Book Review: Your Novel Proposal

(Edit: Grrr...I posted this on the 10th but it's saying the 11th--something's messed up! Oh well, anyway...)
(Later Edit: And... now it's fixed, thanks to the fabulous Maricello. Hurray!)

Your Novel Proposal: From Creation to Contract by Blythe Camenson & Marshall J. Cook

Your Novel Proposal is an invaluable tool for anyone who has reached the point in their writing career when it's time to delve into the world of novel submission. Whether you are beginning the search for an agent or going directly to editors and publishers with your manuscript, this book will guide you through the process.

The book is divided into three main sections. In Part One: The Approach, the authors discuss publishing options, how to conduct the search for agents and editors, drafting the all-important query letter, and making your pitch. Part Two: The Package, deals with putting together a professional submission package that will make agents and editors take notice and provide them with exactly the information they require. Part Three: The Result, covers handling wait times and rejections, working with agents and editors through the acceptance and publishing process, and the technical side of having a book published. It closes with an appendix of resources for writers.

The subtitle sums up the meat of this book: "The complete guide to writing query letters, synopses and proposals for agents and editors." The authors present easy-to-understand instruction on what agents and editors are looking for, and, perhaps more importantly, what they are not looking for. There is much good advice in these pages, as well as insights into how the publishing industry works, and thoughts from many authors and industry insiders on the process of publishing.

The real treasures of the book, however, are the sample documents. One can spend any number of words explaining how to write a synopsis, but there is nothing like a real-life example to really drive the points home. The examples provide a starting-point, something one can modify and model on when writing one's own documents.

I can't recommend this book highly enough if you are serious about presenting yourself and your work in a professional manner. It should be on every aspiring novelist's bookshelf.