Lesson 20

Writing Class 101 by Rick Kurtis
 Ready and Available. Lesson 20
 We’re back for another great lesson. I do hope your week was productive. Today we will talk about what you should have. You thought it was just to write a story, and make a book. What should you have in your computer? You have your book completed from the front cover to the last page, the end, right? No, not even close. Now the real work begins.

Before you can submit it to anyone, you need a few more things to do. Do you have a cover? We went through this one, but what about the back cover and the description for the book. You want to tell them a heads up of what’s is inside, but not give away the story. 50 to 100 words squeezed out on the back cover. You also want people to know about you, the author. After the last page in your book, you want to put an ATA, about the author, a short 150 to 200 words about you. Your whys, hopes, and dreams. Also a website if you have one, or Facebook and such, so they can connect and you can mention other books that you are writing or working on.
Now for submission and marketing. It’s a good idea to make up a few blurbs, a short commercial, no more than 15 to 20 words. A good place for ideas is a TV guide. That short description to get people to watch. Make as many as you can. Make them sound thrilling, epic, intriguing. These will be used on phone posts, Facebook, and marketing ads along with the cover picture for people to view.
For agents, they want a synopsis. A synopsis is your whole book in a nutshell, cut down to a page and a half. They want you to describe the story line as if you watched it as a movie, and you were telling a friend, and yes, they want the ending. This I have trouble with. I don’t want to give the entire thing away, but my books have so much that I can give a closure for the most part.
If you tell a friend about the end of the movie, you ruin it. Same thing with a book. Why should I read it? Give a general outline with no real detail.
Another thing you need in your computer and ready to go is a cover letter. This is like the back cover. It’s a three paragraph statement about the book. When a person sees your cover and reads the blurb, they will open it to the next page for more information. It’s not a synopsis or a description, but just something that intrigues them to buy. Maybe expand the blurb, or give them a great line from the book. “You can’t handle the truth. / Maybe it’s a tumor. IT’S NOT A TUMOR! / What's in the Box?”  
Say something in your own words. This can be used on your author pages with different sites, and for ad marketing. Make a few different ones for different types of people. Make it personal to them so they want to read your book.
Next you need a query letter. A query letter is a three or four short paragraphs to entice a publisher or agent. They want a quick glance to say yay or nay. You can find a layout form in the Book Marketing Guide along with a list of publishers and agents. This book is published and renewed every two years. It gives you updates on publishers and agents who are looking for new books and also what kind of books that they want.
To help more, I’ll explain. Many agents will request different styles, so each letter will have to be modified to fit each individual agent. But as long as you have it in your computer, it’s easy to move it around or change and re-date before you print or send.
On the top left will put your name, address, phone and email, website, and genre along with the word count. Drop down two lines and put a publisher or agent’s name and address if need be. Drop one line and put the date. Drop two more for the header, dear so-and-so. Make sure to address them personally, and also try to find out if they are still in that position. Some quit, get fired, or advance like changing your underwear.
The first paragraph has your title name in parentheses along with the word count, and a one or two sentence blurb. The third sentence is why you think that your book is a good fit for them.
The second paragraph is an about you, the author, and why you wrote the book. It includes your accomplishments, education, etc. No more than four or five sentences.
The third paragraph is marketing, but only if you have a fourth paragraph. Why you think people will buy your book. What you are doing to market yourself already. Include Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and everything that you were involved in. It shows them that you are serious and doing work so they don’t have to.
The fourth paragraph; repeat the book title with a thank you. Say I appreciate this opportunity and look forward in working with you. Be nice and use a lot of butter. Don’t be independently strong willed. Be humble.
One last thing you might want to have on hand is your book written into a 120 page screenplay in case it gets picked up. You could also push it yourself onto movie agents and producers. Who knows what they want? Yours might be the one. The Complete Screenwriters Manual by Stefan E. Bowles, Ronald Mangravite, and Peter A. Zorn Junior is the book that I used.
All I can say is leave direction up to the director, keep POV to a minimum, and submit. If they accept it, they will rewrite it seventeen times anyway once they pay you for the script. Being a nobody, start at $3000. It’s worth a shot if you get that far. Also, do a six-month contract if possible. This way you can submit it to someone else. Don’t fret with rejection. It is who you know and who you--- in that industry.
Next week will be a whole new topic. Coming up on Monday is Memorial Day, a day that we honor our fallen soldiers who died to protect others. We honor their memory with this special day. Until then, enjoy your days and
 
Happy Writing from rickkurtisbooks.com