Today, I’m going to share another installment of our popular column, World’s Worst Book Proposals. Yes, we can learn from others’ mistakes! Featured below are real quotes from book proposals submitted to us over the past few months.
Chapter 1, Sentences 1 and 2
sitting at the window Emma couldn’t believe it she had just turned 18 and the war across Europe was taken its toll on everyone . . it a been three years since the germans had invaded Luxenbourg on the 1st auguest 1914 .
This one left me speechless…
i felt the typos were part of it becusae in the beginning i was 24 years old but if you read the story 6 years later i can naturally type free of typos and felt that the typos were also a way to show growth in how after you type enough then you naturally gain insight into typing correctly of your own free will without having to go back and edit. i have gotten some comments saying it was great int he beginning but people lost interests…
Um, what?
Her interest then takes her into the hands of somone who wants to gain her trust to marry her out of spite in the world of cyber dating the sky is the limit, but is it safe?
Speechless again…
BOOK IS A BOUGHT LIFE POETRY IS .
TO EXPRESS MY TIMES I LIVED ALREADY ,
TO GET OTHERS TO SEE HOW TO BE .
AN TREAT OTHERS AS IT WOULD BE BACK .
ON THEM FOR IT IS THE WAY ,
PEOPLE SEE EACH OTHER .
THAT IS MISS UNDER STOOD BY ONE. IT DOSE NOT BE LONG TO YOU IT IS MY .
WORK IT IS MINE AN ANY PROFIT IS TO.
Chapter 1, Paragraph 1
(It is summer time and the girl has woken up from a dread full previous night after a terrible day)
Nadia: (talking alone) oh! My god what have I done just went to the wedding too my surprise I stopped the girl from marrying that guy who had once proposed to me but also propose to another girl and was getting married, (knock from the door) coming.
First sentence in the book.
Its is a star-filled cold night
The proposal from the author below contained numerous errors and the writing was, to put it bluntly, pretty bad. The author felt compelled to respond twice to the professional rejection letter we sent to him.
EMAIL #1
Appreciate y’alls input. Please delete my script A.S.A.P
Best wishes on finding (reading) a better novel
EMAIL #2
Thanks for the “Pro” advice-if you would have read till the end, you wouldn’t be disappointed. So please delete my script from your data base-it has been copy written since last year-good luck finding a better “unedited” version of a masterpiece!
Good residence,
The ones below aren’t book proposals. They are query letters sent to WritersWeekly:
i would like to post an article about righting on your site i heard you would pay 60$ for a 600 word article i have wroten one and i plan to write one once a week.
hi angela.
this is (name removed). i want to write articles as a freelancer, and saw your
website in search for the same. how can i submit my articles and storeis?
For more, see the previous installment of World’s Worst Book Proposals HERE.
Angela Hoy is the co-owner of WritersWeekly.com and BookLocker.com. WritersWeekly.com is the free marketing ezine for writers, which features new paying markets and freelance job listings every Wednesday. According to attorney Mark Levine, author of The Fine Print, BookLocker is: “As close to perfection as you’re going to find in the world of ebook and POD publishing. The ebook royalties are the highest I’ve ever seen, and the print royalties are better than average. BookLocker understands what new authors experience, and have put together a package that is the best in the business. You can’t go wrong here. Plus, they’re selective and won’t publish any manuscript just because it’s accompanied by a check. Also, the web site is well trafficked. If you can find a POD or epublisher with as much integrity and dedication to selling authors’ books, but with lower POD publishing fees, please let me know.”
Read a price comparison of the most popular POD publishers HERE.
Our POD Secrets Revealed Series is HERE.
COMPARE POD PUBLISHERS!
(More details about each firm below appear HERE.)
>> BookLocker: $517 (Deduct $200 if submitting your own cover) <<
Rated “Outstanding” by Mark Levine, attorney and author of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing.
**(If you want to bypass the formal submission process, you can email your manuscript to Angela directly for consideration at angela -at- booklocker.com).
>> Trafford: $624.00 <<
Rated “Publisher to Avoid” by Mark Levine, attorney and author of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing.
>> CreateSpace: $978.00 (Deduct $299 if submitting your own cover) <<
Rated “Just OK” by Mark Levine, attorney and author of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing.
>> Lulu: $1248.00 (Deduct $450 if submitting your own cover) <<
Rated “Pretty Good” by Mark Levine, attorney and author of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing.
>> iUniverse: $1299.00 (includes 5 “free” copies) <<
Rated “Publisher to Avoid” by Mark Levine, attorney and author of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing.
>> AuthorHouse: $1593.00 <<
Rated “Publisher to Avoid” by Mark Levine, attorney and author of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing.
>> Xlibris: $1972.00 – (includes 5 “free” copies) <<
Rated “Publisher to Avoid” by Mark Levine, attorney and author of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing.
***Prices above based on least expensive package offered by each publisher on similar offers targeting U.S. authors. Fees include interior formatting (based on a 200-page book), original cover design with up to 5 images, print proof, ebook creation, up to 25 interior photos/graphics, an ISBN, barcode, a listing on the publisher’s website and distribution by Ingram, all within 6 weeks.
NOTE: All publishers above currently offer distribution through Ingram (the largest book distributor), as well as inclusion of their titles in the major online (amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, etc.) and physical bookstore systems.
NOTE: Many companies offer perks that others don’t, some try to upsell authors on extraneous services, and a few even claim ownership of files the author has paid them to create. Study each publisher and contract carefully before making your choice.
To find out what BookLocker.com can do for you, see:
https://publishing.booklocker.com/