Osborne/McGraw-Hill – $19,500
James H. Pence has been in full-time ministry since 1978 and is currently working at First Baptist Dallas. There, he serves as Chaplain of Prison to Praise International, a Bible correspondence ministry that has reached over 5,000 inmates across 45 states. Jim’s second novel, The Angel, was released in 2006.
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James Pence originally queried 13 computer book publishers with an idea for a book titled EZ HTML Workshop with the premise was that it would be written for non-techies by a non-techie. Two publishers responded with a request for more information. One of them was Osborne/McGraw-Hill.
Jim said, “Osborne already had a ‘How to Do Everything with…’ series and they wanted to know if I would be interested in plugging my project into their product line (as opposed to maintaining my own title, etc.). They also wanted to know if I would be willing to write the book to their specs. So, the proposal was titled How to Do Everything with HTML and the sample chapter was patterned after a sample they sent me (How to Do Everything with FrontPage 2000).”
Jim said that, at that time, he knew virtually nothing about HTML, only that it was easy to learn (and he was convinced he could learn it). After he landed the contract, he bought about 20 books on HTML and Web design and studied voraciously, just for the purpose of writing the book.
He adds, “Although my first book was a computer book, I’m a fiction writer at heart. I’d been trying to break in as a novelist for several years, but had only limited success. As a result of my contract with Osborne/MCGraw-Hill, I was able to get an agent and it wasn’t too long before my first novel, Blind Sight, sold to Tyndale House. Happily, I have continued with my fiction writing and my second novel, a suspense-thriller titled The Angel, was released by Kregel Publications in April, 2006. The entire experience has been kind of like dominoes falling and the avalanche started with one query letter!”
Jim’s book proposal includes:
Creative Fictional Quote
Jim creatively quotes a fictional potential reader. This is a great hook to get the editor interested in what’s to follow.
Competition Information
He then very succinctly describes comments about his competition and tells how his book will be different.
Book Information and Author Bio
Jim gives a very brief background behind the idea for the book along with a brief but impressive biography (a teacher is the perfect person to write a how-to book!).
Reminder and Request for Permission to Send More
One additional paragraph reminds the editor of how much this book is needed, and then asks permission to send an outline and sample chapters.
Jim’s book proposal is in Times New Roman, 12 pt. font.
Jim’s original contract was for $8,000. He has earned an additional $3,500 in royalties on top of that, and was then contracted to write a second edition for another $8,000.
Jim’s Book is available here:
How to Do Everything with HTML & XHTML
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Excerpted from: BOOK PROPOSALS THAT WORKED! Real Book Proposals That Landed $10K – $100K Publishing Contracts by Angela Hoy
The book contains a copy of Jame’s full book proposal to Osborne/McGraw-Hill.
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BOOK PROPOSALS THAT WORKED! Real Book Proposals That Landed $10K - $100K Publishing Contracts by Angela Hoy
ISBN: 9781601454461