Get Known Before the Book Deal

Know Thy Self, Know Thy Audience: Get Ready to Get Published!

By Sage Cohen

 

Last month, when you learned how your target audience experienced your book description, were there any surprises? How did the feedback match or diverge from your own expectations and research? Does your story about the value and purpose of your book need to be adjusted for clarity, or to showcase an advantage that is not currently being perceived?
 
Now is the time to make any final tweaks to address such concerns. Then give yourself a pat on the back for capturing this story just right.
 
The work you've done to articulate your book's value, purpose, audience, and competition is the keystone upon which your book proposal (and ultimately your book) will be written. By taking the time to slowly flesh out your book blurb and supporting points through the course of this year, you've had a chance to refine your vision and your story along the way -- both based on reader feedback and your evolving understanding of your project.
 
With your blurb polished to a high shine, you're ready to take the next step. Find your favorite how-to-write a proposal book (I used Elizabeth Lyons' Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody can Write) and dive in. I expect you'll find that the in-depth preparation you've already done will serve you very well when writing the proposal. You'll be starting from an informed, confident place that is fortified with your best writing about your most passionate topic. There is simply no more auspicious way to approach agents and publishers and then bring your book into the world.
 
To your book's success! 

 

  

Sage Cohen is the author of Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry (Writers Digest Books, 2009) and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World. An award-winning poet, she writes three monthly columns about the craft and business of writing and serves as Poetry Editor for VoiceCatcher 4. Her poetry and essays appear in journals and anthologies including Cup of Comfort for Writers, The Oregonian, Oregon Literary Review, Greater Good and VoiceCatcher. Sage holds an MA in creative writing from New York University, co-hosts a monthly reading series at Barnes & Noble and teaches the online class Poetry for the People. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and awarded a Soapstone residency. To learn more, visit www.writingthelifepoetic.com.

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Know Thy Self, Know Thy Audience: Test Your Market

By Sage Cohen

 

You've worked hard this year at defining the objectives and value of your book concept. You know who your audience is (and sub-audiences are), what they need, and how your book meets those needs exceptionally well. Now you even have a book blurb and proof points that explain exactly how and why your book is the right solution for the people who are seeking what you're offering.
 
It's time to get your blurb in front of potential readers and see how it lands.
 
Refer back to the list of audiences you outlined in May, and your goal for each type. As a reminder, my list was:
 
Writing the Life Poetic offers the following for each reader:
 
People already writing poetry: Fresh inspiration, new perspectives, and a wide selection of wisdom, prompts, and process tips to keep their muse infused with fun.
 
People who want to write poetry: A friendly, accessible welcome to the realm of poetry that lets them dive right into the enjoyment of reading and writing.
 
Teachers of writing: A valuable, easy-to-use guide that they can use to share the joy of poetry with their students.
 
Active creatives: A reminder that they need only translate what they already know to the delight of creating poems.
 
Individuals using the book on their own: a comprehensive, inviting companion for their poetry journey; one that encourages like a friend.
 
Students of all ages: a reference book that doesn't lecture from the front of the classroom but has fun right along with them.
 
Your turn!
 
Find three-to-five people in each of your defined audience segments and ask them to read your book blurb. When they're finished reading, ask them to write down answers to these four questions -- as candidly as possible:
 
1.   What is appealing to you about this book?
2.   What do you expect you'd learn or accomplish by reading it?
3.   How is this book like or unlike other books on this topic that  you've already read?
4.   Why would you choose or not choose to read this book?
 
Gather the results and make note of how the feedback matches or diverges from your own expectations and research.
 
Be grateful for all feedback, even when you don't get the affirmation you were hoping for. This is a great time to be learning about how your book idea sits with potential readers -- before writing it. You only stand to gain by any surprises that come your way at this stage.
 
Then sharpen your pencils and get ready to polish that blurb next month into the rock-solid foundation on which your proposal will be written.

  

Sage Cohen is the author of Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry (Writers Digest Books, 2009) and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World. An award-winning poet, she writes three monthly columns about the craft and business of writing and serves as Poetry Editor for VoiceCatcher 4. Her poetry and essays appear in journals and anthologies including Cup of Comfort for Writers, The Oregonian, Oregon Literary Review, Greater Good and VoiceCatcher. Sage holds an MA in creative writing from New York University, co-hosts a monthly reading series at Barnes & Noble and teaches the online class Poetry for the People. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and awarded a Soapstone residency. To learn more, visit www.writingthelifepoetic.com.

Know Thy Self, Know Thy Audience: Back Up Your Blurb with Proof Points

By Sage Cohen

 

Last month, you wrote your book blurb. In this brief paragraph or two, you named the problem your book solves, described the readers who would most enjoy it, and articulated clearly what it will accomplish for those readers.
 
