Guest Blog What is a ONE SHEET Anyway?

So What is a ONE SHEET Anyway?

Guest Blog By Edie Melson

Today I welcome Edie Melson as our guest blogger on a timely subject, One Sheets. As co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers' Conference she has seen quite a few and written many herself. Do leave a comment or question and I'll pass it on to Edie!

Guest Blog

For those of you getting ready for a big writers conference, you may have heard about the need for a One Sheet. This tool is also known as a Pitch Sheet. It's a one page presentation of the project you're pitching to an editor or agent. Today I'll be explaining how to put one together.



Click here  to see an example of my cozy mystery, DEAD RINGER one sheet. This sheet led to multiple requests for proposal and full manuscripts. To answer your question, no, it's not been published. I sent it out too soon and killed my chances -- but that's fodder for a future post!


There are three basic components of a one sheet -- the project blurb, specifics about the project and the author's bio -- including a picture and contact info. We'll take each component individually and explain what's included.


An Image to Illustrate Your Concept

A lot of one sheets include an image to set the mood. This isn't a requirement, but we're seeing it more and more. You can buy an image, upload one of your own, or use one that's copyright free.

The Project Blurb

For this section, think back cover copy. This is NOT the place for a full synopsis. You want this section to read like the blurb on the back cover of a book. You should give more information than just a hook. Make sure you include enough for the editor or agent to get a good sense of the story.

Project Specifics

This is where you give some of the details and they're slightly different for fiction and non-fiction.

Fiction

Genre -- like Romance or Suspense.

Manuscript Length -- this doesn't have to be an exact word count, just an approximation.

Target Audience -- every book should be written with an audience in mind. I know, we all think our book will appeal to a wide range of readers -- and that may be true. But this tells the potential editor or agent how to market the book. It will help sell a publishing house on your manuscript by defining the reader you're writing for.

*There isn't a section here for completion date because it's understood that a manuscript must be complete before it's submitted. It's okay to pitch an uncompleted manuscript with a one sheet, but it's rare for anyone to look at it as a submission until it's complete.

Non-Fiction

Projected Completion Date -- the reason you don't have a non-fiction manuscript completed is because publishers like to have a say in the overall concept.

Manuscript Length -- since it's not completed, this is just an estimate.

Target Audience -- just like in fiction, you need to focus in on who specifically you're targeting with this manuscript.

Similar Titles, also known as Comparables -- you don't have to include this, but it's nice if you have room.

Author Info
This is where you need to include a recent picture, personal bio, contact information and social media information.

Picture -- this should be a professional headshot. That doesn't mean it has to be stuffy, but it needs to be of professional caliber.

Bio -- keep this short and relevant. The person reviewing your one sheet is going to want to know your experience. That includes writing experience and experience with your subject matter. In other words, why are you the person to write this book?

Contact Info -- You need to include your email address, phone number, and website URL. This is no need to include your physical address. It just takes up valuable real estate without adding anything.

All of these individual components will give you an effective one sheet. Be sure to post any questions or comments you have.

Edie Melson is the author of numerous books, as well as a freelance writer and editor. Her blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She's the co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference and the social media mentor at My Book Therapy. She's also the military family blogger at Guideposts.com, social media director for Southern Writers Magazine and the senior editor for NovelRocket.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

How to Write a Query Letter for a Novel - Part 2

Hello! Glad you stopped by.

In Part 1 of How to Write a Query Letter for a Novel, we gave you an example of a query letter I wrote recently that received a quick reply and request for a full manuscript (ms). We promised in Part 2 to go over the parts of the query letter for a novel to an agent or editor. It's all about getting their attention. But you don't want to give them a headache or get one yourself!

