how to get published

How to Choose a Literary Agent: 10 Questions to Ask a Literary Agent

October 28, 2010 by Lisa Tener

book proposal coach lisa tener — Your Book Proposal Coach Lisa Tener

Note: This post on how to choose a literary agent and questions to ask a literary agent has been updated for 2022.

In my last post, I shared the story of a client who just got a call from a top literary agent who wanted to represent him and his book.

Now, he needed to know how to choose a literary agent. Seven other agents had recently requested to see his book proposal. These are the questions I suggested he ask the literary agents:

10 Questions to Ask a Literary Agent

1. Why are You Passionate about this Book? Notice what words and tone the agent uses. Are they conveying passion? Compare the different agents. The ones who sound most enthusiastic to you will also be most passionate with publishers. Their passion can translate into a higher chance of an offer and perhaps even a bigger commitment from a publisher–which can include more than a bigger advance (bigger budget, bonuses, etc).

2. Why are You a Great Match for this Book? I asked this question on behalf of another client once and the agent compared my client’s book to several bestsellers she’d sold to publishing houses. This told me that she felt this book had the kind of bestseller potential of her biggest successes–and that she would give this book the kind of attention and energy she gave to her top books. She did and this first time author is signed a contract for a 6 figure advance with a major publisher.

3. Whom are You Thinking of Pitching? Okay, some agents may not answer this question, but they may throw out the names of several publishers. It should at least give you a sense of what they’re thinking. Sometimes agents will give you more information than you expect. I’ve had an agent say that she was planning to show a book proposal to senior editors at several specific large publishing houses. To know that she planned to show the book to the high level editors provided information about how high level the book might go and what kind of advance she might be able to get.

4. Will You Edit My Sample Chapters or Require I Hire an Editor? Some agents edit a manuscript and others will suggest an editor or ghostwriter. This is really a matter of individual choice. Some agents don’t have the time to edit sample chapters and others, no matter how busy, want their hand in the editing. Either can work fine, but if you need to invest money in an editor, get an estimate ahead of time, ask for samples of the editor’s work and get outside references.

One client of mine signed with an agent that a friend of hers recommended, who then sent her to a horrific ghostwriter. The author’s chapters were strong and the ghostwriter totally botched them. This cost the author money and even the agent later admitted that the ghostwriter did a horrible job and ended up using the author’s original chapters. Lesson learend.

5. What’s Your Vision for the Book? Find out what markets the agent sees for the book. Do they expand beyond your initial ideas? Does the agent anticipate an international audience? If so, what is the agent’s experience in pitching internationally? Most US literary agents collaborate with foreign rights agents to sell the foreign rights and they require a larger percentage of the royalties for those books, since they have to split the commission with a foreign rights agent, but this varies. Also, ask agents how they envision selling subsidiary rights (it’s often most lucrative for the author if the agent retains the rights and sells them separately).

6. Are There Changes You Want me to Make to the Proposal? If So, What are They? You want to be sure that you and your agent are one the same page and that you agree with his/her suggestions. If you don’t understand the reasons for certain changes, ask.

David Donahue's Photo — Be sure your pitch is polished and stands out like this bright colored wall. [David Donahue’s Photo]

7. Are There Steps You’ll Want Me to Take Before You Pitch the Book? Some authors sign an agreement with a literary agent only to find that the agent wants them to make big changes before pitching the book. The agent may require proposal rewrites, sample chapter revisions, a new website, a video for the website or even large scale platform building. Make sure you understand the specific expectations before you sign. They may be completely appropriate, but you want to know what they are before you sign. If your agent does want you to build your platform more, how involved will the agent be in the process and what does he/she envision?

8. How Soon Do You Plan to Pitch the Book? The agent may have other projects ahead of yours. Or they may take the summer off. Or the platform building may take time. Find out what they’re thinking. It’s not a bad sign to take the extra time to further polish the proposal or grow your platform, but it’s important to set expectations on both sides.

9. What Percentage is Your Commission and How Often Will You Send my Payment? Your agent collects your royalties from the publisher and then pays you after taking his or her commission. Industry standard is a 15% commission. Some agents will negotiate 10%- 12% if you bring them the publisher and they are just negotiating the deal.

