Preparing a book proposal for submission to a publisher or an agent requires you write a Table of Contents (TOC). This should be an outline of the book concept you plan to propose. Simple enough? Simple is not the same as easy. To begin this document, start with a list of your chapters. Do you have chapter titles? Are the chapters divided into sections or… [Read More]
Planning to write a non-fiction book in 2013? Do you have a work-in-progress memoir? And your goal is to publish? Then start the New Year with a timeline and plan to write a book proposal. Now that you’ve updated your biographical profile, write a synopsis of your book concept before the end of this month. In less than 1,000 words, write an essay in third… [Read More]
Now is a good time to update your biographical profile. January starts a new year and every author needs a short (i.e., 250-500 words) description of themselves in addition to a good head shot. The Bio is a big part of an author’s brand. Your book is the product, but you are the brand. And to keep your brand fresh and current, it’s time to… [Read More]
So it’s cold outside. Steep a cup of tea and put in a teaspoon of pure, local, raw honey. Then take a sip, close your eyes, and feel that warm golden glow. Give thanks for the angels of agriculture: bees. Homegrown Honey Bees: Beekeeping Your First Year, from Hiving to Honey Harvest by Alethea Morrison is an introduction to beekeeping and a recruitment tool for… [Read More]
You’ve been told that as an author you can’t afford to ignore Facebook with its 3 million followers. So you created a Page and worked hard to gain those “Likes” with compelling content. You stopped complaining that you had to do double duty with both a personal profile and an Author Page to maintain. You even accepted the changes with the new timeline without much… [Read More]
Parvaneh Bahar will talk about her father, her life, and her passion for freedom and human rights in Iran this Thursday, Nov. 8, at 6:30 pm in the Community Foundation Theater at Cinemapolis on Green Street in Ithaca, NY. On Saturday, November 10, Buffalo Street Books will host the author of The Poet’s Daughter: Malek o’Shoara Bahar of Iran and the Immortal Song of Freedom… [Read More]
Many memoir writers worry prematurely about the people they plan to write about and whether they might take offense or be hurt by recollections and revelations of past events. Stop worrying. Start writing. Give them something to talk about, as Bonnie Raitt sings. For those who struggle to sit down and inscribe their personal memories, the internal editor kicks in as soon as they pick… [Read More]
10/17/2012 UPDATE: In Publisher’s Marketplace I just discovered Michael Signorelli is the acquisitions editors for Harper Collins new imprint Inifinitum Nihil and their publication of folk singer Woody Guthrie’s 1947 Dust Bowl novel. I remember 20 years ago when Michael used to cut my lawn. That’s right. The boy next door on W. Enfield Center Road at the edge of the Tompkins County line. Now… [Read More]
Where to begin? Getting clarity on the genre of memoir is a good start. Then writing one memory. It can be intimidating to think of writing your life story beginning at your birth. So, don’t write autobiography. The classical forms of autobiography are called apologia, oration, and confession. Apologia are written as self-justifications for one’s actions. Orations are written to document one’s literary talents in… [Read More]
Before Lady Gaga, before Madonna, Cher, Lucy. Even before Mae West. In fact, Mae West started out in the shadows of the original cyclonic comedienne, Eva Tanguay (1879-1947). Andy Eerdman unearths the lost legacy of one of the most famous women in her day in this compelling history, Queen of Vaudeville, just released by Cornell University Press. Raised in a typical New England mill town, Miss… [Read More]
