Submissions

• PLEASE honor our submission guidelines. Concerning unsolicited manuscripts, if you have not heard back from Hartline Literary Agency within 12 weeks of submitting, please assume that we do not intend to pursue your query further.
• Joyce Hart works primarily with published authors unless you have met at a Writer�s conference and have been referred by a client. Joyce Hart will accept both e-mail and USPS proposals.
• Tamela Hancock Murray,Terry Burns, and Diana Flegal are looking at selected first-time authors, published authors and referrals. Tamela and Terry accept only e-mail submissions. Diana will accept e-mail, UPS, FED EX or USPS proposals, but prefers hard copys.

Guidelines for Your Fiction Proposal

• Your fiction proposal should include the following items:
  
  • Cover Letter
  • Proposal cover page
  • One-page "sell sheet"
  • Biographical sketch
  • Story synopsis
  • Market analysis
  • Competitive analysis
  • Marketing strategies (if any)
  • History of the manuscript (if any)
  • The First Three Chapters

1. Proposal Cover Page
   • Include the title, author's name, your physical address, your email address, the genre of your novel (e.g. cozy romantic mystery, Civil War historical, women's fiction), and the length (word count). Also put Represented by: Agent�s name, Hartline Literary Agency. Agent�s address, phone and e-mail.
2. One-page sell sheet
   • A one page overview that summarizes your novel.
3. Biographical sketch
   • List your writing experience, your education, your achievements, and your prior publishing history.
4. Story Synopsis
   • Prepare a one to three page synopsis of your story.
5. Market analysis
   • Identify your novel's audience (the specific categories of readers your book is aimed at) and describe your ability to sell books at speaking engagements, seminars, conferences, and other events.
6. Competitive analysis
   • Identify novels published within the past five years that are similar to your proposed work. Tell us why your book should be published, and explain how your book is superior and/or provides a new slant on your topic.
7. Marketing strategies
   • Increasingly, fiction authors are encouraged to promote their novels themselves through writers' conferences, book signings, and web sites. We suggest you establish a web site, and you�ll need to create promotional giveaways, arrange your own book signings, or attend writers' conferences. Think out of the box.
8. History of the manuscript
   • Please tell us if the manuscript has been submitted to editors and/or publishers by yourself or another agent.
9. The first three chapters
   • For fiction send the first three chapters. Non-fiction can be your choice of the first three or what you feel best showcases your book.

Guidelines for Your Non-Fiction Proposal

• Your non-fiction proposal should be a single MS Word document attached to a query email if you are submitting via e-mail.
• A one page query is sufficient. Here is our suggested format:
  
  • A single paragraph that introduces the proposed book
  • An "overview" of the intended work�including the expected word count and a brief description of the target audience
  • A few sentences about the writer that highlights his or her credentials and explains why he/she will be a credible author of the book
  • A concluding paragraph that summarizes the strengths of the book.
• Your non-fiction proposal should include the following items:
  
  
  • Cover Letter
  • Proposal cover page
  • Proposal table of contents
  • One-page "sell sheet"
  • Biographical sketch
  • Description of the book
  • Chapter outline
  • Market analysis
  • Competitive analysis
  • Marketing strategies (if any)
  • History of the manuscript (if any)
  • Three chapters- can be your choice -what you feel best showcases your book.

1. Proposal Cover Page
   • Include the title, author's name, your physical address, your email address, the genre of your novel (e.g. self help, spiritual growth etc., and the length (word count). Also, Represented by: agent�s name, Hartline Literary Agency, agent�s address, phone and e-mail address.
2. Proposal table of contents
   • Include a contents page for your proposal that provides page numbers for the items, below.
3. One-page sell sheet
   • A one page overview that summarizes your proposed book in an exciting manner.
4. Biographical sketch
   • List your writing experience, your education, your achievements and your prior publishing history.
5. Description of the book
   • Describe your book in detail, including its purpose, the intended audience, the argument(s) you'll make, and what the reader will take away when he or she reads the book.
6. Chapter outline
   • A chapter outline is a detailed table-of-contents for your work that briefly summarizes the content of each chapter. A four or five line paragraph describing each chapter is sufficient.
7. Market analysis
   • Identify your book's audience and describe your ability, if any, to sell books at speaking engagements, seminars, conferences, and other events.
8. Competitive analysis
   • List competitive books and briefly describe their contents. Summarize the differences between your book and its predecessors, highlighting why your book will fill a gap or meet an unmet need.
9. Marketing plan

   A marketing plan is a vital element of every non-fiction book proposal. It is up to the author (working with the agent) to prove that a sizeable target audience for the book exists, to sharply define this target market, and to evaluate competitive books (if any) in the marketplace.

10. History of the manuscript
    • Please tell us if you or another agent has submitted the manuscript�or earlier versions�to editors and/or publishers.
11. Three sample chapters
    
    • Provide three chapters that are likely to impress us and editors. The chapters need not be sequential.