10. What is Your Preferred Method of Contact (e-mail/phone) and How Frequent? You may think, “I’ll just be thrilled to get an agent.” However, their communication style and frequency is going to be very, very important to you. Some agents prefer phone, others e-mail. Some agents update their clients frequently and others may not contact a client for weeks or months unless they have news. Make sure you are happy with the agent’s policies and that it works for you. If you know you are going to .

Of course, research the literary agent before you speak!

The above questions to ask a literary agent assume that you have already done your research on the literary agent before you speak. In fact, you should research them before you send your query. Below are resources for finding the right match and finding out information on a particular agent.

How to Find a Literary Agent

research literary agents — Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

Here are some excellent places to find a literary agent:

Note: You want an agent who is a member of AAR (the Association of Authors’ Representatives) so that you know they are legit. Some agents don’t follow the rules and can have conflicts of interest, for example.

This post on how to find a literary agent goes into greater detail about how to find the right match, what to send the agent, what happens after you sign a contract with a literary agent and more.

Do your homework before asking questions of the agent.

asking an agent questions by phone — Photo by Joyce Busola on Unsplash

Before you every speak to a literary agent and ask questions, you should have researched them. In fact, you should do this research before you query the agent.

Here are the four questions you should research by looking at the literary agent’s website, doing a Google search and/or checking out Publishers Marketplace:

1. What authors/books does this agent represent?

2. How many bestsellers have they represented?

3. How big are the deals (in dollars) that they’re getting?

4. Does this agent/firm have experience selling subsidiary rights, such as film?

One more thing to do before you sign a contract with a literary agent

It’s a good idea to have a lawyer look over the contract for the fine points, including what happens if the agent doesn’t sell the book. When does the contract expire? Would you be free to look for another agent if the agent is not successful at selling the book within a specific period of time?

I’d love to hear your ideas or any questions you have about how to attract or choose a literary agent. Please share in the comments section and feel free to share this post on social media using the share buttons!

How to Get a Literary Agent: The 3 P’s to Get Published

October 26, 2010 by Lisa Tener

Yesterday evening, in the midst of making chicken soup for dinner, I got a call from a book coaching client to tell me that a top literary agent had called him to say she wants to represent his book.

Despite the pandemonium (one son wanted help with his knight costume and the other begged to invite his friends over and neither conversation could wait, of course), I turned off the stove and temporarily escaped into an empty room to celebrate and pow-wow. Seven other agents had requested the book proposal and he wanted advice on how to proceed.

Although both of us felt this agent to be a terrific match, we agreed it would be worthwhile to let each agent know that he was in the midst of making a decision and ask them a few questions to get clarity. I’ll share with you those questions in my next post, but for now, I want to share how John Doe (he hasn’t signed any contracts yet, so I won’t share his name) landed a fabulous agent in this very competitive environment.

His first secret? Perseverance–which is the story of many a published author. Many aspiring authors get rejections and give up. John didn’t give up.

John received tons of rejections when we first shopped his proposal–and many were very complimentary, “I wish I could take this terrific book, but your platform just isn’t big enough for such a competitive category,” and “This category is just too crowded right now. Nobody’s buying books about this topic.”

Well, it’s a year later and suddenly people are buying books about this topic again. How about that?

The second thing he did was “Pay attention.” He listened to the feedback he got from agents and he heard, “Platform, Platform, Platform.” Platform–how you reach people online and offline– just happens to be the third “P” to publishing success.

So, he worked on building his author platform–his following–particularly online, but offline too. He worked on his blog, his website, his mailing list, magazine publicity, newspapers, being quoted on blogs and websites and began planning workshops and teleseminars.

He didn’t have much spare time. He’s got a very busy professional practice and two young kids of his own. But he worked steadily, over time, a little at a time.

His hard work shows. It’s not earth shattering. He doesn’t have thousands of people on his mailing list or reading his blog yet. But he’s been building a steady following and this top agent is happy to work with him to continue to improve his reach.

