I am working with another editor to publish a collection of true stories--focusing on a revelatory moment (creative non-fiction/memoir style)--from a group of writers. The pieces have all been collected and are in the editing process right now. My question is how to proceed with the query--there is very little information out there (both on and off line) that addresses collections, especially those of the non-fiction variety. Since it is non-fiction, would a proposal be necessary (as it is already completed)? Do I treat it like a memoir (I've found two schools of thought on memoir--treat it like non-fiction and treat it like fiction--clearly, this can be confusing) or a fiction collection? Also, any advice on how to leverage the "collection" aspect of the book? Thanks so much . . .
With non-fiction, I believe you generally need a proposal. What you need to do is find the publishers that handle such projects and look at their guidelines. You can also ask agents what they want to see when getting submissions of that kind. I don't see why this should be any different than submitting any other kind of non-fiction book.
yes, completed or not, you will most certainly need to do up a proposal, since it's non-fiction and most agents/publishers will want one... if the various pieces in this book are on the short side, it's a collection of 'personal anecdotes' and not 'a memoir'... if they're fairly long and each covers a significant period of time, then i suppose you might be able to call it a "collection of 'mini-memoirs'" though i've never really heard of such a thing... ;-) if it's meant to be instructional, with advice for beginning writers, then it could fall into the 'tips from successful whatevers' sort of thing... how well known are the contributors?... and have they been paid for their pieces?... i'd need to know more about this, to give you any advice on how to sell it... feel free to email me, if you want to go into it privately... love and hugs, maia maia3maia@hotmail.com
