Are You Ready For Success?

Tamela Hancock Murray has been an agent for over 12 years. A bestselling, award-winning author of twenty novels, novellas, and nonfiction books, Tamela brings the perspective of a working writer to her role as a literary agent. As an agent she represents many top authors and continues to develop new talent. She earned her BA with honors in Journalism from Lynchburg College in Virginia. Today she enjoys living in Northern Virginia with her family. She can often be found reading books on her Kindle.

Are You Ready For Success? 

Here are just a few concerns I’ve seen from various published authors:

1.) I’m nervous about my advance. What if I don’t earn out? Steve Laube wrote a post called The Myth of the Unearned Advance. Do publishers make mistakes and give some authors advances that are too large? Yes, but earning out is likely because publishers know how to calculate their expenses and estimate expected sales of a book. If you do earn a big advance, don’t spend it all at once. In other words don’t act as if the windfall income will be normal and consistent. Careful planning of your finances is always prudent.

2.) Some people who were my friends when I was struggling don’t seem to be as friendly now. It’s easy to cry on each others’ shoulders when everyone’s unpublished but everything changes when someone in your group finds success. Bottom line: If your talent is spotted before your friends’, be a good mentor and support for them. If you are slow to be recognized while your friends sail by you, re-read this article for an idea of what they may be facing. Continue to support them and learn from being associated with a published author.

3.) I have a deadline. And here come the final proofs, which are due on Monday. And I have to write three articles for my blog tour. And… Be ready for a packed schedule. It happens to every successful author. Book deadlines will change your life for the better, but meeting them will be an adjustment. Plan out your schedule and otherwise be prepared to adjust your life accordingly.

4.) The edits are much, much more intense than I thought they would be. I think I’m going to cry. Go ahead. Cry. Then get to work. Your editor and publisher is partnering with you. Be grateful they care enough to make your book the best it can be.

5.) The edits on Book 1 have caused rewrites on most of Book 2 and Book 3. This is taking much more time than I thought. Will I have to ask for a deadline extension on my next book? And will that have a domino effect on the other books? You won’t be the first or last author to have this happen. Don’t worry. Since the editor has seen the requested changes, she shouldn’t be surprised when you ask for the extension. But if you can meet your deadlines, by all means do so, and with your best work.

6.) What if I fail? Put in your best effort at all times. Then if your book does fail, you will know it’s not because you didn’t make your best effort. Spend no time on regrets. Instead, plan with your agent on how to move forward. With God, nothing is impossible.

Your turn:

What makes you most nervous about the prospect of success?

What are some other issues you’ve seen published writers face? What was the solution?

What tips would you offer a successful author?

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Keys to a Great Book Proposal ~ by Tamela Hancock Murray

“I think book proposals are one of the most difficult things to write, second only to obituaries.”



When I received this email from one of my authors, Sherry Gore, (and yes, I have permission to quote her), I could relate. I’ve never written obituaries, even though writing one’s own is a popular goal-setting exercise. But I have written and read many book proposals so I know they aren’t easy to write. Sometimes they aren’t easy to read. So how can you make your book proposals easy to read? When my assistant and I are scanning proposals, here are the key points we first notice:

1) Format: Is the overall look of the proposal easy on the eye? A poorly-formatted proposal won’t be rejected if we are wowed by the content, but proposals with a pleasing appearance make a great impression.

2) Title: Tell us immediately what we are viewing: Fiction/nonfiction? Series/standalone? Genre? Historical/contemporary?

3) Hook: What is the spirit of your book?  Fried Green Tomatoes meets Star Trek? Or A Systematic Approach to Spiritual Spring Cleaning?

4) Back Cover Blurb: In two or three short paragraphs, make me want to buy your book. Take the time to make this sparkle, because great back cover copy will help sell me on your book, then the editor, then the pub board, then marketing, then your readers.

5) Info: Can critical facts be found with little effort, including:

      a.) published/unpublished status


       b.) sales figures for published authors


       c.) manuscript status, including when it can be completed


       d.) manuscript history

6) Summary: I find that one-page summaries usually work best. If you have already invested in a lengthy summary, you can include a short summary and a long summary.

7) Market Comparisons: Showing us books that are similar to yours will help us know where your book will fit in today’s market. Be respectful rather than critical of other authors’ work when comparing. Show how your book fits into the market, but is still unique enough to attract readers.

8 ) Endorsers: This area causes many authors anxiety because they may not be acquainted with big name authors, or they are afraid that listing a friend may be promising too much. Rest assured that no agent or editor thinks a big name author is a guaranteed endorser. We all know that popular authors’ schedules are packed and that the timing to read your book may or may not work. I recommending listing three names of authors you know well enough that you can approach them for an endorsement. If you honestly have no idea, it’s better not to list anyone than to list impossible names. Don’t distress — your agent can work with you here.

These key points are by no means inclusive. I have only hit the high points on some of the areas that tend to make authors jittery. Don’t worry. Do your best with the proposal, and write the best book you can. That’s all we ask!

For complete guidelines, visit our site here. These may be our guidelines, but they are universally accepted as an excellent and proper way to write a proposal.

We look forward to seeing your work!

Your turn:

What do you think is the hardest part of a proposal to write?

What is the easiest part of a proposal to write?

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