This month, it's time to write the proof points that give persuasive examples of how your book delivers on the promises articulated in the blurb. Before sharing my proof points as an example, I'll remind you of the blurb I created for Writing the Life Poetic:
 
"No one needs an advanced degree in creative writing to reap the rewards of poetry. Writing the Life Poetic puts poetry back into the hands of the people -- not because they are aspiring to become the poet laureate of the United States -- but because poetry is one of the great pleasures in life.
 
"Writing the Life Poetic is packed full of captivating new ways to generate ideas and have fun with the writing process. 80 short, friendly chapters address a mix of content, process and craft ideas designed to help you tune into the poetry of your life -- and get it down on the page."
 
Here are the proof points I used to back up these claims:
 
"Writing the Life Poetic can help poets and writers at any level to:
 
Find the inspiration they need to put pen to paper immediately
Transform the raw materials of experience and emotion into language
Build skills and confidence in their poetic voice
Learn some key craft techniques and enjoy experimenting with them
Engage in (or breathe new life into) a writing and reading practice
Get excited about the possibilities of poetry"
 
In effect, the proof points should drill a level deeper to articulate the value and results readers will come away with after reading your book.
 
Your turn!
 
Take a fresh look at your book's blurb. For each advantage you've described, list three specific examples (or proof points) of how readers will benefit. Think of this as a brainstorm list. When you're finished, put the list down for a day or two. Come back when you're fresh and whittle the list down to the five or six most compelling points. Your goal here is to get readers excited about the specific opportunities and results that your book will afford them. 
 

  

Sage Cohen is the author of Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry (Writers Digest Books, 2009) and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World. An award-winning poet, she writes three monthly columns about the craft and business of writing and serves as Poetry Editor for VoiceCatcher 4. Her poetry and essays appear in journals and anthologies including Cup of Comfort for Writers, The Oregonian, Oregon Literary Review, Greater Good and VoiceCatcher. Sage holds an MA in creative writing from New York University, co-hosts a monthly reading series at Barnes & Noble and teaches the online class Poetry for the People. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and awarded a Soapstone residency. To learn more, visit www.writingthelifepoetic.com.

 

Know Thy Self, Know Thy Audience: Write an Irresistible Book Blurb

By Sage Cohen

 

You now know what your book accomplishes and for whom. You know how it compares to similar books and why readers should choose yours. You know how you want folks to feel about your book and the best way to inspire this feeling.
 
It's time to condense all of this knowledge into a single, high-impact paragraph or two -- called a blurb -- that tells the story of your book's value quickly and persuasively.
 
The blurb can be used in a variety of ways to move your project forward: as the foundation of your query letter, the concept statement in your book proposal, the crib sheet from which you pitch the book live at a conference, and ultimately the marketing content (or blurb) on the book's back cover or jacket flap.
 
The blurb's job is convince to agents and publishers that your book will sell -- and convince readers that this is a book they must have.
 
Here's the blurb I created for Writing the Life Poetic:
 
"No one needs an advanced degree in creative writing to reap the rewards of poetry. Writing the Life Poetic puts poetry back into the hands of the people -- not because they are aspiring to become the poet laureate of the United States -- but because poetry is one of the great pleasures in life.
 
Writing the Life Poetic is packed full of captivating new ways to generate ideas and have fun with the writing process. 80 short, friendly chapters address a mix of content, process, and craft ideas designed to help you tune into the poetry of your life -- and get it down on the page."
 
Your turn! Write a blurb that names the problem your book solves, describes the readers who would most enjoy it, and articulates quickly what it will accomplish for those readers -- and how.
 
Be patient with yourself. Whittling down everything you know about this project into a paragraph or two can take some time. Expect multiple revisions.
 
Then test out the blurb on a few people who are unfamiliar with your book and ask them to tell you what they've learned from it. This will help you see where you're hitting the mark and what could be refined.  

 

Sage Cohen is the author of (Writers Digest Books, 2009) and the poetry collection Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write PoetryLike the Heart, the World. An award-winning poet, she writes three monthly columns about the craft and business of writing and serves as Poetry Editor for VoiceCatcher 4. Her poetry and essays appear in journals and anthologies including Cup of Comfort for Writers, The Oregonian, Oregon Literary Review, Greater Good and VoiceCatcher. Sage holds an MA in creative writing from New York University, co-hosts a monthly reading series at Barnes & Noble and teaches the online class Poetry for the People. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and awarded a Soapstone residency. To learn more, visit www.writingthelifepoetic.com.

Know Thy Self, Know They Audience: How to Overcome Reader Objections

By Sage Cohen

Last month you clarified your book's key audiences -- both the general readership and niche groups within that audience. This month, we're going to explore how to best reach these folks and help them see why your book is a fit for their needs.

You can start by answering these questions:

1. What emotion/reaction do I want to evoke when people think about my book?
2. What barriers do I need to overcome to get people to purchase my book?
3. What is my strategy for overcoming these barriers?

