I was actually making good progress with my first draft, but I was given some advice that convinced me I have to rethink the style and tone of the book. I’m okay with the advice, but I’m working on a way I can make the adjustments but still feel that the book reflects my ideas.
I’m getting feedback from someone I trust. I’m writing an instructional book about songwriting, and the tricky part is that much of the advice I give goes against conventional wisdom. I’m trying to present that material in a way that won’t turn novice songwriters off, and it’s tricky because my instinct is to just say, hey, the system you’re using now isn’t working! I’ve been advised, I think wisely, to present the material in a more positive way. But this has meant I have to rethink the way I get the ideas across.
This is the first query advice I’ve seen that doesn’t recommend novel comparisons, a one(ish) sentence summary, genre, word-count, a pitch that could be the back-copy of your book, or the intended audience. These fall under ‘tell the agent why the book will sell’, an area not loved by creatives but important for the business end of things.
The method above is delightfully more about connecting and interesting the agent in your work—but is it viable in the current market?
I’m not ready to do any of this yet, but it’s encouraging to see that all of this looks like things I could manage to do. Thanks for posting!
Aargh, yes, I’m struggling with it now.
I was actually making good progress with my first draft, but I was given some advice that convinced me I have to rethink the style and tone of the book. I’m okay with the advice, but I’m working on a way I can make the adjustments but still feel that the book reflects my ideas.
I’m getting there, I think, but it’s a struggle.
I’m getting feedback from someone I trust. I’m writing an instructional book about songwriting, and the tricky part is that much of the advice I give goes against conventional wisdom. I’m trying to present that material in a way that won’t turn novice songwriters off, and it’s tricky because my instinct is to just say, hey, the system you’re using now isn’t working! I’ve been advised, I think wisely, to present the material in a more positive way. But this has meant I have to rethink the way I get the ideas across.
Great advice!
This is the first query advice I’ve seen that doesn’t recommend novel comparisons, a one(ish) sentence summary, genre, word-count, a pitch that could be the back-copy of your book, or the intended audience. These fall under ‘tell the agent why the book will sell’, an area not loved by creatives but important for the business end of things.
The method above is delightfully more about connecting and interesting the agent in your work—but is it viable in the current market?
Thank you!