Books about Submitting from Amazon.com

Revised and with dozens of new examples, this edition of Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript builds upon the success of the original--providing the comprehensive information every writer needs to prepare stand-out submissions--while also adding new information on specific genres, electronic submissions, and more.

Readers will find an expanded selection of sample manuscripts, query letters, proposals, cover letters, outlines, synopses and more--all featuring callouts that clearly identify and explain critical elements.

From specific fiction genres to nonfiction books to pictures books and poetry, this comprehensive guide provides crucial information for any writer hoping to be published..
Price: $4.24 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"Perfect margins and ideal spacing won't prevail over dull, poorly written work," counsel the authors of this book. Still, why would you let sloppy formatting obscure an editor's first encounter with your brilliant words? Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript will help you, yes, format and submit articles, nonfiction books, short stories, novels, scripts, poetry, even greeting cards. There's no reason, the authors say, to "mangle or otherwise abuse" your work in order to get it to fit a format, but whenever possible, you might as well give the editors what they want. It's all here: queries (electronic, faxed, and otherwise), sidebars, market analyses, manuscripts, treatments, etc. Each element is handled through the use of examples, submission tips, formatting specs, and "other dos and don'ts." Strewn throughout are words of wisdom from those on the submission-receiving end, among them Robin Dolch, a senior editor at ICON Thoughtstyle. "We can always tell when people are going to be very hard to work with," Dolch says. "It's when they're willing to do very little work up front before getting a contract." --Jane Steinberg.
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If you want the flavor of Martin Teitel's new book, imagine illusionist David Copperfield inviting you backstage to reveal how people are made to disappear or levitate Only in Teitel's case, revelations center on the world of foundations and the $25 billion they disperse each year in the form of grants.

Teitel, so obviously loathe to bureaucracy, is the first (and only) foundation director in America - in the 100 year history of modern foundations - to pull back the thick curtain of confidentiality to reveal how this select club of 70,000 decides which projects to fund.

Generously sharing stories from his 28 years of experience as both grantmaker and grantseeker, Teitel in his new book, "Thank You for Submitting Your Proposal" invites the reader to experience the entire funding process - from the inside out.

From writing letters of inquiry, to constructing full proposals, to surviving site visits, Teitel offers the perspective of someone who has read thousands of proposals and dispensed millions of dollars.+

The book includes another first as well - a 41-page eye-opening section called The Grantseeker's Reality Check. Here, Teitel distills his years of experience into a rich compendium of do's and don'ts for proposal writers, board members, and executive directors.

A sampling:

• Six things you can do to help your proposal make the first cut • Eight red flags foundations are wary of. • Five mistakes too many applicants make. • Five questions you can expect to be asked about your proposal • Seven reasonably easy things you can do to improve your proposal

Whether he's commenting on the arrogance of some in the foundation world, or sharing his own grantseeking experiences (coffee stains nearly cost him a $350,000 grant) or describing how proposals are logged in ("A very bright and well qualified young man, in the case of our office, has this particular task in his job description because - I promised to be honest with you - he has the least seniority in the organization"), Teitel is warm, engaging, and authentic.

He's funny, too. Here's what the author has to say about the folly of sending cookie cutter proposals:

"Maybe once in a while this scattershot technique works. I suppose if you went to a mall looking for a ham sandwich, started at one end and went to every single store with your request, you might eventually stumble into a place that could fix you up - after having wasted the time of puzzled clerks in The Sharper Image and Talbots."

"Thank You for Submitting Your Proposal" will have a measurable impact on the world of foundation fundraising. It should lead to better crafted proposals on the part of grantseekers. And for America's 70,000 foundations, it might well reduce the motherlode of inappropriate requests.

Why has it taken someone in Teitel's position so long to come forward? Perhaps no one asked - or maybe mystique has its rewards. Whatever the reason, those seeking a piece of the $25 billion foundation pie owe an enormous debt to Martin Teitel, the grantseeker's superhero..
Price: $16.04 [Notify me when price goes down.]