For example, following are my answers to these questions for my book, Writing the Life Poetic:
 
1. I want people who read Writing the Life Poetic to feel inspired, excited and energized about writing poems.
 
2. Writing the Life Poetic will have to overcome the following barriers for each audience:
 
People already writing poetry: Belief that they know enough already and/or don't need a creative companion.
 
People who want to write poetry: Fear that they don't have what it takes to write poetry.
 
Teachers of writing: Concern that they'd need to be poetry experts themselves to teach poetry. Resistance to using a resource that is time-consuming or cumbersome to learn and/or prepare lessons.
 
Active creatives: Don't see the link between their current craft/art and poetry.
 
Individuals using the book on their own and students of all ages: Lack of tools, knowledge and support to dive into a poetry practice.
 
3. Writing the Life Poetic will overcome these barriers as follows:
 
People already writing poetry: Offer them information and inspiration that presents a new way of approaching their poetry practice.
 
People who want to write poetry: Send a blast of optimism and fun through people's fear blinders. It will need to penetrate their beliefs that poetry is not for them and invite them into the adventure.
 
Teachers of writing: Provide a plug-and-play instructional resource. In other words, all a teacher needs to do is assign a chapter; students can easily follow the lessons on their own.
 
Active creatives: Remind them that anyone who is excited about creating art, crafts, music or theatre can also enjoy creating poems.
 
Individuals using the book on their own and students of all ages: Give them everything they need to tune into the poetry of their lives -- and get it down on the page.
 
Your turn! Start with your audience list from last month, and try to get inside of the needs, desires, fears and aspiration of each group. The more clearly you can envision who they are, the better you'll be able to articulate how your book makes a meaningful connection to each segment of your audience.

 

 

Sage Cohen is the author of Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry, forthcoming from Writer's Digest Books, and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World. Her poetry and essays appear in journals and anthologies including Cup of Comfort for Writers, Oregon Literary Review, Greater Good and VoiceCatcher. Sage holds an MA in creative writing from New York University and teaches the email class Poetry for the People. For more than a decade, she has run the marketing communications firm Sage Communications.

Know Thyself, Know Thy Audience: Clarify Who Needs Your Book

By Sage Cohen You've done great work in the past few months articulating what your book offers, why it is valuable and how it measures up in the marketplace. Now it's time to get clear about whom your book is speaking to and what they need from it. Having a thorough understanding of your book's key audiences can help you deliver the right messages to the right people at the right times. Many authors market to their most general audience, but miss the opportunity for niche marketing within the primary audience.   1. Who is the big-picture audience that needs to know about your book?   2. What specific types of readers do you want to attract? (These would be sub-categories of the audience listed in number 1)   3. What are your goals for each type of reader?   For example, following are my answers to these questions for my book, Writing the Life Poetic:   1. Writing the Life Poetic is for people who want to have fun reading and writing poetry.   2. Writing the Life Poetic will attract people who are already writing poetry, people who want to write poetry and teachers of writing. It will appeal to people who already identify as creatives through some other art form, such as scrapbooking. It works equally well as a creative companion for poets of all ages, or as a classroom guide for high school, college or adult education.   3. Writing the Life Poetic offers the following for each reader:   People already writing poetry: Fresh inspiration, new perspectives and a wide selection of wisdom, prompts and process tips to keep their muse infused with fun.   People who want to write poetry: A friendly, accessible welcome to the realm of poetry that lets them dive right into the enjoyment of reading and writing.   Teachers of writing: A valuable, easy-to-use guide that they can use to share the joy of poetry with their students.   Active creatives: A reminder that they need only translate what they already know to the delight of creating poems.   Individuals using the book on their own: a comprehensive, inviting companion for their poetry journey; one that encourages like a friend.   Students of all ages: a reference book that doesn't lecture from the front of the classroom but has fun right along with them.   Your turn! Make sure to define a big-picture audience; then list as many different types of readers as you can. You don't want to miss an opportunity to reach someone who might want or need the information you are offering. You also don't want to limit your book's appeal to a wider audience by overlooking a particular age group or interest group. For example, knowing your book might be useful to younger audiences would ensure that you'd avoid adult content.   Sage Cohen is the author of Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry, forthcoming from Writer's Digest Books, and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World. Her poetry and essays appear in journals and anthologies including Cup of Comfort for Writers, Oregon Literary Review, Greater Good and VoiceCatcher. Sage holds an MA in creative writing from New York University and teaches the email class Poetry for the People. For more than a decade, she has run the marketing communications firm Sage Communications.

