{"id":6341,"date":"2012-08-05T15:16:11","date_gmt":"2012-08-05T20:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lisatener.local\/?p=6341"},"modified":"2024-09-30T09:00:29","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T13:00:29","slug":"how-to-write-a-book-proposal-agent-miriam-altshuler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/2012\/08\/how-to-write-a-book-proposal-agent-miriam-altshuler\/","title":{"rendered":"Advice for How to Write a Book Proposal: An Interview with Literary Agent Miriam Altshuler"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MiriamLooking for what a top literary agent advises for how to write a book proposal?<\/p>\n

Ever since Dr. Craig Malkin<\/a> signed on with his literary agent, Miriam Altshuler, he\u2019s been singing her praises to me, as well as sharing some of her specific takes on book proposals. So when I decided to interview several literary agents for my \u201chow to write a book proposal<\/a>\u201d series, I immediately thought of Miriam.<\/p>\n

While many agents suggest that book proposals are getting shorter, Miriam is not a big believer in trends. \u201cHow long should a book proposal be? Whatever will best sell it. That could be five pages and it could be fifty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ignore Trends!<\/h3>\n

Lisa<\/span><\/strong>: You recently sold a book on a five page proposal. Can you say why it could be so short and effective at the same time?<\/p>\n

Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> It was such a unique idea and the perfect author. A New York Times<\/em> article introduced the subject and it didn\u2019t need sample chapters. The chapter breakdown was very short. In the right circumstances, a proposal can be short.<\/p>\n

Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> But you wouldn\u2019t focus on making it short\u2026.<\/p>\n

Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> No. You write a book proposal because you have to show editors in publishing houses the scope of the book. Often you spend more time writing the proposal than the book. It makes you do the work to make sure the editor and author have an absolute understanding of the book.<\/p>\n

Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> You\u2019re pretty firm about not looking for trends.<\/p>\n

Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> Yes. I look instead at what each situation and each book warrants.\u00a0 Stay true to what your book is and who you are as a writer\u2014reflect your voice in the proposal as well as sample chapters\u2014voice needs to shine through in sample chapters. If an editor doesn\u2019t respond to voice in the proposal, she won\u2019t get to the chapter.<\/p>\n

A Short or Long Book Proposal?<\/h3>\n

Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> So when can a book proposal be short and when does it need to be long?<\/p>\n

Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> I think a book proposal can be short when the book is easier to define and has a real focus that does not need as thorough of an explanation.\u00a0 Also it helps when it is clear that the author is the perfect person to write the book and has a great platform.\u00a0 If a book is more complicated or the author is not well known, then the author will need to write more to convince publishers that the topic is saleable and that they can write the book.<\/p>\n

Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> Where can you cut corners or shorten a proposal?<\/p>\n

Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> What are the longest proposals you\u2019re having success with?<\/p>\n

\"\"Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> 80 pages with sample chapters. One of my authors, Dr. Sue Johnson, author of Hold Me Tight<\/em><\/a>, wrote a very thorough proposal with two full sample chapters. You read it and knew exactly the book you were getting and she delivered it. Hold Me Tight <\/em>has gone on to sell well over six figures in hardcover and has had multiple printings. It\u2019s still not in soft cover yet because it\u2019s doing so well.<\/p>\n

Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> How many queries do you get per week?<\/p>\n

Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> 200-300 a week.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> Wow. And how many of those do you end up taking on as clients?<\/p>\n

Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> It varies tremendously. Some months, I may take on nothing new, but a couple months ago, I had three projects at once. I\u2019m always looking, but I only take on projects I feel I can sell and I keep my list smaller so that my authors get a great deal of personal attention.<\/p>\n

A Literary Agent’s Advice for Aspiring Authors<\/h3>\n

Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> What advice do you have for aspiring authors?<\/p>\n

Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> Research what each agent does and send queries only to agents who handle the work you\u2019re submitting. If I didn\u2019t get as many queries from people whose books were clearly not for me, I would have much more time to go through and read those that could potentially be right for my list.\u00a0 Also, I\u2019m more inclined to pay attention to an author who says, \u201cI\u2019m coming to you because you represent this book or this author.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> What do you think of longer queries?<\/p>\n

Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> The query letter should not be much more than a page, but I like getting the proposal with it and I like getting the first chapter of a novel so I can get as\u00a0 sense of the writing. I don\u2019t mind a longer query\u2014I can read as much as I want and ask for the rest or just delete. Many authors send a very good query letter\u2014they often hire people to help them write it, which is smart, but the work needs to live up to the query letter.<\/p>\n

For Nonfiction, I don\u2019t mind getting a proposal. If I really like that I can reach out to the author. Hiring a good freelance editor can help an author make sure their work is polished.<\/p>\n

Book Proposal Mistakes and How to Avoid Them<\/h3>\n

Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> That\u2019s unusual. Many agents would not read an unsolicited proposal. What are the biggest mistakes you see?<\/p>\n

Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> In addition to not researching an agent properly, what\u2019s really important is to be very clear up front what your book is. This seems obvious but it\u2019s not when you read the number of proposals I read. Often it\u2019s a sign that the idea is not fleshed out enough to be a book.<\/p>\n

Also, in the query letter, authors need to be clear what their book is about in one to two<\/p>\n

\"David
In a crowd of writers, be sure you stand out. [David Donahue’s Photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>sentences. That pitch line is very important to selling a book. It has to be focused and get the essence of the book. In the proposal, you need to get that pitch in a paragraph and up front. Authors sometimes take too long to say it. Then further information comes after to support the idea.<\/p>\n

