Proposal Assessment

I was all set to blog about something else this week, and then first thing yesterday morning I received my proposal assessment back from Brooke Warner. I promised to keep you posted and so here it is. Because of deadlines in her own schedule, it took her an extra week to evaluate my query letter and proposal. She was so apologetic about the delay, but every time she emailed to tell me she hadn’t yet gotten to it, I was relieved. I wanted to know what she thought, but I was afraid to know what she thought! Turns out, yesterday was the day.

Having never written a proposal before, I knew I would have more work to do, so I expected lots suggestions, and Brooke didn’t disappoint. My chapter-by-chapter summaries need to be fleshed out to be a bit more comprehensive. Brooke did a great job of going through chapter by chapter and suggesting what elements might be missing and what questions still remained after reading each summary. I seem to have the opposite problem of a lot of writers who have trouble summarizing because they feel everything is important. Apparently, I write using the “less is more” philosophy.

Brooke also had some good suggestions about a couple of things I should include in my query letter and overview, and she had an interesting take on what sets my book apart from other abuse memoirs (very important for the competitive titles section). That’s all I’m going to say about that because I don’t want to give too much away.

What I was most anxious about was Brooke’s feedback on my writing in general, you know, style, tone, etc. The other suggestions I can work on, but the way I write kind of feels like who I am. What she had to say about my writing style was positive and didn’t leave me feeling like I was pretending to be someone I have no business even pretending to be. When I’m feeling anxious or doubtful, which happens more than I like to admit, I now have some encouraging words from a completely objective source to help carry me through those moments.

As we finished our dinner last night and I was reading Brooke’s assessment to Joe, I realized just how much work is still left to do. If I should be fortunate enough to find an agent to represent me, there will likely be further revisions to my proposal in preparation for possible publishers. If I should win the book-writing lottery and land a traditional publisher, there will be more manuscript rewriting. Write, rewrite, write, rewrite . . . so it goes. It’s exhausting to think about. I’m reminded of what Jesus said in Matthew 6:34, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” And so, just like Scarlett, I’ll think about that tomorrow.