How can you get a publisher’s attention when you are an unpublished writer only beginning to build a platform?
Writers know editors and agents are looking for people who not only are good writers but who are well-known, are experts in their field, speak to hundreds, or get thousands of hits on YouTube. Is there a way to get them to notice your proposal among the hundreds they see even if you aren’t a household name? Here’s one idea.
Secure endorsements from people who already have platforms. Then present those along with your proposal. These can be previously published authors, well-known speakers or bloggers, leaders in organizations related to the topic of your book, or professors at seminaries or colleges. If you know people like that, ask them to read your manuscript or proposal with an eye toward possibly offering a two- or three-sentence commendation should they find it worthwhile.
Your personal relationship with these people will make it more likely they would consider the request. Make it clear they have no obligation; you are only asking them to take a look.
What if you don’t know anyone famous? Then think about your networks of friends, coworkers, and acquaintances. Maybe some of them know people with platforms. A question to this effect on Facebook could get you several possibilities. Ask those people if they’d be willing to pass on your manuscript to their prominent friend with the same request.
Once I received a proposal from a professor of New Testament I had never heard of who worked at a small seminary I had never heard of. In the proposal he claimed to have solved a significant and long-standing problem in the interpretation of the Bible. I thought his proposal was way overconfident, that he was all too certain of the revolutionary nature of his idea. I was ready to turn it down.
Then I saw that with the other usual things you find in a proposal, he had a page of endorsements from a half-dozen well-known and well-respected scholars, several of whom I knew personally. They clearly indicated this book was significant. What’s more, they were people from across a range of denominational and theological perspectives. It was because of that page of endorsements that I took the proposal seriously, and eventually the book was published to some acclaim.
I don’t recommend writing to prominent people you don’t know. It is a waste of your time and theirs. But if you have a personal link, consider asking for a favor.
Photo credit: Pixabay–freestocks-photos (microphone); rawpixel (typewritter)
Thanks, Andy, for this encouraging write-up. It pretty well describes my journey as an IVP author who was previously unpublished.
As an unknown Bible translator from the jungles of Papua New Guinea, I wondered how I could convince a publisher to even glance at my manuscript. I was pretty sure the manuscript was publishable, and I knew the message of my book was unique, so I set out to acquire an endorsement that could not easily be ignored. I did something you said you do NOT recommend, Andy; I wrote to a well-respected author I had never met, D. A. Carson. Not only had he written a significant number of books, but he had written more than one book in my specific area—Bible translation. When I sent him my 6-page book proposal, he wrote a very friendly response saying he was interested in reading my manuscript someday but was currently buried under a mountain of his own writing commitments.
Since D. A. Carson expressed interest in reading my manuscript, I didn’t give up on the idea of acquiring his endorsement. But I knew I would need to exercise great patience. So, I set the manuscript aside for an entire year and then wrote to him a second time saying, “You mentioned a year ago that you are interested in possibly reading my manuscript, but at that time your schedule was too full. I was wondering if perhaps your workload has eased any.” He wrote me right back saying, “I am starting to see light at the end of the tunnel, but the earliest I could look at your manuscript is nine months from now.” So, I had another opportunity to exercise patience. Nine months later, I sent him the manuscript as he requested. He had it for two months, and then sent me a very gracious endorsement. From the time I first wrote to D. A. Carson until I had his endorsement in hand was 23 months. I emailed the book proposal along with the first and last chapters to an IVP editor with the subject line, “Manuscript endorsed by D. A. Carson,” and I heard back within an hour. The topic of Bible translation is quite specific, so my book isn’t a best seller, although it is in its fifth printing.
Dave Brunn
Author, One Bible, Many Versions: Are All Translations Created Equal? (IVP 2013)
Dave: Thanks for your encouraging story. While you did go a bit against my advice, you didn’t spam dozens of people. You patiently pursued one, showing respect and restraint while still taking some initiative. Well done.
Andy