Why You Should Pitch a Single Book

Simply put, Thank you.

Rachelle,

Thanks for the clarification. While I do have one book, I’ve wanted to make sure I had another written before I queried to make sure the agent knew I was more than a one trick pony–though I suppose it didn’t matter to Margaret Mitchell or Harper Lee. They did pretty well writing only one book, though as readers, we wish they’d written more.

This post is very helpful. I plan to look for representation next year and the book i’ll pitch is originally a four book series with each being a stand-alone. I guess that would overwhelm an agent to just burst in with these four books, especially since i’m not established…. You’ve helped some of the butterflies go away. But querying is hard.

Rachelle,
What if sales on Book #1 are so abysmal the publisher doesn’t want Book #2? Have you ever had that situation come up?

I have to at least mention the other books. When writing about an historical person life doesn’t stop with one event as my first novel does. It continues on until death or after, just as my novels do. No one (well, few) want to read a 1000 page novel. So, jsut as Charles Martin probably wrote The Dead Don’t Dance and Maggie as one, it was published as two. And I’m sure everyone can think of similar ones (Ted Dekker’s Black, White, Red (and later Grren) Trilogy, for example.) I could write one long 1000 page novel, but I wouldn’t want to read a book of that length, so why not just call it 3 novels (a trilogy) covering sequential periods of the character’s life. After all, that is how it is likely to be published. Will that scare an agent away?

I’ve got a three-book series in the works, but each book could standalone. To me, it definitely makes sense to pitch the first book but say something like, “Title is part of a potential three-book series, but could stand alone.”

Think of it like a book reader. Imagine someone said to you “have you read AuthorA? They’re amazing! Their books are so good. Would you like to buy all five of them? “Most likely you would say- that you want to read one of them first before committing to buying the whole set.

I’m working on (my first) non-fiction proposal. I have ideas for three different non-fiction “series”, but I knew I needed to pick one to start with (for the reasons you mentioned). I just hope I’ve picked the most compelling one.

And for the sake of your readers, make sure that first book contains a complete story. You can hint at things to come and set it up for a sequel, but provide some form of closure to the immediate plot so that your readers feel satisfied if the series option doesn’t work out.

Yep, I have both series books and stand alones, and yes it does make sense to pitch just one. Get going, then start travelling. Recently I read that even books in a series must be able to stand alone because publishers are wanting that (does it actually mean publishers are freaking out about saleability and not storylines?).

As a reader I love it when the story continues over three, even four books. If a set being sold as a ‘series’ doesn’t follow on specifically with the lives of the first characters and instead follows on with minor characters from the first books, I do feel a bit ripped off. As a writer, however, I totally get that need and curiosity to explore other characters because there are so many stories waiting to be told.

One upshot for me when the story continues with the same characters is that it proves life’s ups and downs are real Often with a one-trick pony it’s all bit rosy and resolved too quickly. Protracting a good one is so fun to read.

I do have a picture book series going for children. The first book leaves the reader not knowing exactly what is going to happen and, hopefully, hungry for more. I wondered about how much to say when sending out queries. As the book is based on a true story, there is too much for one single picture book.

Yes, it does make sense to work at selling that first book. If I understand you correctly, you are saying it is okay to mention that it is a first in a series, but not try to make a sale on it being a series. Is that an accurate assessment?

Thank you, Rachelle for this valuable advice.

I’m writing a single book now, but still trying to shop the series of my other book. My original plan was to have two products to shop around rather than just one and I am on my way to making that true.