![[CWW Title]](../CWWTitle.gif)
|
(Introduction - 5/8/01) WTYates: Welcome to the Christian Writer's Workshop! WTYates: We will be under protocol tonight... WTYates: Type a ? to ask a question... WTYates: Type a ! to make a comment (does not requires a response)... WTYates: Please type / or ga when you are done... WTYates: I will call on you in turn. WTYates: The Christian Writer's Workshop meets 10 PM ET Tuesdays in the #workshop chat room at iUniverse.com and 9 PM ET Thursdays in the Writers Workshop chat room on AOL (Keyword=wcchat). The CWW web site is at http:/www.billyates.com/cww/. If you would like the weekly email CWW newsletter, send an email to billyates@billyates.com. WTYates: Our guest speaker tonight is Alton Gansky. Peggy: (Hi, Mimo) WTYates: Al Gansky - "The Spicy Proposal" Learn from an expert! WTYates: Here's his bio... WTYates: Alton Gansky is the author of 10 suspense novels. He has published his own magazine as well as having written for business. He brings an eclectic background to his writing, having worked in such fields as accounting, architecture, and fire fighting. He holds a BA and a MA in biblical studies. WTYates: He has been in the ministry for 20 years and is the senior pastor of High Desert Baptist Church in Phelan, California. He resides with his wife of twenty-seven years, Becky. He has twin daughters and a son, all college-age. Peggy: (Marcia . . . logging?) MBananas: yes WTYates: We'll start with an opening prayer... Marcia, could you open for us? Peggy: oh good WTYates: me, too. MBananas: Lord, I just thank You for this time to get together and share and learn from You. Thank You for Al's willingness to share with us. Amen. WTYates: AMEN!! Peggy: Amen KiwiElle: Amen Diagocat: Amen spider: amen MmeTrucker: Amen Alton: Amen WTYates: Welcome, AL! Long time no see. Thanks for being our guest tonight. Would you like to say something before we open the floor to questions? Alton: It's great to "see" everyone. It has been a long time. We can start with questions if you prefer. WTYates: Maybe you can define a proposal for us so we know what we're talking about./ Peggy: (took the words right out of my mouth!) Alton: Should I introduce myself first?/ WTYates: Please... Alton: My name is Alton Gansky and I'm the author of 10 novels, the latest release (just a few weeks old) is The Prodigy by Zondervan... Alton: I'm currently working on two books, one non-fiction./ WTYates: OK. So what's a proposal?/ Alton: A proposal is the standard way of getting an editor's interest... MmeTrucker: ? Alton: For fiction it involves communicating a story idea quickly and persuasively. The trick is to stand out./ WTYates: MmeTrucker... LColeman: Hi all MmeTrucker: Sorry, I'll wait..ga Peggy: ? WTYates: Peggy... spider: ? Peggy: Okay... go on with 'stand out' -- how do you avoid "ho-hum"?/ Alton: Most of us are taught to make our proposals look like everyone else's. I think this is a mistake...Editors spend a lot of time looking at the same thing over and over again... I advocate being a little different without sacrificing professionalism./ WTYates: spider... spider: Can you give us an example of a blurb you used to sell a novel to Zondervan? Something that *did* stand out? ga Alton: Sure...let me think... Alton: I like to have a clear title then place a "tag line" at the beginning. An example would be... ICE (Baffin Island) That's the title, now the tag line... "It promised to be the greatest scientific study ever...if the world survived..." My goal is to get the editor to go, "Hmm." And read a few more paragraphs./ Peggy: ? spider: Well, that certainly is a hook. thank you. WTYates: Peggy... Peggy: What is the difference between a proposal & a query?/ Alton: Queries are used with magazines. A proposal spells out plot, characters, approach and includes a few chapters./ WTYates: ? Peggy: ? WTYates: WTYates... WTYates: I have seen some discussion on some of the lists about simultaneous submissions. Do you ever submit simultaneous proposals?/ Alton: Yes, I have. It's a toss of the dice but it can have some good effects. If they like your proposal... then the editor will call sooner. The down side is that some houses just dismiss sim. proposals. I had good luck with mine./ WTYates: Peggy... Peggy: So, essentially, you need to have your novel in process before sending a proposal? Or can one be sent with just an idea?