Which of these would you work on?

[Autodidact]

Hi *waves* newbie to this forum. I usually hang out in freelance. I'm starting to have some freelance success and am now committing myself to completing a book proposal in 2010. I have two I'm considering. Which one would you go with?

1. What This World Needs Is More Purple
This is a gift book, graphic heavy, with short chapters on the history, science and art of purple, purple factoids, poems, etc. The market is people who love purple or people who need to buy presents for same.
2. The Book of Gay and Lesbian Heroes: A Book for Young People
This would be a middle-school target, short book of bios of around a dozen famous gay and lesbian people.

I'll wait for your thoughts before sharing any of mine. Thanks.

[Billingsgate]

My advice would be that it's asking for trouble to ask others for their opinions of which project to choose. You need to choose the one that has the most meaning for you, and then pour your heart and soul into it.

[happywritermom]

Personally, I would delete this thread. Those are both great ideas and, though I like to think that most folks are pretty honest (especially on AW), this is a public forum. Anyone could take those ideas from you and you are not far enough along to beat them to it. Go with the one that interests you most right now. make it fun!

[Autodidact]

thanks. *sigh* I think the purple thing is more saleable (and obviously could be the start of a series) but the other would be much easier for me to pull together.

Well in general I share ideas here and trust they don't get stolen--RIGHT???

[NewKidOldKid]

Any reason you need to choose only one? They both sound like short, manageable books. Why not work on both at the same time?

[veinglory]

There is already a fascinating book on Mauve which sounds a lot like your Purple idea?

[Autodidact]

Thanks veinglory, good info. It's not serious non-fiction, but a hallmark-type gift book that celebrates purple, with whimsy and nonsense interspersed with a little info, lots of graphics, poems, etc. The idea is that e.g. a grandma gives it to her 13-year old granddaughter who loves purple.

[veinglory]

I think that would be kind of cool.

[DerekJager]

Your "purple" book would make a wonderful series, so I would work up a proposal and sell it that way.

What This World Needs Is More Red!
What This World Needs Is More Green!

And so forth.

As for the gay/lesbian heros book, that would be a tough target market for middle school. Not sure public schools would stock it without a little/lot "protest" from parents, etc.

That doesn't mean it shouldn't be done--maybe boost it to high school, which might be more tolerant?

But I agree with the post that you should really follow where your passion is--and you already know!

Good luck!

[Autodidact]

Originally Posted by DerekJager

Your "purple" book would make a wonderful series, so I would work up a proposal and sell it that way.

What This World Needs Is More Red!
What This World Needs Is More Green!

And so forth.

As for the gay/lesbian heros book, that would be a tough target market for middle school. Not sure public schools would stock it without a little/lot "protest" from parents, etc.

That doesn't mean it shouldn't be done--maybe boost it to high school, which might be more tolerant?

But I agree with the post that you should really follow where your passion is--and you already know!

Good luck!

Exactly my thinking. Like who's going to buy a gay book for young people? OTOH the proposal and book would be easy to write, and Alyson Books would be likely to publish it. It might get some mileage just out of the controversy!

Yes, I do envision a series of the color books, an empire, a fortune, fame and all that comes with it, Dummies, Chicken Soup...but first I'd have to write the damn proposal!

[laharrison]

I second the suggestion to work on both at the same time - or at least send both proposals out. There's a chance one idea will get snapped up, and you can work on finishing it while pushing the other one until you find a publisher for it.

In my opinion there's no reason to limit your options if one of the books is small / won't take a huge amount of time for you to write.

[NewKidOldKid]

Originally Posted by Autodidact

Exactly my thinking. Like who's going to buy a gay book for young people? OTOH the proposal and book would be easy to write, and Alyson Books would be likely to publish it. It might get some mileage just out of the controversy!

Yes, I do envision a series of the color books, an empire, a fortune, fame and all that comes with it, Dummies, Chicken Soup...but first I'd have to write the damn proposal!

You should look up Blue Mountain Arts. They're famous for their greeting cards, but they also have a book publishing division. The purple book sounds like something they would buy. I know because I sold them a book this year They pay advances in the mid four figures and you don't need to have the book finished to query.

[erinbee]

What have you settled on, Autodidact? I actually really like the gay book for young people idea, but if they both seem saleable, I say write both proposals FWIW.

[Autodidact]

Thanks. As of now I'm going with the gay heroes one, because I've never written a book or a book proposal, and that's manageable to me. I'm thinking it's a good goal for '10, and maybe work on the other while I send that out. (Although I think it's significantly less saleable.) Working title right now: Brave Souls and Beautiful Spirits: A Book of Gay and Lesbian Heroes for Young People. I have a friend, a good writer, whom I've convinced to work on her book proposal at the same time, so we can nag each other.

Meanwhile, as I mentioned in the "new to the forum" thread, I've been distracted by the True Crime opportunity of Scott Lee Kimball, because I love True Crime, it's in my neighborhood, and since most of the True Crime I read is truly abysmal, the bar is low.

OTOH I haven't read any "how-to write and sell True Crime" yet, and it would take a huge time commitment. It's a cool case, though.

Thanks for asking.