To begin with, fiction editors and agents are busy people.They like a quick view to get hold of your idea to see if it can be a fit for them. Most of them require a query to be only one page, so you have to hook them with something brief. Brief is beautiful to busy people. Here's how I do it:

Subject Line: (I like to put the agent or editor’s name I am addressing in the subject line even though the queries are often sent to a generic email address)

Romance Query to Agent _________”

(If I’ve met them at a writers’ conference I’ll start with)

Dear ____. It was good to talk with you at the ________conference. Attached is the full proposal you requested (or whatever was requested). Here is the query information I gave you. (This refreshes their memory of your book versus the many they’ve talked to)

At the top left margin I list quick facts:

Title: (in italics, of course)

Genre: (contemporary or historical or suspense romance, or mystery, or whatever)

Completed ms of ___words (Or tell when you project it to be finished and word count)

By: -- debut author so and so (or otherwise)

A stand alone or first book in a series? or leave this line blank

Email: (yours)

Home mailing address:

Web Site:

Blog:

Twitter:

Telephone No.  (I like to put this last so they find it fast to call me!) ( :

   

Pitch: (This is very important and will hook the editor/agent to go on or stop reading. It’s the main gist of your story in a sentence or two. Here’s a pitch worksheet that helped me get on target.)

(Your protagonist _________MUST___________________________(critical plot goal) BY______________________(conflict with the Antagonist, etc.) ONLY TO REALIZE ___________________(what the character learns about life that helps him/her change his/her goal during the journey or come to a satisfactory ending.

Sample 1

Jacob Marshall must avenge his father’s honor by implicating Serena Jones’ father, only to realize revenge often hurts the innocent.

Sample 2  (my pitch for my first novel, Summer of Deception)

Rachel York determines to unearth the truth about her brother's reported death by taking a position at a historic Carolina tea plantation, only to realize the truth may destroy her new found love and could even cost her life.

 

Back Cover Copy:  Is the owner of Markham Hall a man of integrity or is he part of the secret Charleston drug smuggling society that caused her brother's death?

(Here you’ll want to put something brief that will hopefully hook readers who will read the back cover before buying a book.)

Brief Synopsis: (Here is where you can expand the pitch into a good paragraph.)

Rachel York, an orphaned college girl, has no idea that love, danger, and a shocking revelation await her in Charleston, South Carolina. What can be better than spending summer taking care of a five-year-old girl on a working tea plantation? Rachel is hopeful the location will allow her to learn more about her brother's plane crash and death reported by the Charleston Drug Enforcement Administration. She arrives and discovers a handsome new widower owner, the little girl’s father. Luke Markham is a wounded hero back from the Middle Eastern conflict. He knows nothing about her job offer by his deceased uncle and looks on her with suspicion but finally gives her the position. Even with his eye patch, bitterness, and distrust, Luke threatens to capture Rachel’s heart until the night she discovers evidence he may be involved in coastal drug smuggling. Can Rachel’s faith survive the tests of deception and danger? Can Luke find faith again? After all the deception is unraveled, and Rachel learns the truth about her brother, can she and Luke find a love as strong as the tides renewing Markham Hall’s beaches and as enduring as the Camelis tea bushes planted in its heartland? (I tell the full ending if a long synopsis is requested with the first three chapters or full ms.)

Marketing Strategies: (all authors are expected to do marketing today)

I am building readership and friends by social networking on three blogs, a web site, face book, and Twitter; by leading writers’ groups; and by obtaining bylines with articles.  I hope to have a virtual book tour and produce a trailer. Other marketing plans include speaking engagements, book signings, TV and radio interviews, endorsements, and obtaining influencers who will write reviews for Amazon and other Internet sites as I have done for author friends.

Brief Bio: (Here is where you need your best bio in 100 words or less)

Elva Cobb Martin is president of the South Carolina Chapter of American Fiction Writers. She has taught school but now devotes her time to freelance writing, leading an Internet prayer ministry, and ministering as a guest speaker. Her articles have been published in Decision, Charisma, Home Life, Mature Living, and The State Magazine. She and her husband of forty years are the parents of a law officer son and a wonderful six-year-old grandson. They live in Anderson, South Carolina, and are active in a local congregation.

Final Sentence:    (Let the agent/editor know if this query is a simultaneous submission, which queries can often be, but not full ms. Check their guidelines.)

This is a simultaneous submission in seeking representation (or publication). I appreciate your consideration.

Sincerely,

Elva Cobb Martin

                                               *********************

Does the above help you write a query for a novel? Do you have suggestions for improvement?

Elva

Elva Cobb Martin is a freelance writer, Bible teacher, and grandmother. She is president of the American Christian Fiction Writers new South Carolina Chapter. She has been published in Decision, Charisma, and Home Life. She is currently seeking representation for her inspirational romance novels. Elva lives in Anderson, South Carolina, with her husband Dwayne. You can contact her by leaving a comment on this blog or through her web site at www.elvamartin.com, or on Facebook or Twitter @Elvacobbmartin.