Know Thy Self, Know Thy Audience: Defining the Experience Your Book Will Provide

By Sage Cohen

Last month you considered how the book you intend to write compares to similar books that it will be selling against. Now that you have a good sense of what's out there and how your book measures up, we're going to dig a little deeper into why readers should purchase yours! Ask yourself:

1. How do you want your book to be perceived in the marketplace?
2. Please use as many adjectives as you can think of to describe the personality of your book.
3. Write a sentence or two (called a value proposition) that defines what is exceptional about your book and sets it apart from the rest.

For example, following are my answers to these questions for my book, Writing the Life Poetic:

1. I want my book to be regarded as an approachable DIY creative companion that anyone can easily use to start writing poems and enjoying poetry.
2. Writing the Life Poetic is: fun, friendly, inspiring, informative, whimsical, inviting, easy to understand, bite-sized (chapters), poem-generating!
3. Writing the Life Poetic offers a friendly, fun initiation into the joys of reading and writing poetry. Craft, process and content lessons are all designed to invite readers to tune into the poetry of their lives -- then get it down on the page.

Your turn! Remember: this is your chance to expand the very valuable thinking you did last month into the more abstract realm of how your book feels. Have fun defining what kind of experience it will create for readers, and why they will want to seek out such an experience!

Sage Cohen is the author of Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry, forthcoming from Writer's Digest Books, and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World. Her poetry and essays appear in journals and anthologies including Cup of Comfort for Writers, Oregon Literary Review, Greater Good and VoiceCatcher. Sage holds an MA in creative writing from New York University and teaches the email class Poetry for the People. For more than a decade, she has run the marketing communications firm Sage Communications.

Know Thy Self, Know Thy Audience: Your Positioning and Objectives

Your Positioning and Objectives
By Sage Cohen

Last month you articulated the services your book provides and the problems it solves in today's market. This month, we're going to consider how this offering compares to similar books that yours will be selling against. You can evaluate how competitive your book will be in the marketplace by considering these three questions:

1. What books are competing with your books?
2. What are these books' strengths and weaknesses?
3. What makes your book stand out from the competition?

For example, following are my answers to these questions for my book, Writing the Life Poetic:

1. After spending some time doing research online and perusing the shelves of several bookstores, I compiled a list of the top five books competing with mine.
2. The craft of poetry has been well documented in a variety of books that offer a valuable service to serious writers striving to become competent poets. However, most of these books read like textbooks and do not feel friendly and inviting to the newcomer.
   
3. It's time for a poetry book that does more than lecture from the front of the classroom. Writing the Life Poetic was written to be a contagiously fun adventure in writing. Through an entertaining mix of insights, exercises, expert guidance and encouragement, I intend to get readers excited about the possibilities of poetry--and engaged in a creative practice.

Your turn! I recommend that you take your time with this assignment and really get familiar with the range of books available in your subject area. You'll know you're headed in the right direction if you find at least a few books similar to yours available today. (This means that there is already an established market for your topic.) And if you're able to clearly articulate how yours will fill a need that the others don't address, it's likely that you've chosen a topic that will sell.

Sage Cohen is the author of Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry, forthcoming from Writer's Digest Books, and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World. Her poetry and essays appear in journals and anthologies including Cup of Comfort for Writers, Oregon Literary Review, Greater Good and VoiceCatcher. Sage holds an MA in creative writing from New York University and teaches the email class Poetry for the People. For more than a decade, she has run the marketing communications firm Sage Communications.

Know Thy Self, Know Thy Audience: How Will Your Book Serve?

By Sage Cohen

Last month you defined your book's big-picture mission and vision. This month, let's narrow your gaze to get an understanding of the nuts and bolts of your book's offering and the problems it solves in today's market.

1. Describe the service(s) your book provides.
2. Why are these services valuable?
3. What needs does your book satisfy?

For example, following are my answers to these questions for my book, Writing the Life Poetic:

1. Writing the Life Poetic offers accessible tools, information and inspiration to help readers cultivate a poetry reading and writing practice.
2. Many creative people don't have a relationship with poetry because they feel it's too intimidating or incomprehensible. Writing the Life Poetic makes poetry approachable for readers and helps them cultivate a poetic way of being, reading and writing.
3. My book satisfies people's needs to engage with language in a way that is surprising and invigorating. It wakes readers up to the poetry they have inside them and offers a friendly invitation to start writing.

Answer these questions for yourself now. Write your answers quickly, without too much thinking and then put them aside. Come back to them in a day or so. See what resonates, then spend some time fine-tuning. The clearer you are now about what your book will do and why this is of value, the easier it will be to write.

Sage Cohen is the author of Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry, forthcoming from Writer's Digest Books, and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World. Her poetry and essays appear in journals and anthologies including Cup of Comfort for Writers, Oregon Literary Review, Greater Good and VoiceCatcher. Sage holds an MA in creative writing from New York University and teaches the email class Poetry for the People. For more than a decade, she has run the marketing communications firm Sage Communications.