Marketing 101- using sell sheets for agent/editor pitches, query letters, synopsis, promotion and more.
By Nancy J. Parra
Definition: Sell sheet: Concise, one-page document (resembling a flyer or brochure more than a press release) that provides details about a book.
www.iuniverse.com/how-we-work/terms.htm
A well done sell sheet can define your marketing plan for your book. In this article I will give you step by step instructions and examples on how to create a sell sheet that will not only define your marketing plan, but can be used when plotting, writing synopsis and pitching your book. Seems like a lot for a single sheet of paper, but what a sell sheet does is focuses your mind on exactly what your story is all about. This allows you to see your plot, synopsis and marketing in a clear light. When someone asks you what your book is about you can whip out a sell sheet and give it to them in a simple, clear and easy to remember way.
A sell sheet can be written any time during the writing process. If you are a pantzer (a person who writes by the seat of your pants) like me, then a sell sheet will probably be done after the first or second draft of the book is complete. If you are a plotter, a sell sheet can be done before a single word is written. If you get bogged down and find yourself in a sagging middle-sometimes stopping and writing a sell sheet can help you find your direction.
Step one in Sell sheet writing:
[Note: I stole this step straight out of Randy Ingermanson’s snowflake plotting method. A fabulous how-to plot method that I use in reverse for marketing purposes. (That’s another article all together.) For more information about the snowflake method go to www.advancedfictionwriting.com]
Write a single sentence summary of your novel using no more than 15 words. (Think of the blurbs that follow the titles of the books on the NY Times best seller list.)
Ex: from “Mr. Charming” out this fall at www.thewildrosepress.com
A single mom with a secret past finds herself embroiled in a playboy’s murder.
Ex: from “Dream Man” coming in 2009 from www.thewildrosepress.com
A dream doctor’s patient gives her the clues to unravel a thirty year old mystery involving a current presidential candidate.
Step Two:
Write your back cover blurb by writing a single paragraph that describes your story. Each paragraph should contain no more than five sentences. The first sentence should give the setup/back story. Then the next three sentences can bring out the worsening conflict. The final sentence gives the story question.
Ex: from “Mr. Charming:”
After a bitter horribly public divorce, advice doctor Jennifer Sumner moves to the suburbs to blend in and start over. When her brother, homicide detective Jason Sumner, asks her to hide a crime victim, Jennifer agrees without a second thought until a paparazzi loving playboy shows up at her door and her hard earned ‘normal’ life is endangered. Things get worse when the playboy turns out to be anything but and Jennifer feels her heartstrings being tugged. Before the case can be solved, the killer discovers the playboy’s whereabouts and Jennifer and her young son learn that there are dangers deeper than tabloid exploitation. Will the killer be caught before Jennifer’s hard earned life comes crashing down around her?
Ex: from “Dream Man”
Born into a prominent political family, Dr. Eva Stanford defies her parent’s political ambitions to help people with sleep disorders. Politically astute, Eva turns to FBI agent Nate Cancaid when one of her patients seems to channel the persona of a woman missing for over thirty years--a woman who happens to be the first wife of a presidential candidate, and whose disappearance was rumored to be mob related. Danger worsens when word gets out that the old case has been resurrected and no one, not the political bosses or the mob wants the thirty year old secret spilled. As Eva fights for her patient, she discovers her heart is in as much danger as her life when Agent Cancaid admits he’s been dreaming of her his whole life. With her heart on the line, are dreams enough to solve a thirty year old mystery or will family connections prove more deadly than Eva ever imagined?
Step Three:
Write a GMC (Goal Motivation and Conflict) sentence for each character. Then combine them with a sizzle statement that gives the story question.
Ex: From “Mr. Charming:”
A PRIVATE WOMAN… After a painful public divorce Jennifer Sumner vows to stay out of the glare of the limelight, but then she makes the mistake of saying yes to her brother’s request.
A PUBLIC MAN…Kane McCormick loves his playboy lifestyle, using his fame and fortune as a barrier around his heart until the day the world assumes he’s dead. Then he learns that he had it all wrong.
A KILLER WHO WANTS THEM BOTH DEAD…As Kane discovers that Jennifer and her young son are the family he’s been looking for, his would-be killer discovers his whereabouts and threatens to kill them both. Can Kane convince Jennifer to step into his public life and escape the clear and present danger? Or will she stubbornly keep to her vow and take his heart to the grave?
Ex: From “Dream Man:”
A NO NONSENSE WOMAN…Dr. Eva Stanford wants only to help her patient sleep through the night. Little does she know that the old woman holds the secret to a thirty-year-old mystery that threatened the political life of a presidential candidate and Eva’s own family.
