On April 22, Kim Peterson will teach Write2Ignite’s next Master Class called, “Hooks, Queries and Proposals: Angling to Land a Contract.” She will present three workshops “Choosing the Correct Hook,” “Reeling in an Editor: The Query,” and “Stocking Your Tackle Box: The Proposal.”
A Q&A with Kim
As we prepare for our upcoming event, we caught up with Kim to ask about her presentations.
- What will a participant in this Master Class come away with?
Participants will conclude the day with three key takeaways:
- More knowledge. At times, we writers feel powerless within the publishing industry, but knowledge is power. I’ll provide practical examples to show what an agent or editor needs to know about an idea.
- Less fear. Many writers I encounter don’t seem to know how to write a solid query letter. They are afraid because they lack that knowledge and they don’t enjoy the process. While I can’t guarantee you will suddenly love writing query letters and proposals, you may overcome your dislike and fear. Well-written query letters and proposals actually make the pitching process easier once you become comfortable creating them.
- Deeper insight. An in-depth look into the process will help participants appear more professional to an editor or agent and offer hope for future publication. They will walk away with in-class work to build on after the sessions.
2. For the beginning writer: Please define the difference between a proposal and query.
A query or cover letter introduces you and your idea to an agent or editor. If you suggest an article, the editor must be able to decide from your letter whether he or she wants to see your article. If you suggest a book, the editor or agent will decide, based on your query letter, whether or not they want to read your proposal.
The query comes first, and the proposal follows, but they work together to sell your idea.
A proposal provides additional information about your idea, how it will appeal to your audience, and a sample of your writing from the book. It demonstrates to the editor or agent how well you can execute the idea.
The April Write2Ignite Master Class will explore the essentials of the query letter and the components of the proposal.
3. What do you mean by a “hook?”
The hook is the crucial opening — of both the query and the proposal — that conveys the point of the article or devotion, the focus of a nonfiction book, or the plot of a novel and the characters who experience those events.
A hook is designed to capture attention then lure the reader deeper in. Think of the Hook as the bait to encourage the editor to read the entire article or read farther into a proposal.
4. What will you provide for more advanced writers — those who have been in the trenches already and still are not published?
Advanced storytellers will gain further insight into what an editor or agent wants. My sessions make the process less about uncertainty and more about better aim. Pitching your idea is like fishing. We know what we want to catch, but we don’t know exactly where it is, we can’t see the target, and we sometimes don’t know which bait to use. I’ll help writers cast their lines in the right way and in the right place.
What About the Break-outs?
5. What types of activities will we do during the break-out sessions?
We’ll practice what we’ve learned regarding the Hook and wrap up the break-out sessions with real-time hooks, hands-on experiences, and writing that can be tailored to participants’ ideas and works. Attendees will come away with an outline for a query and the beginnings of a proposal.
6. Will your class be helpful for fiction as well as nonfiction writers?
Yes! The process of pitching to an editor and the process of connecting with an agent are similar across many genres. Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, you will walk away with information that helps you write a better hook, query, and proposal.
7. You’ve been teaching the craft of writing a long time, mentoring writers and helping them toward publication. Tell us about your heart for writers. Why do you do what you do?
I derive great joy from helping others succeed, especially in the area of writing, editing, and publishing. I actually find that as thrilling as working on my own writing. There’s a spiritual delight in helping other writers send their words out to minister to readers.
Kim Peterson mentors aspiring writers. She has taught writing at the collegiate level for 29 years, working extensively with published authors and those seeking careers in writing, editing, and publishing. Last fall, she began her 16th year teaching in the online professional writing program of Taylor University (Upland, Indiana). She spent a decade as a fiction reader for the Les Stobbe Literary Agency. Kim, a freelance editor, also copyedits and proofreads for WhiteFire Publishing.
With a master’s degree in print communication and working as a freelance writer for 40+ years (She started young!), Kim has written for Indiana newspapers and various periodicals and websites, including AppleSeeds, Encounter, Evangel, Vista and devotional markets. Her work has been published in anthologies such as Chicken Soup for the Soul, Rocking Chair Reader, the Moments series including Moments with Billy Graham, and, most recently, The Cat in the Christmas Tree. A recipient of a Highlights Foundation Scholarship, Kim spent a week studying with multi-published children’s authors at the Highlights campus.
Find Kim at:
Website/Blog – https://naturewalkwithgod.wordpress.com/welcome/
For details about the Master Class and to register, visit write2ignite.com/april-2023-master-class