He’s also been getting more and more magazine and web interviews–though he’s carefully staying away from the really hot, fresh information in the book and offering tangential information in media interviews (important in his particular arena, because someone could co-opt the groundbreaking ideas and proven methods in his book).

He subscribes to helpareporter.com (affectionately known to subscribers as HARO), a free service to reach reporters who are looking for sources to quote, as well as PR Leads, which is a paid service but much more targeted, and which often has high profile opportunities.

And as he’s worked on publicity to build his author platform, he’s been steadily developing relationships with reporters. He does a great job of responding to reporter queries by providing well thought-out answers that are print-ready and highly quotable. They’re clear, concise, practical and proven. His responses are also often entertaining and clever. He puts his responses in an easy to read format, using bullets, bold fonts and even colors (very sparingly) to make them very readable and appealing.

The take-away? If you’ve been getting rejections, take the opportunity to see what you can improve.

1. Persevere: If you hear, “No,” hear it as, “Not yet.”

2. Pay Attention: Ask what you need to do next? What challenge do you need to overcome? What’s missing in your proposal or your background or the book? Ask questions, particularly of the agents who turn you down.

For you, the issue may not be just author platform. Ask agents what you need to do to make the book attractive to publishers. Some of them will give you very specific advice. It could be to narrow or clarify your audience, to research competitive books and demonstrate the freshness of yours, or it may be something else entirely.

And if the issue is that your topic is “saturated” right now and publishers just aren’t buying books on that topic at the moment due to saturation, that just means they’ve just bought tons of books in that category. Give it some time and they’ll be buying again. Meantime, use this time to build your following, like my book coaching client, John.

3. Platform Building: Whatever reason you’re hearing “no” right now, continue to build your platform. It can only help you attract an agent, a publisher and a bigger advance.

Who knows, maybe you’ll b the one calling me next to decide how to choose among many agents or publishers. Next post, I’ll share how (and what questions to ask them).

I’d love to hear from you. What challenges are you coming up against? How are you working with them or what do you need help with? Share as a comment your victories, challenges, struggles or questions.

The Publishing Process: An Interview with Successfully Published Author Jeffrey Hull

October 4, 2010 by Lisa Tener

Shortly before my second son was born, I worked with Executive Coach Jeffrey Hull on his book concept, helped him think through whether to self-publish or traditionally publish and provided feedback on his writing.

When my second son came along, immersed in mommying, I referred Jeff to a colleague, Lisa Sussman, to help him with his book proposal. Before he sent out the proposal, I weighed in with additional feedback and ideas.

It was exciting to get his book Shift: Let Go of Fear and Get Your Life in Gear in the mail a few weeks ago. I thought of several people who could really use this book and then I thought of my blog community. Wouldn’t you love to hear his story about how he got published and what he learned in the process? Here it is.

Lisa: How did you get your publisher?

Jeff: In the midst of the huge financial debacle (end of 2008), I was fortunate to find Globe Pequot Press, after receiving many lovely rejection letters; e.g. “We love your proposal but we just laid off our entire editorial staff…” Needless to say, I was thrilled when their acquisitions editor was interested in my book proposal and wanted to meet with me!

Lisa: Did you use an agent?

Jeff: Yes, I worked with a wonderful agent named Malaga Baldi, who found me after I had written to the New York Times and wound up getting profiled in the Small Business Section. Malaga, and a number of other agents, contacted me directly. She sent me one of her books and actually asked me if I would be interested in writing a book.

The timing was fortuitous, as I had already completed a 100 page proposal (with great editing support from Lisa Sussman) and was in the midst of receiving very complimentary rejection letters from agents usually saying that they already had books like mine underway, or that they were not taking on new clients, when I serendipitously decided to write directly to the New York Times.

The topic of the New York Times article—“Tackling Anxiety in Difficult Times” seemed to touch a chord in a number of agents. It just goes to show that sometimes publicity is the best route to an agent…and a publisher. Of course, all the time I spent on the proposal and thinking through the book gave me what I needed to present the book to interested agents.

