And now the editing of a book proposal…

Writing a memoir can sure be taxing. Unlike in my other works, like sales copy, instructional manuals, novels and technical writing, memoirs, at least good memoirs, require that you delve deep into not only the how and what, but also the why.

 In my case delving into the why I would be in the Central America War between the ages of 19 and 23 is VERY painful. Also, putting structure into a collection of life events and put meaning into them by order in which they’re entered into chapters. These are also taxing.

Many have asked why I’m writing a book proposal instead of just writing the book. Did you know that you’re likely to get  a larger advance for your book if you deliver a book proposal instead of demanding an editor read your completed book?

I like to think of it like releasing a first sales letter for a product or service. You send one and then you wait and see what happens. Then, you fix perhaps a headline or a section of your letter and then you release that one. Successful copywriters wouldn’t even think of not doing testing…why do book authors and novelists balk at the idea?

One of the most prolific mystery writers, James Patterson, considers his success the result of the marketing techniques he perfected as an advertising man: he tests all the time…

I’ll post my full proposal in PDF in a few days so that you can download and review to use as your own template for creating your book proposal. But, don’t ever take anything like a book proposal as a written stone format to create your own. I used to use more bullets in my prior book proposals, great for non-fiction how-to books, but not as effects for creating a memoir proposal.  This time I’m writing with a more fluid, narrative format.

Until next time…