Submission Guidelines

Leslie H. Stobbe Literary Agency
Lhstobbe123@gmail.com
Tel: 828-808-7127

 

Outline for Non-Fiction Proposal

  1. Title page with your name and address upper left, Word Count upper right. Below that in the middle: Non-Fiction Proposal, then title, sub-title (if there is one), name of author.
  2. Starting on page 2, the following:
    1. Hook--I call it the selling hook--of 35 or so words. Extremely important summary of why a reader will want to buy the book that an editor can use if the president asks, “Why should we publish this book?”
    2. Synopsis: A minimum of half a page single-spaced and up to one and a half pages. This is a survey of the book--not why you wrote it, how you wrote it, just the contents. Walk the editor through the book so she/he can get   familiar with the approach you use and the content you provide—and the editor can photocopy only this section for the executive team and be assured they know what is in the book.  It is important that the editorial team get a feel for whether it is story-oriented or idea upon idea.
    3. Uniqueness: what makes this different from other similar books out there? Are you a fresh voice? What might be a close competitor? 
    4. Author Credentials: what qualifies you to write this book: education/training/experience?
    5. Market: who will buy and how can you contribute to the marketing process?
    6. Table of Contents, with each chapter having a very brief summary. 
  3. The first three chapters, even if you have an introduction (from my perspective, an introduction is a waste of time and space because very few will read it—better to turn it into a first chapter). Your first chapter has to be a slam dunk—absolutely the best reader-grabbing writing the editor has seen on the theme. No chapters beyond the third chapter because if you have not grabbed/convinced the editor by then, it’s a lost cause.

Note: What you send me should be edited to eliminate misspellings, wrong words, missing words, punctuation errors, faulty grammar. After sending me your proposal, please do NOT send a series of corrected proposals. Reserve those for a hoped for publisher.

Outline for a Fiction Proposal

  1. Title page with your name and address upper left, Word Count upper right. Below that in the middle: (Genre) Fiction Proposal, then title, sub-title (if there is one), author name.
  2. Starting on page 2, the following:
    1. Hook--I call it the selling hook--of 35 or so words. Extremely important summary of why a reader should buy the book.
    2. Synopsis: A minimum of one page single-spaced and up to three pages. This is a summary of the story--not why you wrote, how you wrote it, just the story. Editors want a clear presentation of the plot outline and action in it. It does not need all the minor characters.
    3. Uniqueness: what makes this story different from other novels out there? What might be several similar novels?
    4. Author Credentials: what qualifies you to write this novel? Education, journalism or writer training, specialized fiction study, research, reading patterns.
    5. Market: who will buy just because it is your book? How can you contribute to the marketing process beyond your circle of influence? Do you have a functioning web site on which you can put a teaser chapter or two? Are you in Internet social networks?
    6. Table of Contents, providing a two to three sentence summary showing the flow of the story action for each chapter.
    7. Some editors like a list of the key characters, with brief descriptions.
  3. The first three chapters—they have to be your best chapters or there will be no sale.
  4. Submit as ONE document attached to an e-mail. No hard copy submissions, please.

Note: What you send me should be edited to eliminate misspellings, wrong words, missing words, punctuation errors, faulty grammar. After sending me your proposal, please do NOT send a series of corrected proposals. Reserve those for a hoped for publisher.