/ Alton: If you've published a few books, then you can get by with just an idea... I have sold a couple of books on just two or three paragraphs, but the editors already knew me.... If you're "new" then they want to see more. They don't know if you can finish a book, or are difficult to work with. There are exceptions, but not many. The CBA is a little more loose than the ABA. sorry/ WTYates: ? WTYates: WTYates... WTYates: Have any editors ever commented to you on your proposals?/ Alton: Yes. I've been rejected with glowing praise for the proposal. It softens the blow./ Peggy: ? WTYates: Peggy... Peggy: How long should a proposal be, and what should it include ... for the 'newbie"?/ Alton: Okay. There are several elements that must be in each proposal. Those elements can be done differently which is what I advocate... First there should be a short letter. Make it look professional and make sure spelling and punctuation is correct. If you don't get the letter right, they won't read the rest... Next there should be a short discription of the project. I include the following... 1. Title: The Prodigy... 2. A tag line: "He was poor, homeless and eight years old...and the whole world depended on him."... 3. A summary of the project. Genre: Supernatural Suspense... Length: 90,000 words... POV 3rd person And then I include a list of locations. For some reason, this catches their interest.... 4. Synopsis. 1 or 2 pages in length.... 5. 3 or so chapters... I've changed the way I do some of these, but I always do them./ WTYates: ? WTYates: WTYates... Peggy: ? WTYates: Do you include a bio and/or credits?/ Alton: Yes (thanks for the reminder). I do. I always write those in the 3rd person./ WTYates: Peggy... Peggy: What, exactly, is a synopsis... is it something like appears on the inside jacket or back of a book? Alton: No. That's called cover copy. Or blurb copy... Alton: A synopsis (which means "to see together") is a description of plot, characters, conflict and resolution./ Peggy: ? WTYates: Peggy... Peggy: Do you 'outline' your items as you listed them here, or do you put them in paragraph form?/ Alton: I actually format the page so that it looks its best. Short items I do as bullet lists, long items I do in single space, 12 pt Times New Roman.... The sample chapters are always double spaced, 1" margins, 12 pt Times New Roman. The key is to give the editor something that looks very professional, but is different than the other 200 mss on his desk./ WTYates: ? WTYates: WTYates... Peggy: ? (am I hogging?) WTYates: Which chapters do you send? I've heard first three or first, middle, late.?/ WTYates: (no, we are...) WTYates: (everybodyelse, join in!) Peggy: (yeah!!) KiwiElle: (peggy's asking all my questions anyway!!!) Alton: Send the prologue if you have one, then chapter one and maybe two. Make sure you include a chapter with action. I've even started the synopsis with dialog./ WTYates: Peggy... Peggy: About including a bio... what about new writers who really haven't created much of a portfolio? How should they present themselves?/ spider: ? MBananas: (or no portfolio at all) spider: I'm sorry, but I haven't read any of your books (yet!). Do you start off with an opening hook with your chapters? And do you try to have the reader by the throat within a certain number of pages/paragraphs? ga Alton: Editors are interested in a good story well told. They will take a risk on an unknown. Every writer has a "first book." If you have special experience in a field that touches on your book, be sure to list that. For example, Robin Cook was a doctor. That gave him a leg up one his medical thrillers./ WTYates: spider... spider: Oops... sorry, I hit send by mistake!!!!!! question is above. ga WTYates: (been there, done that! :) ) Peggy: (ditto) Alton: Yes, Spider, I do. Remember, the editor is surrounded by mss. Yours has to say, "Bet you can't put me down." Of course, most books start off with that kind of hook./ WTYates: ? WTYates: WTYates... WTYates: How much of the book should you have written before you send the proposal? (Especially for newbies)?