Lisa: Yes, sometimes agents love a book, but they won’t take on the author until the author builds more of a platform–you did that in one fell-swoop! Any details about landing your publisher?

Jeff: Since I was considered a “first-time” author (I had written a book before but not with a major publisher), having an agent was extremely helpful in negotiating a good advance. Malaga worked directly with the editor and the publishing team, handling all the little details with regard to royalties, foreign rights etc. She was a godsend.

A key element of securing a publisher was having a great connection with the acquisitions editor, Lara Asher, who later became my working editor. We hit it off right away.

Lara was excited about the possibilities of Shift and a book to help people master fear and navigate change. At the moment when I met Lara—February 2009–the recession was hitting hard and I think we just both “got” how the timing was right.

Lisa: What was the process at your publishing house?

Jeff: Generally, my relationship with the publishing house was managed through my editor, Lara. I negotiated the deadlines with her and we worked quite closely over a four month period, going back and forth with material, mostly through emails and phone.

Lisa: What surprised you?

Jeff: I was a bit surprised by how tight they were on the deadlines towards the end. My agent and other writers had told me that publishers were pretty “flexible” about deadlines and that authors were “notorious” for missing them.

I found that the publisher was pretty strict about it. If I missed my deadlines by too much there was a good chance my book would have been pushed off an entire year.

I’m glad they pushed me to stick with the deadlines. I learned how to write with discipline—every day—and I developed a good reputation with my editor and the publishing house for delivering.

Lisa: What did you like about the process?

Jeff: I loved the “back and forth” process with the editor on the content and the same thing on the design, title, lay-out with the design team. They were a joy to work with and having a “team” working with me made it all very exciting!

For readers of this blog who are considering the benefits/drawbacks of self-publishing versus trying to get a professional publishing company—the thing that often gets left out of the equation is just how much more fun it is to work with a team. Writing a book is a big undertaking and can often get lonely (at least it did occasionally for me).

Having my editor to bounce ideas off of and get feedback from, as well as seeing the different designs for the lay-out, cover, etc. and having true professional support on everything was extremely valuable part of the process. It was, to my mind, the real gift of having a professional publisher.

Lisa: Anything you wished was different?

Jeff: I was a little disappointed by the amount of pre-sales publicity the publisher tried to get for me. I think because I’m not yet a well-known author, I didn’t get into the early pipelines for review and write-ups at places like O. The Oprah Magazine (which has a four month lead time).

I know that my editor tried to push the sales team to do more, but as you would expect, they put most of their time into the more “known” authors on their lists…so this is somewhat unavoidable.

Lisa: What suggestions did your editor make?

Jeff: My editor made TONS of suggestions—everything from the number of chapters, to the number of practical exercises and case studies. She focused on keeping a good balance between practical information, my story and case-studies, which was extremely helpful.

Lisa: Were there any major changes?

Jeff: No major changes to the initial project plan, but I did ultimately have to shorten the content. I just had way too much – lots of stories, lots of exercises—and we had a fairly strict limit on the number of pages the book could be.

I learned how publishers “think” in terms of length, page design and cost. They follow specific parameters in terms of the price the book will sell at based on these variables, which was news to me.

Lisa: What are your marketing plans?

Jeff: I hired a great PR team in New York to handle my publicity–Mouth Public Relations. Everyone involved in the project told me it’s totally worth it to make an initial investment in PR…and now that I’ve worked with a publicity/PR team for a few months, I wholeheartedly agree.

While it’s possible in today’s world of social media (Facebook/Twitter) to do a lot of your own PR, the PR team has been invaluable at getting me radio interviews, talks and newspaper and magazine articles.

I’m now a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, have had articles in the NY Times, Albany Times Union, Personal Excellence Magazine and more.

Most of these have come about because of the hard work of Justin Loeber and the great PR folks at Mouth Public Relations. PR is not cheap…but if you can swing it financially, I think it is worth the investment.

AND, I would recommend that anyone looking for a PR company do TONS of homework and get personal referrals, etc. There are LOTS of PR people out there, but you want to find someone who knows the book industry and has the right connections. I was fortunate in that my PR consultants had already worked on a number of projects with my publisher so they came highly recommended.

