Possible alternative to the 'sample chapter'?

nancy02664 · Jan 2, 2007

I'm working on a proposal for a dictionary-style reference book, trying to figure out what sort of sample I should include. The book is comprised of thousands of small entries (arranged alphabetically), and I was planning to finish an entire letter-worth of entries (say, all entries under the letter "K") and use that as a sample 'chapter.'

But the more I think about it, the more I want to single out the best entries (say, 10-20 per letter), bundle them like a mini version of the finished book, and use that as the sample instead. I know the 'chapter' route is the more traditional, but I can see several benefits to 'bundling' (e.g., being able to include a wider variety of entries, being able to showcase higher-quality entries).

For reference book proposals, is 'bundling' one's best entries ever a possibility, or should I stick with my initial plan?

Namatu · Jan 3, 2007

Speaking as someone who works in reference publishing (although not the "let's publish this book" end of things so take it for what it's worth), I would think that your idea has possibilities. A publisher is going to be interested in the scope of the product being proposed. A sample that covers the breadth of coverage and different types of entries would help do that, while a straight sample chapter of the letter K is likely to leave out some good stuff. I would think an agent would be interested in seeing those same things.

I don't write for reference, however, and have no idea what goes into getting an agent for a reference product. Are you looking for an agent or a publisher?

popmuze · Jan 3, 2007

Having published an encyclopedic reference book, as well as an interview collection, here's my take:

Go with the second approach, as long as you also include a nice chunk of your writing in the proposal, sort of like your introduction to the concept.

A sample chapter, in this case, really just means a sample of your organizational approach and what each entry would look like.

In my case, out of approximately 7500 entries, I believe I only wrote up six or seven at random.

For the other book, which contained 100 short inspirational interviews, I delivered three from top celebrities, although top celebrities didn't really dominate the book. But it was enough.

nancy02664 · Jan 3, 2007

Thanks so much--it's really helpful to hear you both prefer the second approach.

I already have an agent (and I definitely plan to ask her opinion on this), but I thought it would be smarter to start here and find out if this method has actually worked for anyone before. And it looks like it has.

Possible alternative to the 'sample chapter'?

nancy02664

Baby Name Maniac

Namatu

Lost in mental space.

popmuze

Last of a Dying Breed

nancy02664

Baby Name Maniac