/ Peggy: (c'mon, Kiwi.... your turn :) ) Alton: That's a tough question. I had finished my first book before I sent it off. Now I don't write a book unless I have a contract. Most house want to know that you can finish a book, so they may ask to see the whole thing...if you have it./ MBananas: (Welcome, Snizzlew, Alton Gansky is our guest talking about spicy proposals) WTYates: ? WTYates: WTYates... Peggy: ? WTYates: How do fiction and non-fiction proposals differ?/ Alton: Great question. Nonfiction is easier. A good outline, a synopsis, and a couple of chapters can sell a book./ WTYates: Peggy... Peggy: You mentioned a prologue..and 'if you have one'... Do you advocate using prologues? I've heard lots of pros & cons./ Alton: It varies. I had to turn Chapter 1 into a prologue once because I introduced the bad guy first. Some editors don't like that. That was in Tarnished Image./ MmeTrucker: ? WTYates: MmeTrucker... MmeTrucker: Do you have a website where I can check you out? *grin* ga Alton: Sure (blush)...http://www.ganskycom.com/ WTYates: ? WTYates: WTYates... WTYates: MmeTrucker: MmeTrucker: I feel like someone is tapping me on the shoulder again and again. hahaha. WTYates: Have any editors ever told you what they like/dislike about proposals they have seen? Any horror stories?/ Alton: Oh sure. People try to get noticed (when they should be trying to get their story noticed). Some misspell the name of the editor... WTYates: [sorry - I had my qery in the copy buffer & copied MmeTrucker then] Peggy: ? Alton: send a romance book to textbook house...turn pages upside down...print blue inking on pink paper...all the kiss of death./ WTYates: Peggy... MBananas: ? WTYates: MBananas... MBananas: what do you mean by turn pages upside down?/ Peggy: (sorry, my keyboard locked up!) Alton: Some folk think that by turning a page upside down the editor will turn it right side up to read it. When the ms is returned the sender can then determine if the editor really read the ms./ MBananas: thanks. WTYates: Peggy... WTYates: {I wouldn't advise that] Peggy: Do you have online tips like this. ?/ Alton: Online tips? Like on a web page?/ Peggy: Yes... sorry... Alton: No. I teach these things at conferences from time to time. Let me squeeze one other thing I do... I also propose more than one book at a time. More than once I've had an editor pass on my main proposal but bite on a secondary story./ WTYates: ? WTYates: WTYates... WTYates: How long does an editor actually spend looking at a proposalbefore he decides to trash it or read further?/ Peggy: ? Alton: Not long. The acquisition editor (or assistant) will glance at the proposal and decide right then if its worth reading...if he/she likes it, the idea may be discussed with a pub board or similar. Rule of thumb. The longer it takes to get a response, the closer you are to acceptance. Not always, but often./ Snizzlew: ? WTYates: Peggy... Peggy: At what conferences do you teach, and are there any this year?/ Alton: My next one is in Antelope Valley, Southern California...I'm doing one in Anaheim, CA too./ WTYates: Snizzlew... Snizzlew: If you send a proposal for more than one book, is it ok (proper?) to send kind of a synopsis (I think I want to say) of several you may be writing? WTYates: [Hey, that's close!] Alton: Yes. I have a primary proposal then four to six other ideas. I especially do this in simultaneous submissions./ WTYates: ? WTYates: WTYates... Peggy: (I've got to figure out a way to get al, jack cavanaugh & bill yates together, so i can meet you all!) Alton: Dinner always works./ MBananas: i want to come too, Peggy. WTYates: Are those others separately 'packaged' so they can be separated by the editor? i.e., separate cover letters, etc./ WTYates: Is the system slow now? WTYates: Folks, I think the system has ground to a halt. I hope you can read this. WTYates: Alton, thanks for being our guest tonight! Great stuff!! WTYates: If anyone wants the newsletter, email me at billyates@billyates.com. --> Alton The system has ground to a halt for me. Thanks so much for being our guest tonight! WTYates: Night, all!! Log file closed at: 5/8/01 20:03:41 |
![[Top button]](../resources/go_top_btn.gif){kind=small}
Return to top of this page
![[Home button]](../resources/home_btn.gif){kind=small}
Return to CWW Workshops Page
Return to CWW Home Page