Writing a book proposal is a daunting task. I’ve been at it all day long, trying to polish it so that I can send it out with my cover letter for my new book. I won’t lie to you. This part of the business is like a dental appointment. You know it’s coming up, but the closer you get to the day the more tempted you are to pick up the phone and cancel the appointment, or in my case, reschedule.

I think the same way most of you do. Why can’t someone just see my book, pick it up, and buy it? Oh, I’m not being naive. No, sir-ree! I’m being lazy.

Since I don’t claim to have a lazy bone in my body, I’m making a checklist, and guys, I’m definitely checking it twice. Why? Because this puppy isn’t a piece of cake. Every publishing company wants something a little bit different from the next one.

So, let me be the first to say: PAY ATTENTION TO THE GUIDELINES.

At any rate, I wanted each of you to know that I’ve taken an online class by Steve Laube. The class was $10.00. Believe me when I say that it was worth every dime I paid for it. Should I say that again? It was worth every single dime I paid for it. Okay, pay attention: If you take the course, make sure you have pen and paper handy. My note-taking was enormous. There is a wealth of information on this video (I keep saying video, but it was audio. Sorry. My mistake.)

If you’re wondering why you are receiving rejections, take this class and see if it will answer your questions. I’m confident it will. A good proposal won’t guarantee you anything but a read by the agent/editor, and probably a partial one, at that. Only good books and good writing win the prize. So, do like I’m doing and get back to work and polish your masterpiece.

I’m laughing at myself because as I write this I’m working on fumes. I think I’ve only slept fourteen hours in the last three days. I was hard at work on my latest novel. But it all paid off. It’s now in the hands of the editor. So, instead of going crazy worrying about the errors she’ll find, I decided to work on my book proposal. Man! I should have taken an aspirin and gone to bed. Bum!

If you’re so inclined, share your stories with us about your journey toward publishing. And if you have any tidbits of information that we can all use, please share those, too.

Below is the website to the Steve Laube course.

https://learn.christianwritersinstitute.com/courses/92673/lectures/6037016

Good luck everyone.

Happy writing!

Donna