Milestone event

I received a note yesterday from the nice folks at Sourcebooks. I am very encouraged as they are looking for two additional chapters to accompany my previously submitted non-fiction proposal.

Wait a minute! Didn’t I mention the non-fiction proposal? I guess not. I submitted a non-fiction proposal to Sourcebooks as a companion book to my fiction book. The non-fiction book is tentatively entitled “Writing Between the Nodes” which is a method I developed while writing “Box of Dreams”. It is also a roadmap intended to help aspiring writers through the daunting task of writing a book. My intent is too provide an up-to-date helpful guide in very plain language, while citing references from my own research.

As for my earlier comments regarding my love for writing fiction, that still remains. But, it IS a proposed book ABOUT writing.

Ok, so I should offer a little explanation about book proposals. A book proposal is a general outline for a book idea that writers (mostly non-fiction) may submit to a publisher. In the case of Sourcebooks, they accept unagented book proposals for non-fiction. They do not usually accept unagented submissions for fiction (except in the romance genre). So, how do I know this? I looked at their website Sourcebooks.com.

Which brings me to my unagented submission for my fiction manuscript, “Box of Dreams”. Sourcebooks ran a promotion during the Summer for aspiring writers to purchase a book called "Publish This Book" by Stephen Markley . It is an interesting concept book written as a memoir but it also provides insights into the publishing business. I recommend it. Anyway, with the proof of purchase for the book, the purchaser could submit 5000 words from a manuscript for review. I bought the book and submitted 5000 words from my fiction manuscript and eventually received some positive comments back from Sourcebooks encouraging me to make a few revisions and send the whole manuscript.

The note I received yesterday offered more encouraging words for my manuscript. However, like the proposal, it is far from the point of acceptance. Furthermore, even with revisions, it may not fit into their targeted markets. I must revise the manuscript again. I will provide some details of my revisions in future postings. But for now, I am very pleased to have an opportunity to resubmit my manuscript and will likely turn to a professional editor for advice.

In short, there is much work to be done.