What to do? My nonfiction isn’t believable.

DevinPhilips · Dec 10, 2008

What to do? My nonfiction isn’t believable.

Even though I have official documentation to verify all events in the story, I’ve come to the realization that my story is so far fetched it isn’t considered believable. I have to think that a potential agent or editorial assistant reading my query/proposal for the first time would be very tempted to throw it in the trash.

So my dilemma is, how do I convince a skeptical first time reader to keep reading and then ask to see the verifying documents?

99% of the agents I queried sent form rejections. One large publishing house was very interested, but was caught up in last week’s “Black Wednesday” massacre.

This story must be told, but the question is how?

MarkEsq · Dec 10, 2008

Wow. Did you post your query for review in the Share Your Work forum? That could be the key, those guys are brutal but very very helpful.

Other than that, I would suggest beginning your query with the emphatic statement that the story is true. If you mention the word "nonfiction" half way through, for example, it might get lost.

My only other advice is duck. Sounds like a conspiracy that would have me wearing a flak jacket.

scope · Dec 10, 2008

Tell them that while it may sound like fiction, IT'S A TRUE STORY!

DevinPhilips · Dec 10, 2008

The very first line of the query does say it is a true story. :Shrug:

I also mention several times in the query that it is a nonfiction.

I have all the official documents including those from the military with explicit orders not to cooperate. Also their orders to remove all records and data from the experimental military site.

But no one has asked to see them... :flag:

happywritermom · Dec 10, 2008

Hmmm. I'm guessing a lot of agents are afraid to take it on. In my journalism days, I would have had to prove to my editors beyond a shadow of a doubt that the story was true and that I had evidence to prove it that would hold up in court. Then they would have had the lawyers review it. Everybody is afraid of a lawsuit. It might help if you contact a newspaper, 60 Minutes, 20/20 or some other credible news outlet and persuade them to do a story. Then, be prepared to contact agents the day the story comes out. When something big like this hits the news, it makes it timely for publishers as well and that means big sales. If if the news outlets are willing to go with the story, agents and publishers can be pretty sure that the legal issues have been addressed. Many journalists, my husband included, have written books based on current events and the demand once the story hits the papers/tv is huge.

Snowstorm · Dec 10, 2008

Sounds incredibly tense!

I agree with Mark about posting your query. There may be some things in your query that fresh eyes can point out for you.

illiterwrite · Dec 10, 2008

happywritermom said:
Hmmm. I'm guessing a lot of agents are afraid to take it on. In my journalism days, I would have had to prove to my editors beyond a shadow of a doubt that the story was true and that I had evidence to prove it that would hold up in court. Then they would have had the lawyers review it. Everybody is afraid of a lawsuit. It might help if you contact a newspaper, 60 Minutes, 20/20 or some other credible news outlet and persuade them to do a story. Then, be prepared to contact agents the day the story comes out. When something big like this hits the news, it makes it timely for publishers as well and that means big sales. If if the news outlets are willing to go with the story, agents and publishers can be pretty sure that the legal issues have been addressed. Many journalists, my husband included, have written books based on current events and the demand once the story hits the papers/tv is huge.

Agreed. Get the NYT or credible show interested, and the likelihood of a book increases. Otherwise, most agents/publishers will think it's bunk.

DevinPhilips · Dec 10, 2008

Thanks very much for the comments!! They are very much appreciated!

happywritermom said:
Hmmm. I'm guessing a lot of agents are afraid to take it on. In my journalism days, I would have had to prove to my editors beyond a shadow of a doubt that the story was true and that I had evidence to prove it that would hold up in court. Then they would have had the lawyers review it. Everybody is afraid of a lawsuit.

Yes, the military was afraid of a lawsuit and said so in the government documents I have.

happywritermom said:
It might help if you contact a newspaper, 60 Minutes, 20/20 or some other credible news outlet and persuade them to do a story. Then, be prepared to contact agents the day the story comes out. When something big like this hits the news, it makes it timely for publishers as well and that means big sales.

What I had thought to do since it takes about a year to get a book out... was contact the news media as part of a promo release for the potential book... that is if the potential book was ever published.

Sort of a Catch-22 situation.

illiterwrite · Dec 11, 2008

Are you the scientist?

No one's in isolation now. I know you don't want to blow the whole story in a newspaper or on TV, but I think you'll have to. My agent says 99.9999999% of these "stories" turn out to be fantasy. Someone else needs to authenticate the material before anyone will bother to touch it. Take your documents to the New York Times or Washington Post.

