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| WFNS Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia |
| Writing a Book Proposal: Fiction What is a book proposal? Your book proposal should be typed on white paper. Sample chapters should be double-spaced and all other material single-spaced, with double spacing between paragraphs. Send a simple covering letter identifying your submission as a proposal for the publishing house's consideration. On your first page give the title, your full name or the name under which you want to publish, the approximate word count you project as the length of the finished manuscript, the estimated time of manuscript completion (here you can note if the manuscript is complete already), and the genre (for example: general fiction, thriller, mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, woman-in-jeopardy, romance, historic romance, Regency Romance, western, or historical novel). Send literary fiction as general fiction. Please note that category fiction only sells if proposals get seen by editors. If you can categorize your manuscript, it will be given to an editor with knowledge of that category. Category or genre fiction does not mean formula fiction. In all cases, originality counts. However, books in each category may have certain common elements. For example, resistance, or the inability of the main characters to get together right away, is a standard element of romance fiction. Follow this information with a page on you, the author. In a few paragraphs, give the pertinent details of your life, work, and travels. Include titles of other books and publications if you've published before. Provide a brief synopsis (2 pages maximum) of the entire plot of your book. Use upbeat sales talk. Write as if this is the blurb that's to go on the dust jacket. Include 3 chapters, not necessarily the first 3 or any consecutive 3, and follow them with a detailed 15 to 20 page plot synopsis that includes bits of dialogue. How long is a book proposal? In total, your fiction proposal should not be longer than 100 pages nor shorter than 50 for a full-length novel (400 pages typewritten). The rule of thumb is that the proposal should be about one quarter as long as the manuscript itself. Copyright 1999 Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia. All rights reserved. These documents may only be reproduced for personal or non-commercial use, in their entirety, with this copyright notice attached. |
| Alcott Wit and Wisdom |
| Celebrating Women's History Month All of the Alcotts shared an intense desire to reform society for the better. From revising educational theory through abolition of slavery and equal rights for women, each member of the family contributed a legacy of respect, encouragement, and hope to these causes. In honor of Women's History Month, we celebrate the ideas and ideals of the Alcotts with respect to the status of women, and note that change -- albeit slow -- did indeed come. "Don't shut yourself up in a bandbox because you are a woman, but understand what is going on, and educate yourself to take your part in the world's work, for it all affects you and yours." ~"Marmee" in Little Women, 1868 |
| "As a poor, proud, struggling girl I held on to the belief that if I deserved success it would surely come so long as my ambition was not for selfish ends but for my dear family, & it did come, far more fully than I ever hoped or dreamed tho youth, health & many hopes went to earn it. ... |
