tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504985949691119699.post4132096773299427101..comments2024-02-23T09:18:07.082-08:00Comments on Melissa Ann Goodwin: Writing a FICTION Book ProposalMelissa Ann Goodwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13454907380469372468noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504985949691119699.post-594708709617745682011-03-10T16:41:29.556-08:002011-03-10T16:41:29.556-08:00Hi Donna, that is a really good question! I guess ...Hi Donna, that is a really good question! I guess I kind of thought the agent would do it too, but I think it depends on the agent and their approach, as well as how much help they have (interns and such). In my case, my agent has worked more with nonfiction, so this is somewhat newer to her too. She got it started, but honestly I didn't feel as though her overview/story summary reflected the way I would write it - meaning it didn't have my voice. So I really re-wrote that part so it sounded like my story with a consistent voice. She did the bio and started the marketing plan, identifying the components, and asked me to come up with the classroom workshop/discussion ideas, since those should be things I would actually want to do. And, she came up with the comparable books but asked me to take a look at them and work on the compare/contrast. It ended up being a nice collaboration, where we went back and forth with ideas and edits - similar to finalizing the book itself. Honestly, I preferred this approach because the proposal goes out under MY NAME, represented by my agent, and I really appreciated having quality control over what a product that has my name on it looks like and ensuring it reflects my book as I would want it too. I'm sure it's different with every agent, but mine has a small boutique agency, and works in a highly collaborative way.Melissa Ann Goodwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13454907380469372468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1504985949691119699.post-52112484786266517822011-03-10T15:42:34.070-08:002011-03-10T15:42:34.070-08:00Hi Melissa,
This is a timely topic because I'...Hi Melissa,<br /><br />This is a timely topic because I'm attending a conference next month and plan to meet with an agent.<br /><br />While I am primarily a short story and non-fiction writer, several of my friends have published novels and I have attended a fair amount of conferences where book proposals are discussed. <br /><br />I've heard authors are expected to write book proposals for their non-fiction works, but I thought the agent was responsible for putting together inquiries to send to publishers. <br /><br />Guess anything is possible, and as I said my knowledge on this topic isn't expert. <br /><br />I'm curious to know how much of the work on the proposal you did versus what your agent did.<br /><br />When she told you "next WE do the book proposal," did she do most of the work, or did you?<br /><br />Thanks,<br />DonnaDonna Volkenannthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04540727800410234483noreply@blogger.com