Lisa: What would you do differently after this experience?

I’m not sure I would do anything major differently. I would perhaps hire the PR team earlier in the process – many months even before the book comes out. I think I missed a few good opportunities with magazines and TV because I didn’t sign up the PR folks until two months before pub date.

Lisa: Any last bit of wisdom you want to pass on?

Jeff: Two key “learnings” for me in the process of dealing with a major publishing house for the first time are as follows:

1. It is totally worth it to try and get signed on by a professional publisher, but only if you can find a GREAT editor to work with. Your editor is the crucial partner that makes the whole process work (or not).

2. Don’t expect the publisher to do much book promotion. Getting a publishing contract is a great experience, but you still have to slog the PR/social media/publicity road yourself.

The publishing industry is going through such upheaval these days that I’m sure it will be different the next time around. With the rise of E-books and IPADs, I’m not sure the traditional publishing houses will even survive. On the other hand, I LOVED having a great editor to partner with. Lara was a dream to work with and made the whole process of writing a book much more fun and much less isolating. I’m hoping to work with her again.

Finally, I would caution people about rushing the process—for two reasons.

1. Writing a book is a big deal and you will have to live with the result for the rest of your career. Take the time to write a GOOD book; something you can be proud of that really makes a difference for people.

2. Don’t rush the process of writing—try to enjoy it, revel in the creativity of it. Having the time and energy and passion for writing is a true gift. A great book should come from your soul, not just your head.

I know that everyone now says that “books are a business,” but they are more than that. They are, even in today’s wired world, a powerful expression of our hearts, our souls and our passions. It took me two years, from start (when I first called you) to finish…and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

It’s great if you can whip out a book in three months…but there is also something to be said for taking your time, trying to write something that people will be reading for years to come, and most of all, enjoying the process!

Jeff can be reached at www.jeffreyhull.com and www.life-shifting.com and Shift: Let Go of Fear and Get Your Life in Gear is available at all major book stores.

Book Proposal Rejection: How Do You Get Unblocked Afterwards?

May 14, 2010 by Lisa Tener

head-on-hands-on-books — Your Book Writing Coach

Here’s question number 2 in this week’s “Burning Questions” series: a question about book proposal rejection.

Ellen asked: “How do you get unblocked after rejection? I sent a proposal and sample for my book to an agent or two. After getting rejected, I have not been able to start again.”

I’d like to answer Ellen’s question with some specific steps I would take to move forward successfully with the book proposal, along with tips for how to unblock.

1. Did you do it right? I always ask authors whether they sent a query letter (or met the agent) and actually received an invitation to submit their book proposal before sending it. I’m fairly certain Ellen did this, but always make sure you follow common practices.

2. Don’t take it personally: Hearing “no” is part of the deal. Most authors have received rejection letters before they got a “yes,” in the same way that most successful sales people get more “nos” than “yeses.” Sales people learn to tell themselves that it doesn’t mean they’re a failure or a bad person. In fact, the “no” has nothing to do with their self-worth at all.

3. Congratulate yourself: Remind yourself that most successful authors have gotten many more than one or two rejections. Read a list of authors who received more than a hundred rejections: Mark Victor Hanson and Jack Canfield (authors of Chicken Soup for the Soul) (Good thing they didn’t take no for an answer); Ray Bradbury (almost a thousand rejections) (inkygirl.com); William Saroyan received 7,000 rejections for his stories (right-writing.com); Jack London received a mere 600 rejections (Timesonline.com).

You have now joined the ranks of seasoned authors in one of the first initiatory rites of passage.

4. Still blocked? Meet Your Muse: I often take my book writing students on a visualization/journey where they imagine meeting their muse, or creative self, to get answers. Your muse might show up as a symbol, animal, wise teacher, or just a felt sense. Often, meeting your muse in this way can help you unblock. If you’re not in my classes, just imagine yourself walking a path in the woods, up to a small structure/building where your muse awaits you. Imagine the scene in detail, see how your muse appears to you and write about your conversation. Ask your muse for answers and assistance to unblock.

author rejection — Agent Feedback Helped Improve our Book and Proposal after Rejection

5. Get feedback: If you can, ask the agents or publishers why the proposal was rejected. Their insights will not just help you write a winning proposal, but can help you write a better book. It certainly did that for the book I began with Peaco Todd: The Ultimate Guide to Transforming Anger. Feedback got us to team up with anger expect Jane Middelton-Moz and write a much improved book.

