Long time no see

It’s been a few months since I’ve posted and it’s great to be back.  Karen Fainges very kindly agreed to step in for me while I underwent a few surgeries.    Thank you Karen for doing a wonderful job. For everyone following her posts, please don’t despair – I’m sure she will make guest appearances.

So, with the surgeries behind me it’s time to get back to business. 

In the last week or so I’ve sent out some queries on Child’s Play – the nanny guide book.  I immediately received the generic “truth be told” rejection from Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger (funny!).  The next day, I received a proposal request from Amberly Finarelli at Andrea Hurst (thank you Amberly).  

While Amberly ended up passing on the project, she did give me some valuable feedback.  She said, It sounds like a good premise, but I’m afraid that, with the existing literature in this genre out there already, I don’t see how this stands out enough from them–particularly in this belt-tightened publishing economy.  And she’s right.  From the very beginning I was toying with a somewhat risky idea in relation to the tone of the book.  I decided to be cautious and go with a fairly conventional approach.  I don’t think that’s going to be enough in this market.  Amberly’s feedback has given me the shot in the arm I need to go back to the manuscript and give it a make-over…this time I’m throwing caution to the wind.  Absolutely nothing to lose.

I ask you all, do you have a project that hasn’t been picked up (who doesn’t, right??).   Maybe your work needs a make-over.  How could you rev it up?  What could you do to make it stand out?  I challenge you to go back and take a risk.

The hunt for a publisher continues

In my last publisher update I mentioned that we had received a ‘full’ request within days of submitting the query.  Just the other day we received a rejection from that publisher. 

I was gutted.  I litterally feel like I’ve been kicked in the guts every time I receive a rejection for my work.  It hasn’t gotten any easier with practice. 

It generally takes me between 24-48 hrs to process and recover from a publisher/editor rejection.  I usually can’t even talk about it until this period passes.   The next part of my rejection recovery is to put on some good music and create two more queries. 

As I stood in line at the post office today, I wondered if one of the packages I was holding would result in a deal.  Fingers crossed – again, still.

Late breaking (competition) news

I’ve been a fan of the QueryTracker website since the day saw it. I’ve used it to locate agents and I was a member of the forum of a while.  Great community.

Patrick and the crew over at QT are having a top competition. Joanna Stampfel-Volpe of Nancy Coffey Literary is judging one line hooks for fiction manuscripts. Yep, you get one line to win her over. I love that idea. The competition is only open for 24 hours from Monday 13 April at 9am Eastern time (whatever time that is!).

There are three prizes ranging from a 10,000 word submission to full manuscript submission.   Full datails are available from the QueryTracker blog – http://www.querytracker.blogspot.com/

No matter how pushed for time you are, I’m sure you can fit in a one line hook for your manuscript.  I know i’ll be having a crack.

Very best of luck to us all.

The successful query

As requested, here is the successful non-fiction query.  I would remind you to read the publisher or agents submission guidelines when formulating your query.

 

Fabulous Publishing Limited

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

Re:  Playing to Win – A Success Handbook for Nannies

Please find enclosed the first two chapters of our manuscript, Child’s Play – A Success Handbook for Nannies, complete at 24,500 words.  Child’s Play is designed to guide nannies – both novice and experienced – through the complicated business of living in someone else’s house, life and marriage while caring for their children. 

As per the Fabulous Publishing’s submission guidelines, we would like to address the following points:

 

Author CV (and why we are the best people to write this book):

 

Narelle Bitunjac attended the University of Western Sydney and gained a Bachelor of Education (Primary) degree, making the Dean’s list for academic excellence in 2005, her final year.  In her current position, as an infant’s teacher, Narelle uses many of the skills she acquired during the years when she worked as a nanny herself.

 

Narelle’s article Dear John, a 950 word non-fiction piece about domestic homicide, appeared in Honestly Woman magazine October-December 2008 issue.  Honestly Woman is a women’s business magazine with national distribution.  The same article appeared on an American crime writer’s website called Women In Crime Ink.  It can be found in the “your say” section.

 

Fiona Debarge began her career in child care in 1988 when she attended the Australian Nanny School.  Over the years Fiona worked in Child Care and Kindergarten facilities, as a Ski Kinder Teacher, alongside new mothers and established families.  Fiona continues her work as a nanny and having just had her first child, has developed a new appreciation for motherhood.

 

Similar books:

Aside from a text book or two, there appear to be no locally written nanny handbooks on the market in Australia.  We did find one title which was written in the U.K.  Details are as follows:

 

The Essential Guide to Being a Nanny

Author: Teena Kamen

Paperback: 192 pages

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (24 Sep 2004)

Language English

ISBN-10: 0340814683

ISBN-13: 978-0340814680

RRP: $56.95

Playing to Win – A Success Handbook for Nannies differs from this title and appeals to our target audience in the following ways: 

* It contains local and therefore completely relevant information;

* It is up to date;

* It has a friendly, supportive tone which is easy to relate to;

* It will be inexpensive compared to this imported product.

Market description:

This non-fiction handbook book will appeal to nannies aged 18 and older.  We have included relevant information for all states of Australia making it marketable nationwide.

Additional Markets:

We would suggest marketing this book to babysitters and to parents who employ a nanny.  It contains vital information and will ensure that everyone involved with caring for the children has a common understanding.

Thank you for taking the time to read our submission.  We look forward to hearing from you when you have considered our work.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Narelle Bitunjac & Fiona Debarge

 

A word about fiction…I have found it much more difficult to query successfully for fiction as writing a synopsis is an art unto itself. How do you reduce your 75,000 word masterpiece into a paragraph or two that hits the mark?