Billingsgate · Dec 11, 2008

Have you considered sending to agents outside the USA? In other countries it can be much more difficult for the US military to sue a publisher to stop publication. There was a famous case of a biography of Margaret Thatcher which was successfully blocked from publication by a threat of legal action on the part of either Thatcher or the British government (I forget which). So it was published in Australia instead, beyond the reach of British courts. The controversy didn't hurt sales one bit.

veinglory · Dec 11, 2008

I think it comes down to publishers choice. It seems to me you are describing event s you think are true but the mainstream will not accept as true. There are publishers that are interested in that kind of material but they tend not (unsurprisingly) to be those who are more mainstream.

DevinPhilips · Dec 11, 2008

illiterwrite said:
I know you don't want to blow the whole story in a newspaper or on TV, but I think you'll have to. My agent says 99.9999999% of these "stories" turn out to be fantasy.

I totally agree with your agent that many of "these "stories" turn out to be fantasy". I am trained to be skeptical of any data until it is proven. As you suggest, I may have to go the newspaper/investigative reporter route.

DevinPhilips · Dec 11, 2008

Billingsgate said:
Have you considered sending to agents outside the USA? In other countries it can be much more difficult for the US military to sue a publisher to stop publication.

That is a very good idea! An idea that one my friends also suggested. The documents I have are official military... so they could move to block dissemination or publication. Off to see who might be interested

Lauri B · Dec 11, 2008

Well, if that's the case, then that's a complete showstopper for a publisher--if they can't publish the documents that prove your story, then your story isn't sellable because it isn't verifiable. You definitely need to get that straightened out before you try to sell this book to anyone, agent or publisher.

DevinPhilips · Dec 11, 2008

veinglory said:
It seems to me you are describing event s you think are true but the mainstream will not accept as true.

I think you are exactly right! It never really dawned on me that I wouldn't be taken seriously... especially with my having official documents of all the events.

I guess I should mention so I don't sound totally wacky... that for ten years I worked under the direction of Dr. Edward Teller "Father of the Hydrogen Bomb". I held both DoD Top Secret and DoE "Q" Clearances while working for the government. I hold many U.S. government patents including three patents for the Excimer laser used in LASIK eye surgery. :Shrug:

DevinPhilips · Dec 11, 2008

Lauri B said:
Well, if that's the case, then that's a complete showstopper for a publisher--if they can't publish the documents that prove your story, then your story isn't sellable because it isn't verifiable. You definitely need to get that straightened out before you try to sell this book to anyone, agent or publisher.

You are exactly right! I know exactly what to do now.

Thanks very much for all the suggestions! :hi:

Wayne K · Dec 12, 2008

Truth is stranger than fiction. Maybe you can use that somehow. I have one part of my memoir that I cut because it sounds like it's a lie. It killed me to do it, but the work suffers because of it, it had to go.

DevinPhilips · Dec 12, 2008

Wayne K said:
Truth is stranger than fiction. Maybe you can use that somehow.

^^ Yes, it definitely is!!

Thank you, I've thought of a phrase very similar to that without using that particular cliché.

And like you, I was very careful. I have a very large filing cabinet full of verifying documents that are available to any interested agent or publisher.

DerekJager · Jan 9, 2009

Many books of this nature start out as magazine articles. I suggest you
contact Rolling Stone and magazines of that nature--perhaps write the story as a magazine article and mention about the "secret document" stuff.

If you sell the article to a magazine and it provokes a response and gets an agent's eye, then you can roll out the book and the publisher will already be interested enough to deal with any legal issues.

Also, perhaps the title of the book -- which I don't think you mentioned -- could be a problem. You can say "true story" all you want but the title needs to be compelling.

Good luck!

What to do? My nonfiction isn’t believable.

DevinPhilips

MarkEsq

Clever title pending.

scope

Commonsensical Maverick

DevinPhilips

happywritermom

Snowstorm

Baby plot bunneh sniffs out a clue

illiterwrite

DevinPhilips

illiterwrite

Billingsgate

Disappointment to my mother

veinglory

volitare nequeo

DevinPhilips

DevinPhilips

Lauri B

I Heart Mac

DevinPhilips

DevinPhilips

Wayne K

DevinPhilips

DerekJager