6. Analyze the situation: Do you have a small author platform (or following) or is your book in a highly competitive category? If so, you may need to build your platform and grow your mailing list, publicity efforts, web traffic, etc.

7. Get an expert opinion: Get feedback from a book proposal expert and see if there’s something missing. Maybe you did not make a strong enough case for the book. Maybe there’s an angle that could make your book proposal even more compelling–a slight change of market or fresh idea. I recently helped an author who’d been writing for a smaller market. We worked on her book concept and two agents who had not been interested both wanted to represent the book.

8. Send more query letters: Once you get some feedback and make any necessary changes, send out more query letters. One or two proposals sent may not be a large enough sample, either. You might try more like three or four at a time.

What Do Publishers Expect in Your Book Promotion Plan?

April 11, 2010 by Lisa Tener

Your Book Writing and Book Proposal Coach

I just read a linked-in discussion where someone asked for a clearer definition of “platform” and what should go in your book promotion plan (in your book proposal). I responded to the discussion and then thought it would make a useful blog post.

Note: This post has been updated as of 3/3/2021 to reflect changes in book promotion.

Your book promotion plan should:

1. Demonstrate that you know your audience and you know where they hang out online and offline.

2. Provide a detailed plan for how you will reach this audience where they hang out, based on the foundation or platform you have already developed. This includes:

Mailing List and Website Traffic: People on your mailing list who open your emails are already engaged with you and likely to buy your book. Those who have bought programs, products or services from you in the past are the most likely to buy. Provide those numbers. Website traffic can also be a benefit to include in your promotions section if the numbers are impressive.
Online media: This includes online news sites and shows, your blog, online articles, social media, YouTube videos, podcasts, social networking sites (they’ll want to see you already have a presence), social bookmarking and more.
Public Speaking and In Person Events: Where will you speak? If you list speaking gigs in your plan (which is always a good idea), publishers want to see that you are already speaking to at least some of these targeted companies, associations or conferences. Include numbers of people at the events where you speak. If events are on hold (such as due to COVID-19) see if you can schedule and offer some online events and courses, whether you offer them on your own or through conferences, associations and other groups, and mention recent and upcoming events (in person or virtual) in your proposal.
Training: Include workshops, seminars, teleseminars, zoom training, webinars and any teaching you plan to do–on-line or offline. Will companies that hire you to speak or train purchase your book in bulk? State specifics in your book proposal’s book promotion plan.

Traditional media: TV, Radio, Newspapers and Magazines (both articles by you and articles that cite or quote you). Your plan should show that you know what media your specific readers buy and read. Publishers also love to see that you plan to hire a publicist–especially if you can quote a significant budget for such ventures.
Joint Ventures: If you don’t have a large list, the way to reach the most people online is by venturing with other people who have large lists. What’s in it for them? Perhaps a percentage of the profits of a webinar you’re plugging, or you’ll interview them for your list. Again, if this is part of your plan, you need to show you’re doing this or, at the very least, you plan to hire someone who’s facilitated joint ventures before.
Your Own Shows: Do you host a TV show, radio show or weekly podcast? This is always a plus to publishers and agents, but they’ll want to know the size of your audience.
Endorsements and reviews: Publishers love to see endorsements that are already written by bestselling authors, experts in your field or celebrities. You may want to list those who have already written endorsements, those who have agreed to write an endorsement and/or review in the future and those people you plan to approach for endorsements or reviews (if you have a relationship with them) and the relationship you have with those people. If you don’t have a relationship or connection and they haven’t promised a review or endorsement, don’t list them; you can still contact them later but publishers won’t put much faith in their position on the list. Will they also do anything to promote? Include that.
Amazon bestseller campaign: Amazon is such a big player in book sales that you want publishers to know you understand how to leverage Amazon. Have you done keyword research for your title and subtitle? Will you hire someone with a strong track record to organize an Amazon Bestseller campaign for you? Why is this important? Amazon’s algorithm kicks in to show your book more frequently once you hit certain benchmarks, including bestseller in one or most categories. Will you do any paid advertising on Amazon? If so mention that and your Amazon advertising budget.

