As authors or freelance writers, we tend to focus on the agent, publisher or editor when we’re writing a book or an article. We fret, “Will he like this style, this format, the way I\u2019ve handled the dialog?” We worry, “Will she appreciate my attempt at suspense? Is this well-organized? What will she think about the way I ended the story?”<\/p>\n
Certainly, the agent’s, publisher’s and editor’s opinions matters\u2014in fact, they matter a lot. But I believe that you can work your way into these gatekeepers’ good graces by thinking of your readers first.<\/p>\n
I notice that my clients and students sometimes stress over such things as, vocabulary—using words and expressions designed to impress a publisher, for example. Some of them are so concerned with explaining their premise or their story that they miss the important things, such as clarity, flow and readability. Authors and freelance writers are often so concerned with what they think the publisher or editor wants or needs from them that they actually misrepresent their projects in their query letters or book proposals. I find that if I can convince my students and clients to think about their readers when describing their project or even writing it, they have a much better manuscript, proposal or query letter to offer an agent, publisher or editor.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d like to propose an exercise today. Pick up the project you\u2019re currently working on. It might be a query letter, the synopsis for your book proposal or an article or book manuscript. Look at it from the reader\u2019s viewpoint. Pretend that you are a random reader and peruse it—scrutinize it—from this point of view. I\u2019d love to receive your report after giving this experiment a try. Here\u2019s what I want to know:<\/p>\n
\u2022\tHow did it feel to look at your project from this angle?
\n\u2022\tWhat did you get out of this experience? What did you learn about your project?
\n\u2022\tCan you see how viewing your work from the reader’s perspective can greatly enhance your presentation to an agent or publisher?
\n\u2022\tWhat changes will you be making to your project after this realization?
\n\u2022\tHow will the results of this experiment affect your way of writing from now on?<\/p>\n
Contact me at PLFry620@yahoo.com. Or leave a comment here at my blog site.<\/p>\n
For more exercises, tips, techniques and hard facts, be sure to order your copy of The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book <\/em>and The Author\u2019s Workbook<\/em>. http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/rightway.html<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As authors or freelance writers, we tend to focus on the agent, publisher or editor when we’re writing a book or an article. We fret, “Will he like this style, this format, the way I\u2019ve handled the dialog?” We worry, “Will she appreciate my attempt at suspense? Is this well-organized? What will she think about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,4],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t