Thompson, Laura Jensen Walker, Sandie Bricker, Denise Hunter, and Rachel Hauck.
• readers of historical romance, particularly medieval periods due to the historical subplot
• readers who enjoy humor and quirky characters
• people who enjoy romantic comedy/dramas like Kate & Leopold, Pride & Prejudice, Emma, No Reservations, Leap Year, While You Were Sleeping, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding. 
• readers who want to read about how God gives second chances and the healing power of forgiveness

3. Manuscript: how long is your work and is it complete? If you are unpublished, you must have a complete manuscript to be considered

 

4. Comparables: How is your book like what is already out there? It can be similar in voice, tone, theme, or style. You need to list 3-5 examples and describe how each one is similar.

Here are some examples:

 

Once Upon a Prince and Princess Ever After by Rachel Hauck, published by Zondervan (2013, 2014, respectively) -  ATOF is similar to Rachel’s books because of the sweet, endearing romance and culture clashes.

Meant to Be Mine by Becky Wade, published by Bethany House (2014) The romantic tension and deep spiritual thread of Becky Wade’s newest release is similar to A Twist of Faith’s storyline.

Made to Last by Melissa Tagg, published by Bethany House (2013) The locale of Asheville with its delicious small-town appeal is similar to my novel.

Weddings by Bella series by Janice Hanna Thompson published by Revell (2010)

This series takes the plight of a young woman’s infant wedding planning business and follows her romantic relationship – while including her quirky and loveable Italian family. The large and ‘intrusive’ family in Janice Thompson’s book is similar to the one in Here to Stay.

Love Starts with Elle by Rachel Hauck, published by Thomas Nelson (2008)

A small town girl struggles with feelings of insecurity from a previous relationship but finds an unexpected romance in Rachel Hauck’s sweet story – and this is similar to my heroine’s insecurities and unexpected romance.

 

5. Bio: who are you and why are you qualified to write this book? It's usually about a 1/2 of page and "if you're attractive include a picture" Chip says. Edie Melson had a great post on bio writing a few months ago, here.

 

6. Marketing Info: All your 'platform' stuff goes here. FB, Twitter followers, social media, blog, organizations...etc. It should be between a 1/2 page to a full page.

Here's an example:

 

The Author’s Tribes:

Facebook Friends: 1174

Twitter Followers: 937

Website and Blog: www.pepperdbasham.com

Words Seasoned With Salt has been a great blog to promote writing, host reviews, and inspire. I have an average of 200 visits per day. Many published authors have been guests on my blog – such as Julie Lessman, Mary Connealy, Rachel Hauck, Ruth Logan Herne, Siri Mitchell, and Janice Thompson.

Group Blog: http://thewritersalleys.blogspot.com

I am the creator (and regular contributor) to The Writers Alley – a group writing blog hosted by 10 aspiring authors. It was created three years ago and have over 600 subscribers. The average hits is 1000 per day.

I am a regular contributor to Christian Fiction Online Magazine and have guest blogged on the popular writing blog, Seekerville. I have been published in ACFW’s Afictionado.

Though most of my presentations are about my profession in Speech-Language Pathology (and mostly related to Autism Spectrum Disorders), I have spoken at women’s conferences on various topics from God’s redemption throughout generations to God’s unique plan for our lives. I have also spoken for writers groups.

I have been a member of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for over four years, a Revell reviewer for three, and have developed a ‘following’ from my guest blog posts and these articles.

My first nonfiction article, Start Talking 101, was published in Momsense magazine in January 2010.

I am active on social media sites such as FaceBook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

7. Your writing. This is where the editor or agent will probably look first before viewing anything else. You'll include 40-50 pages of your manuscript.

 

Okay - what do you write best about this part of the proposal? Where do you struggle? Let's chat!

 

 

How to Be an Organized Writer

Any of you who know me, or have visited my personal blog, know that I like to be organized. I like lists and a space for everything and having a direction. But when it comes to writing...there are times when I'm all over the place.

The more stories I write, the more I realize that I need a clear direction from the moment I start my story. I'm not talking about plotting, just being organized with each story from start to finish.

What are some ways I do this?


Folders

The moment I start writing or plotting a new story, I open a new folder in Microsoft Word with the title of this story.

What goes in this folder?

Photo by bigmick

* The actual document of the story
* Notes or plotted chapters (you could also add any research you've done or pictures of your hero or heroine)
* My Excel word count sheet (this is where I set a word count goal for each day and how many weeks it will take me to reach my goal for the story)
* Further down the road, I will also put my synopsis, proposal, or queries in here

Notebooks

Because I like to take notes on my story before I start typing, as well as when I'm away from the computer, I use a notebook. Every time I start a new story, I get a new notebook (or use a leftover one that's empty of all old pages) and keep this with me. Whenever I have ideas or notes or questions, I put them all in this notebook so I never lose any bit of information I've written outside of my computer.

A Pertinent Facts List

This is a big one for me. There are so many times I start writing a story and add in information I can't remember later. For example, I will say my heroine's eyes are green, and then later on forget I put that and change her eyes to blue. It also wastes time because I end up having to go back and try to find old information.

What else goes on this list?

* Any dates or character ages that will be important later in the story
* Character description
* Main character and secondary character names (first, last, nicknames, whatever)
* A timeline of sorts (there are times I forget which day of the week it is, or want to give my reader a sense of time - month, year, whatever - so I try to write down how much time has passed in each chapter or what day of the week it is)

My writing habits change during each story I write. Sometimes I plot more, sometimes I plot less, but the above categories are a must to keep me organized and productive.

What do you do to keep organized while writing?