Your Website Speaks Volumes About Promotion and Platform

Publishers and agents will also look at your website. Be sure to include a media page or press room; speaking gigs, training and events; and other pages that highlight your platform. If you have a blog or podcast, they will also look to see how engaged your audience is. This posts tells you exactly what you need on an author website.

Reader-Focused Book Promotion

When I work with a client on their book proposal, I also tailor my book promotion plan suggestions to their particular book and audience. That’s the creative part. We also include any well-connected close friends or colleagues who have offered to help them make connections in the media or online.

The Favorite Child — One of the ways Dr. Libby developed her platform was to start a blog.

Remember, publishers and agents have been burned in the past (years ago) by authors who wrote a great plan but did not follow through. They’re not so naïve anymore. They’ll want to see that you already have an author platform and that you’ve at least started many of the projects you suggest in your promotion plan.

Platform Legitimizes Your Book Promotion Plan

So, what’s platform? Your platform is the number of people you reach online and in person–through your mailing list, traffic to your website (unique visitors, not hits), your blog, your speaking engagements, TV and radio interviews, podcasts, joint ventures, teleseminars, webinars, magazine articles/interviews, newspaper articles/interviews, online articles, youtube and other video sites, your social media activities and any other way you reach people.

You should indicate your platform in your “about the author” section. Then build on that and add other ideas in the book promotion plan.

If the promotion plan is to “pie-in-the-sky” (meaning you haven’t actually done any of these things yet and it’s all a “plan” but not in motion), publishers will consider you too much of a risk. They want to see that you already have a platform.

Worried you don’t have enough of a platform? Work on it. With time, you will.

How To Make Sure Your Book Proposal Gets Read…And Fast.

April 2, 2010 by Lisa Tener

This weekend an agent told me she wants to represent an author of mine and she hasn’t been this excited about a book since she represented two authors whose books became top sellers.

In our conversation, I happened to ask about another proposal a different client had sent in and she hadn’t seen it. Whoops. Turns out I forgot to tell the author to put “Requested material” and my name on the envelope. I knew better, but just forgot. My omission is your boon, since it’s an important point to remember.

[Note: I wrote this post some time ago. Most book proposals are sent by e-mail now, but do include “requested material:book proposal” in your subject line. In the email, include the conference where you met, the name of the person who introduced you, or anything else that will remind them of your connection .]

Here are 3 steps to make sure your book proposal gets read:

1. Send a query first. Only send the proposal once the agent or publisher requests it. Otherwise, it goes straight to the slush pile or sometimes even the trash—the penalty of not following directions.

2. Check the agent’s website to see if he or she prefers queries by phone or e-mail. Different agents have different preferences; your upfront research shows you’re a team player.

3. Once an agent has requested your proposal, either because of a query you sent or a pitch you made in person at a conference, mark the envelope (left bottom corner) [or nowadays, it’s mostly the subject line of the e-mail]: “Requested:” followed by an abbreviated version of the title of your book. If you met the agent at a conference, include the conference where you met. For example, you might write, “Requested: Saigon Effect: Harvard Medical Course.” This will get you priority reading. I find that agents will look at a requested proposal I sent them anywhere from immediately to two weeks out, occasionally as long as a month. This is much, much faster than the slush pile.

Download these 10 Tips to get started on your proposal–and make it your best!

My cautionary tale ends happily and provided compost for a quick and useful blog post. The agent was very kind and understanding about my omission.

So remember: Send a query first. Research the agent’s website for query preference. Mark the envelope “Requested” and stay away from that slush pile!

Get my free ebook: 10 Tips to a Book Proposal Publishers Will Love.