If you
are not a current agency client and have not yet been
invited to submit your material by a representative of The Swetky
Agency, please use the form below to submit your proposal for agency
consideration. DO NOT E-MAIL YOUR COMPLETE MANUSCRIPT AT THIS
TIME! Failure to follow this
procedure will result in the
automatic rejection of your material without notice.
If, after reviewing your submission, The Swetky Agency believes
that it can adequately serve your representational needs in dealing with book
and film rights sales, we will issue you an
Author-Agent Contract
SAMPLE
and ask you
to complete the submission of certain additional materials in order for the
agency to begin marketing your work.
Some Notes about the Following Form's
"Sentence," "Blurb," and "Synopsis"
Sentence
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The Book-in-One-Sentence
This part of the form is a condensation of your story into a single
sentence. It should be enticing enough to make an editor or producer
sit up and say, "Wow!" For example, here's the story of
the three little pigs in one sentence.
Three sibling sows go head-to-head with a blood-thirsty predator,
and only one holds the key to survival!
The
Blurb Longer than a single sentence, the blurb/logline
contains more information but must still sell the story in short
order. This is the infamous "20 seconds" that busy New York
publishers notoriously grant to new authors when they come calling
with their properties. The same story told as a blurb:
Blurb2
When each of three perky porkers decides
to build a house, two take the easy way out and fall victim to a menacing
predator. Only the perseverance to act and the will to survive
can help the third piglet rescue his brothers from certain death.
But does he have the strength to do so ... and can he reach them in
time?
Synopsis
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The Synopsis Longer than the blurb,
the synopsis is the shortest condensation of your story possible while
still covering all of its salient points. A synopsis of
the three little pigs story might go something like this.
Three piglet brothers set out to build new homes for themselves.
One chooses straw because it's lightweight and easy to assemble, allowing
the pig more time to play. Another chooses sticks for the same
reason. When their two homes are complete, they taunt their
older brother for building his home of bricks. "You'll never
get finished," one cries. "Come on out and play," taunts the
other.
Rather than give in to
temptation, the third piglet sticks to the job, and in time, he's
rewarded with a fine, handsome, sturdy home of which he can be proud.
When the Big Bad Wolf
comes around looking for an easy meal, all three pigs seek shelter
in their homes. But the houses made of straw and sticks prove
no match for the hungry carnivore, who blows them down with ease and
grabs the pigs for some future meal. When he attempts to blow
down the house of bricks, however, he soon tires himself out and finally
slinks away from the fortress, a whipped and beaten canine.
The oldest pig frees his
younger brothers, and they shower him with gratitude while promising
never again to place their own selfish desires before ambition.
Remember...
Publishers don't care about you as a
person (sad but true). They care about you as a continuing source of
marketable writing--income. Therefore, we humbly suggest that,
as much energy as you put into your book, you put even more into the following
form.
Submission Synopsis Form - Book
Unsolicited
List of
Genres
Please select from the following list of genres those
that you believe best describe your book (remembering that a story can
be several genres at once, such as romance-humor-mystery, suspense-psychological
drama-literary; etc.). Please list by most appropriate genre first.
Fiction Book Action/Adventure, Biblical, Chick-Lit, Coming-of-Age, Confession,
Detective, Erotica, Ethnic, Experimental, Fantasy, Feminist, Gay/Lesbian,
General, Gothic, Historical, Horror, Humor, Juvenile, Literary, Mainstream/Contemporary,
Military/War, Multicultural, Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Occult, Illustrated,
Plays, Psychological Drama, Regional, Religious, Romance, Science-Fiction,
Short Story Collections, Spiritual, Sports, Stream-of-Consciousness,
Suspense, Translation, Western, Woman's, Young Adult
Nonfiction Book Adult, Alternative Lifestyle, Americana,
Animals, Anthropology/Archeology, Architecture, Art and Humanities,
Autobiography, Biography, Business/Economics, Child Guidance/Parenting,
Coffee Table, Computers/Electronics, Contemporary Culture, Cook Book,
Creative Nonfiction, Design, Education, Ethnic, Expose, Fine Art, Food
and Nutrition, Gay/Lesbian, General, Gift Book, Government/Politics,
Health/Medicine, History, Home and Garden, How-To, Humor, Illustrated,
Juvenile, Language/Literature, Law, Memoir, Military/War, Money/Finance,
Multicultural, Music/Dance, Nature, Philosophy, Photography, Physical
Science, Pop Culture, Psychology, Reference, Regional, Religion, Science,
Self-Help, Sex, Sociology, Social Science, Spirituality, Translation,
Travel, Women's Issues/Studies, Young Adult
NOTE: All material on this site is copyright protected.
No portion of this material may be copied or reproduced, either electronically,
mechanically, or by any other means, for resale or distribution without
the written consent of the author. All copy has been dated
and registered with the American Society of Authors
and Writers. Copyright 2009 by The Swetky Agency
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