The Writer's Guide to Queries, Pitches, & Proposals

NOTE: This is the editorial posted in today's FundsforWriters newsletter. I like this book so well I felt it needed two forums, and I hope you feel the same way once you read it.   ~HOPE
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HAPPY NEW YEAR - AND A GIFT OF ADVICE


Whether you celebrated the new year with a yawn or a cheer, I hope it dawned for you in a good light. 2011 has already proven to be an eye-opener for me with my son's wedding planned in October and Carolina Slade's first book coming out in the winter. My 2011 will mean new experiences, and I'm chomping at the bit to see how it all works out.

But for all of us, 2011 means more querying, pitches and proposals, the exercise that drives the average writers nuts. We want to write the project, but hate selling it to the potential publisher. From my experience consulting writers, especially novice ones, querying is a huge obstacle, and many are so afraid of the process that they mangle it up, get tongue-tied, or simply treat it like a journalistic exercise.

I get notices of new releases for writing books. I'm often asked to review these books. The ones I like, I do. I've known Moira Allen for years. With both of us going back a decade in the online newsletter business for writers, of course we crossed paths. She reviewed my book, THE SHY WRITER, and I've used her testimonial hundreds of times. I was honored to receive it, because I respected her long honored, well-honed
work ethic.

Through Allworth Press, she just released a book entitled THE WRITER'S GUIDE TO QUERIES, PITCHES AND PROPOSALS(2nd Edition) . I at first worried that it repeated what the other writing books pitched, but was pleasantly corrected when I took time to read it.

This is a must-have for a writer trying to pitch work.

But maybe you're a copywriter, a novelist, a columnist. Does this apply to you or not? Yes it does. Here is a
book that covers ALL pitches. ALL queries. ALL types of proposals. That's all it covers. For instance, it shows you how to pitch in these situations:

=> Querying periodicals - Quick pitches, multiple pitches, international pitches, trade magazine pitches

=> Columns and syndication - Newspapers, magazines, e-pubs. Advice columns, op-ed, review, humor. Even self-syndication.

=> Nonfiction books - Format, finding the right publisher, analyzing the competition, pitching internationally,
DIY publishing.

=> Fiction proposals - Querying, synopsis development, agent queries, pitching at conferences, what to send in a package.

=> Speaking and teaching - Why speak and how to pitch your talents whether at writers' conferences, schools or local public events.

=> Greeting card companies - Methods and styles.

=> Business writing - Finding clients, bidding, fees, contracts.

=> Grants - Where to look, how to write one, what comprises a good grant package.

Of course the book is chocked full of examples to go by.

I've read the book. This one is solid, it's common sense; it's compacted information in one book to
keep you from hunting for the right one that suits your writing career.

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More on Moira:
 
Moira Anderson Allen has been writing professionally for nearly 25 years. She has authored six books, including the award-winning Coping with Sorrow on the Loss of Your Pet (Alpine Publications, 1996). Her Allworth titles include Writing.com: Creative Internet Strategies to Advance Your Writing Career (Second Edition forthcoming May 2003), The Writer's Guide to Queries, Pitches and Proposals (2001), and Starting Your Career as a Freelance Writer (forthcoming in September 2003). Her articles have appeared in such publications as Entrepreneur, Entrepreneur's Home Office, Cats, Romantic Homes, Writer's Digest, and ASPCA's Animal Watch. Allen currently writes two monthly columns for The Writer, and has also served as a columnist for Entrepreneur's Home Office, Inkspot, and Allpets.com.