Wendy Ogilvie Writing Lesson No8
Sending out a book proposal.
covering letter and synopsis.
I had worked for weeks on the perfect synopsis and covering letter and wanted to get it just right. I decided to have a quick look at previous articles I had pulled from Writing Magazine and Writers’ Forum and check the Writers’ Bureau website for help with a last check. What I discovered is that my profile was incorrect.
Writing Lesson No8
When writing your profile in your covering letter, it needs to be in third person, present tense.
In other words, not
‘I am qualified to write this book as I have been a Lion Tamer since I was sixteen and have a Phd in Animal Behavior,’
BUT
Wendy Korsikoff has been a Lion Tamer since she was sixteen years old and has a Phd in Animal Behavior.
I actually do remember reading that somewhere a while ago but of course it’s never relevant at the time. It does feel rather odd, writing about yourself in the third person but it does read better.
PS. You know I’m not really a Lion Tamer right?!
So I hope that this is helpful to some of you and please feel free to impart any of your experience and knowledge onto this site for all to share.
Big love x
Wendy Ogilvie 