 

Query Letter for a Novel

Hello there. So glad you stopped by!

Do you know how to write a query letter? Successful query letters for articles, fiction and non-fiction books are all alike in some ways, but very different in other ways. Some folks grit their teeth attempting to compose a query.

But it really doesn't have to be that hairy. I promise.

Below is a query letter I recently sent to a literary agency for a novel, after checking their submission guidelines carefully. The agency asked for a full mss quickly so, hopefully, something hooked their attention. Today I am giving you the exact query I sent (but not the first five pages they also requested that I paste in the same email). In my next blog we will go over the important parts included in this one page query letter.

Title: In a Pirate's Debt

Genre: Historical Inspirational Romance

Completed mss: 71,000 words

By debut author Elva Cobb Martin

A stand alone or first book in a series

Email: elvacmartin@gmail.com

Address: 104 Oak Knoll Terrace, Anderson, SC 29625

Web site: www.elvamartin.com Blog: http://carolinaromancewithelvamartin.blogspot.com

Twitter: Elva Cobb Martin @ElvaCobbMartin

Telephone: 864/226-7024 (h) 864/314-0804 (cell)

Pitch: In a Pirate's Debt is the story of a young woman who escapes a forced marriage but falls into the hands of a buccaneer who is considering taking King George’s pardon. Will the pirate risk his life and heart to help her?

Back Cover Copy: Saving her can land him in a hangman’s noose at low tide in Charles Town Harbor. Repaying her debt to him will relegate her to a life worse than death.

Briefly: Travay Allston flees her stepfather’s house in Jamaica and Sir Roger Poole who has won her hand in marriage in a gambling payoff. Poole corners her at the edge of the Caribbean and she drives her horse over the cliff into the bay. Privateer Captain Lucas “Bloodstone” Barrett pulls her from the ocean half dead and suffering from amnesia. Sailing on his ship, The Blue Heron, Travay regains her memory and has nothing but scorn for the pesky boy of her childhood, son of indentured parents, who has turned pirate—and become strikingly handsome. Love is out of the question, but she owes him a debt for saving her life. Lucas, on a quest to find his parents captured by the Spanish, backs off from the lovely, spoiled Travay. She spells nothing but trouble, especially to a new convert to Christianity. He drops her off in Charles Town and washes his hands of her. He thinks. When Lucas is sentenced to hang for piracy, Sir Roger shows up with a pardon, but only if Travay marries him. Will Travay repay her debt to a pirate by marrying their mutual enemy? Falling in love with the pirate was never part of her plan. . . .

Target Audience: women 30–80

Marketing Strategies: I am building readership and friends by social networking on three blogs, a web site, face book, and Twitter; by leading writers’ groups; and by obtaining bylines with articles. I hope to have a virtual book tour and produce a trailer. Other marketing plans include speaking engagements, book signings, TV and radio interviews, endorsements, and obtaining influencers who will write reviews for Amazon and other internet sites as I have done for author friends.

Brief Bio: Elva Cobb Martin is president of the South Carolina Chapter of American Fiction Writers. She has taught school but now devotes her time to freelance writing, leading an internet prayer ministry, and ministering as a guest speaker. Her articles have been published in Decision, Charisma, Home Life, Mature Living, and The State Magazine. She and her husband of forty years are the parents of a law officer son and a wonderful six-year-old grandson. They live in Anderson, South Carolina, and are active in a local congregation.

This is a simultaneous submission in seeking representation. I appreciate your consideration.

Sincerely,

Elva Cobb Martin

(end of query)

There, doesn't that seem easy? Actually, it's a carefully crafted piece and one I look forward to sharing more about in my next blog.  Thanks for stopping by and do leave a comment. Have you had a successful query recently?

Elva Cobb Martin

Elva Cobb Martin is a freelance writer, Bible teacher and grandmother. She is president of the American Christian Fiction Writers new South Carolina Chapter. She has been published in Decision, Charisma, and Home Life and is currently working on an inspirational romance novel. Elva lives in Anderson, South Carolina, with her husband and high school sweetheart, Dwayne. You can connect with her through her web site at www.elvamartin.com , on Face Book and Twitter @Elvacobbmartin. Or leave a comment below on this blog