One thing that surprises me is choice of chapters used in a proposal. If you have a book that is both prescriptive and narrative, but more prescriptive, don\u2019t send two narrative chapters. In nonfiction, pick two chapters that are most relevant to the topic and represent the book. If you will be using more than one voice in the book, send one chapter of each\u2014show you can do both.<\/p>\n

With books that are very prescriptive I see business people or psychologists with very successful practices\u2014and often a large platform. They know how to help their clients based on their practice, they have definite ideas how to do something and a great platform. But when you get down to reading a prescriptive chapter, they haven\u2019t figured out how to translate the personal communication they have when talking to a client. They need to capture that interactive quality.<\/p>\n

Test Your Ideas<\/h3>\n

\u00a0Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> How do you have people do that?<\/p>\n

Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> Try it out on people\u2014not on your patients or clients who are used to your system, but someone who isn\u2019t familiar. Ask, \u201cWhat did you get from this? What\u2019s missing? Am I using the right case studies?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> Any pet peeves that we haven\u2019t touched on?<\/p>\n

Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> Too much bulleting.\u00a0 You can bullet on the marketing side, but the heart of the proposal shouldn\u2019t be bulleted. I don\u2019t do the ten quick fixes kind of books. I like books with more substance in research, more narrative. I don\u2019t want bullets to take away from voice. Voice is what I\u2019m looking for.<\/p>\n

Three Must-Haves in Every Book Proposal<\/h3>\n

Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> So, that might be different for a prescriptive book, but for narrative books, don\u2019t bullet much. What are three must-haves in a proposal?<\/p>\n

Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> Marketing section<\/a> and author section are increasingly important. The first thing a publisher asks is, \u201cWhat\u2019s the author\u2019s platform?\u201d \u00a0You may need to repeat some information sparingly. An editor may not read a proposal front to back so don\u2019t miss a chunk about platform in About the Author. \u00a0If you have a lot of platform, put it under one heading, \u201cAbout the Author and Marketing\u201d so an editor is sure to see both.<\/p>\n

Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> Editors have so much on their plates.<\/p>\n

Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> Yes, many of us who read a lot have short attentions spans. The minute they\u2019re not connecting, they\u2019ll stop reading.<\/p>\n

Comparing Books<\/h3>\n

Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> How about the section on Competitive and Complementary Books<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> It\u2019s important to research this well. I do have access to more recent deals so I will often help an author but they must research what\u2019s out there. Your job is not to badmouth other books\u2014they may be published by the publishers we\u2019re submitting to.<\/p>\n

Instead, focus on why your book is different (more up to date), but don\u2019t turn it into a negative. \u00a0Make it clear, \u201cThis book is great but you still need my book because\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> Do you just compare your book to books that have sold well?<\/p>\n

Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> An author came to me recently saying that there are only four books out there on a topic, mine is needed. They were all small presses, showing it\u2019s not a big enough topic. I was on the fence whether it would be more academic or trade, but the four books from university presses didn\u2019t bode well. For a trade book, don\u2019t use four academic comparisons\u2014show some trade books.<\/p>\n

Success of another book can help a book\u2014even if not on the same topic, but written in a similar way.\u00a0 Just don\u2019t make it too disconnected.<\/p>\n

Lisa<\/span><\/strong>: Any guidelines for how to compare your book?<\/p>\n

Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> Be honest about books. Don\u2019t pick only unknowns and not only the four bestsellers. Compare to books that have succeeded. An editor who loves your proposal needs the ammunition to go into her acquisition meeting and say, \u201cI\u2019m comparing this book to these books.\u201d You do need to have books that have worked. But it\u2019s also okay to have some books that were well reviewed but not huge bestsellers. A book might have had a good idea, but did not work\u2014prove why your book is similar but will work. Be smart about comparisons.<\/p>\n

Miriam Altshuler<\/a> began her career as a literary agent at Russell & Volkening Literary Agency, where she worked for 12 years with such writers as Anne Tyler, Eudora Welty, Joseph Campbell, Nadine Gordimer, and Bernard Malamud.<\/em><\/p>\n

She established her own agency in 1994 and focuses on literary commercial fiction and nonfiction, but most important to her is the quality of the writing and how the subject is approached. In nonfiction, she is interested in general nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, memoirs, psychology, travel, nature and biography. She represents a number of award winning and best-selling authors.<\/em><\/p>\n

Get Lisa Tener’s free ebook: 10 Tips to a Book Proposal Publishers Will Love<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Looking for what a top literary agent advises for how to write a book proposal? Ever since Dr. Craig Malkin signed on with his literary agent, Miriam Altshuler, he\u2019s been singing her praises to me, as well as sharing some of her specific takes on book proposals. So when I decided to interview several literary…  Read more<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6757,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,9,10,12,1685,1],"tags":[1161,496,984,59,1160],"class_list":{"0":"post-6341","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-book-proposals","8":"category-finding-an-agent","9":"category-getting-published","10":"category-how-to-get-published","11":"category-how-to-write-a-book-proposal","12":"category-more","13":"tag-book-proposal-tips","14":"tag-book-proposals-2","15":"tag-how-to-write-a-book-proposal-2","16":"tag-literary-agent","17":"tag-miriam-altshuler","18":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6341"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":279250,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6341\/revisions\/279250"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Miriam:<\/span><\/strong> If the proposal does a good job of introducing the book, you can skip the introductory first chapter and get to heart of the matter with your sample chapters<\/a>. Some authors do a shorter proposal and use chapter 1 or the Introduction as part of the proposal, so you don\u2019t have too much overlap.<\/p>\n