Some of you probably have never thought of this. But exactly how does an author sell a manuscript or idea for a book to an editor at a publishing house? If the writer is unpublished, the manuscript of the book must be complete. Starting a book and finishing a book are two very different goals. Many start; fewer finish.

If the writer has already sold a book for publication, then the writer sells “on proposal.” A proposal provides the prospective editor with the information that she/he will need to decide if the house wants to “acquire” the novel. Usually, the proposal includes a synopsis (an explanation of the characters and plot) and 1-3 chapters of the beginning of the novel. And in most cases, the editor must convince a senior editor or an editorial committee to acquire said proposal. (In most cases, an agent submits the manuscript or proposal. Most editors will not work directly with authors.)

I can’t give a complete proposal here, but I can give you just the beginning of my latest. This is just the introduction:

“Overview of Three Quaker Brides series, 1819-1865

Strong Women, Brave Stories

By Lyn Cote

In the years during the dramatic events in Texas 1821-1847 (The Texas Revolution and Mexican-American War), a quiet revolution was being fought in the east, primarily in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Abolitionists began the Underground Railroad (Levi Coffin, an Ohioan is called the Father of the Underground Railroad.) and used it as a way to lead Negro slaves north to freedom in Canada. Quakers were the group most involved in this silent insurrection and also in the cause of freeing women from unequal laws. Unfortunately at this time, women as well as blacks were thought inferior. Laws did not permit women to vote and prevented married women from owning property, among many others inequities that now seem far-fetched and an affront to God’s view of the dignity of women as co-heirs of salvation.

Three heroines, Blessing and her daughters Honor and Faith, each face new challenges in these years and in the causes of freedom. Each story is rich with the three elements of my brand, Strong Women, Brave Stories. First, each story sets my heroine and her hero dead center in the important winds of change in their period in history. Each story presents a heroine who is ahead of the prevailing prejudices of her time and a passionate participant, unwilling to sit on the sidelines. Each story is also filled with a multi-cultural cast of characters. And each story tells a unique romance of a strong woman finding the man she can love above all others and who will treasure her for her strengths, not in spite of them.”

What do you think? Will my editor say aye or nay?–Lyn

Next Tuesday: Final How It Works-Being an Author–The Stages a Book Goes through before the Bookstore!