Reader Views on “The Great First Impression Book Proposal” by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Reviewed by Chelsy Scherba for Reader Views (02/2021)

Carolyn Howard-Johnson helps writers tackle the most challenging step to becoming a published author: the book proposal. “The Great First Impressions Book Proposal: Everything You Need to Know About Selling Your Book to an Agent or Publisher in Thirty Minutes or Less” is a brief and to-the-point guide that teaches writers how to successfully market books, gain attention from literary agents, and kickstart their career into a lasting partnership with the publisher.

The Great First Impression Book Proposal

If you think writing a book proposal sounds tedious and bland, Carolyn Howard-Johnson will show you it doesn’t have to be. This guide is rich in valuable content and low on fluff. It’s also not boring! The author’s advice is catered to both fiction and nonfiction writers, and she also includes an example proposal.

The author really knows her craft and has published many different styles and genres. If I were writing a novel right now, I would find this guide an absolute necessity. She literally walks you through every step to create a proposal that will awaken the interest of the most jaded “Gatekeepers,” you know, those people that are paid to weed through all the submissions. She’ll tell you what to include, what to omit, what tense is best, the ideal font, spacing, and techniques to charm agents from the get-go and avoid every author’s worst nightmare: rejection.

In addition to sharing hyperlinks in the E-book to her own collection of published fiction and nonfiction, the author also provides links to books by other authors that she recommends for writers. Anyone who has read one of her books on writing will likely want to pick up another. I particularly enjoy how simple her instructions are to understand. She takes a daunting task and repackages it into a manageable formula for success. She also does it without bogging down readers with unnecessary jargon.

Concise, helpful, and informative from cover to cover, Carolyn Howard-Johnson makes becoming a published author a lot less painful for writers. After reading, you’ll know what editors expect a proposal to look like, have a model proposal to follow as you create your own, and gain valuable skills that you can use repeatedly to improve the art of selling your books.

“The Great First Impression Book Proposal” by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

The Frugal Editor, 3rd [PB]

‎ 978-1-61599-600-1
$22.95
Do-It-Yourself Editing Secrets-From Your Query Letters to Final Manuscript to the Marketing of Your New Bestseller
In stock
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Product Details
UPC: ‎ 978-1-61599-600-1
Brand: Modern HIstory Press
Binding: Paperback
Audiobook: No
Edition: 3rd
Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Pages: 296
Publication Date: 11/01/2022

The Frugal Editor: Do-it-Yourself Editing Secrets From your query letter to final manuscript to the marketing of your new bestseller

Whether you are a new or experienced author, The Frugal Editor helps you present whistle-clean copy from a one-page cover letter to your entire manuscript that will convince those with the power to say "yea" or "nay" to your precious book.

The third edition of The Frugal Editor, is the winningest book in Carolyn's multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books for writers with accolades from Reader Views Literary Award, Dan Poynter's Global Ebook Award, the coveted Irwin Award, and many others. This fully updated edition includes the new help you need from managing gender pronouns to maximizing the usefulness of front and back matter. Altogether,The Frugal Editor now provides 50% more information designed for the success of your title.

"Writers and editors have a true friend in Carolyn Howard-Johnson. Her word smarts, her publishing savvy, and her sincere commitment to authors and editors make The Frugal Editor a must-have resource." -- June Casagrande, author of The Best Punctuation Book, Period and Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies (Penguin) and syndicated grammar columnist

"Previous editions of The Frugal Editor were excellent. Nothing could be better... except this book which has an additional 50% new content. The publishing world changes quickly, and this text allows writers to keep up with the ever changing world of editors, publicists, finicky agents, trends, cultural expectations, queries, and media kits... exploding grammar myths, and possible scams. Save yourself time and money by learning from the best, Howard-Johnson. -- Carolyn Wilhelm, BA, MA, MS and author of environmental content


Learn more at www.HowToDoItFrugally.com

From Modern History Press www.ModernHistoryPress.c
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