A MAN WITH A DREAM…FBI Agent Nate Cancaid has a reoccurring dream of a woman with dark hair and blue eyes whose murder he is unable to prevent. When the blue eyed doctor enters his office, he feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
A MYSTERY THAT TRANSCENDS TIME…It’s bad enough when Eva’s patient claims that Eva and Nate are her married assistants, but coincidences grow too complicated for her scientific mind when some of the clues come straight out of Nate’s dreams. Can Eva keep from losing her heart to a man of intuition or has fate already dealt her a losing hand?
Finally Step Four:
Include a small excerpt from the book that you feel shows the story question and highlights your skills as a writer.
Story Excerpt from “Mr. Charming:”
““Why do you keep touching me?” The words were soft and breathless. Jennifer wanted to take them back the moment they were out.
“I’m a tactile guy,” Kane said simply. “I like to caress what I find beautiful.”
Surprise filled her, scattered across her face. She was thirty five with a kid. Definitely not the type of person he usually dated.
“Yeah,” he said, breaking her stunned silence. “I find you beautiful.” He stepped as close as he could without touching her. He took the mug away from her trembling hand and planted it beside them on the counter. Then he held her face in his hands and smiled down at her. “I’m the kind of man who appreciates beauty in its purest from.”
“I told you, I know what kind of man you are,” she whispered. “Don’t you see? For my own good, I have to reject you.”
“Then I’m afraid we’re at odds, sweetheart, because I have to have you.”
She had promised herself just moments before to do her best to stick to the truth. “I’m not playing games with you,” she said. Her whole body shivered in traitorous anticipation. He drew her to him, surrounding her with male heat and strength.
“Me neither,” he replied.
She put her hand out to keep him away. Her palm hit silky warm skin spattered with just the right amount of hair to make it intriguing. She swallowed a gasp and kept her hand firmly planted on his bare chest. The last thing she wanted was for him to know how electrified she was by the feel of him. “Just keep your distance. I know you’re bored and I’m simply a distraction. It isn’t fair.”
He took her palm and raised it to his lips. His dark gaze captured hers and sent shock waved through her body. “Haven’t you heard? All’s fair in love and war.”
Story Excerpt from “Dream Man:”
“Eva was a doctor, an innocent that should never have been involved in this mystery. A mystery that no one wanted open, especially Robert Stanford and Tom Kaufman.
Nate thought about how beautiful Eva was, how soft, how she held him close and tore him apart bit by bit. But she never promised him anything. That simple truth was hard to swallow. He was the one who pursued her. He was the one who pushed her into his bed. All she did was ask him to help her client.
Nate frowned. It was no wonder that she came at him like she did this morning. In her mind, the sex was good, but that was all they had.
He pounded the pavement beneath him and scowled. No, it was more than that and he knew it. Nate swore she knew it too. They could pretend otherwise, but it didn’t make it any less real.
Shit. It complicated things. She was hip deep in this damned mystery and he felt fate closing in around him.
How the hell was he going to keep her safe? She didn’t want him around her twenty four/seven. Yet that was what he needed to do until they solved this case. For he was certain it was a case. Why else would there be two agents following him right now? Why else did Robert Stanford feel threatened enough to tell his daughter he’d have Nate forcibly evicted should he show up at another party?
Nate sped up, turned a corner and headed home. He was certain of only one thing. He shouldn’t have let Eva go to the clinic alone. “
Now you have the four writing elements you need for your complete marketing plan. The next step is to add some graphic appeal. There are designers out there who can create a professional sell sheet as well as free templates if you want to create your own. Do not short change the graphic elements. Make the sheet as eye catching as your prose. This will present you and your manuscript as truly professional.
Finally be sure to include: the book title, subtitle (If you have one), ISBN, Retail selling price, page count, reviews, a short author bio-include your web address, e-mail, and any marketing plans such as a blog tour, book signings, and conferences attended.
A Sell sheet is a wonderful marketing tool that can help you focus your message and sell your manuscript. If you are unpublished the sell sheet can be used to frame your query letter, your editor/agent pitch and even help you focus your synopsis to showcase your strong story statements. Once you publish, sell sheets can give you a handy reference for announcements, excerpts, and on-line blurbs. You can send sell sheets to buyers, bring them to groups, and pass them out at libraries. I create my sell sheet prior to sending in a proposal to give my query letter polish and my editor a pre-written pitch to use at her marketing meeting. A sell sheet is a handy tool to motivate and market your work, bringing a professional polish to your overall presentation.
