Eleven years ago, I sent out some queries and then, about eight hours later, had a contract with a popular and well-respected literary agent. A year later, the book hadn't sold, so I withdrew the book and canceled the arrangement with the agent. That was my first interaction with a literary agent for a non-fiction book (I had queried screenplays when I lived in Hollywood). In retrospect, I was very naive. When the agent sent me comments, I rushed through them as fast as I could, essentially rewriting the book in a couple of weeks. When more comments came, again I threw myself into rewriting the material as fast as possible. On the agent's end, I imagine it was frustrating to get full rewrites every week or two in FedEx boxes.
After going through that experience, I realized two things: 1) I wasn't ready to query a literary agent yet, and 2) the next time, I wouldn't fully write out my next NF book. Instead, I would only write exactly what is normally asked for: three chapters and a table of contents.
I took a job teaching in 2006, which gave me the opportunity to pursue a PhD, which I started in 2010 at a highly ranked university. As I worked on the PhD, I realized that my writing was improving considerably and that, by the time it was scheduled to be done, I would probably be in good shape to put together a new submission. I have just submitted my final thesis, so I have turned my attention to my NF book proposal.
To make this book, I first prepared by doing considerable original research, and published four peer-reviewed papers on topics I expect to cover in the book. As I reviewed the material, I realized that I wanted to write a preface and an introduction. My question is this, for a submission, do the preface and introduction count as two chapters? If so, I would be submitting these and Chapter one, along with a TOC. Does anyone with experience know if that would be the right group of "chapters" to present? They are just over 15,000 words together, so the length seems about right to me for a "three chapter" submission.
Thanks in advance,
AP
After going through that experience, I realized two things: 1) I wasn't ready to query a literary agent yet, and 2) the next time, I wouldn't fully write out my next NF book. Instead, I would only write exactly what is normally asked for: three chapters and a table of contents.
I took a job teaching in 2006, which gave me the opportunity to pursue a PhD, which I started in 2010 at a highly ranked university. As I worked on the PhD, I realized that my writing was improving considerably and that, by the time it was scheduled to be done, I would probably be in good shape to put together a new submission. I have just submitted my final thesis, so I have turned my attention to my NF book proposal.
To make this book, I first prepared by doing considerable original research, and published four peer-reviewed papers on topics I expect to cover in the book. As I reviewed the material, I realized that I wanted to write a preface and an introduction. My question is this, for a submission, do the preface and introduction count as two chapters? If so, I would be submitting these and Chapter one, along with a TOC. Does anyone with experience know if that would be the right group of "chapters" to present? They are just over 15,000 words together, so the length seems about right to me for a "three chapter" submission.
Thanks in advance,
AP
