Writing
the body of the About the Book Section
There are three parts of the about the book section:
(1)the lead--(2) the what is it section--and (3) the how this book will be put together section.
1. The Lead: The
lead is a paragraph or two that either creates a problem which you are going to solve with your book, or it offers information
which the reader doesn't have right now. If your book solves a problem, it is important to explain this problem in the beginning
sentence. To make it seem important, focus on that problem succinctly and exaggerate it slightly. This
lead (sometimes called the hook) must reach out, grab the editor and be structured
in such a way as to make him or her need to read on to find out just what is happening.
There are several types of leads. Here are a few. QUESTION,
STRIKING STATEMENT, WHAT IS IT? STATISTICS, QUOTES, ANECDOTAL and others. Let’s look at some of these and see how the are put together. .
-
Question Lead: This
lead asks a question, usually in
one sentence, then answers that question in a paragraph or two. Often the author asks a one sentence question, then takes
a paragraph or two to answer it.
- Question lead, example 1:
What are the chances of winning a million dollars in the lottery this year?
Not very good if you
figure the statistical odds. Depending on the lottery, 5 million to one, 10 million to one, 100 million to one and more. The
chances are really pretty dismal. Yet in every lottery somebody wins. And believe it or not there are dozens of ways to lower
the odds to give a single individual a fighting chance.
At what age should teenagers be allowed to drive? The answer most teenagers will give you is 16 or lower. But just
look at the statistics. Sixteen to seventeen year olds make up 15 percent of the driving public, yet account for 25 percent
of all accidents. A greater percentage of the teenage population is arrested for driving over the speed limit and for reckless
driving than the rest of us. Most public officials point out that sixteen to seventeen year old drivers are involved in an
inordinate number of highway fatalities, yet every state allows drivers to obtain a license at 16. The question is why? And
what can we do about it?
Striking statement lead example:
Most people trying to remember names in a crowded room where they are meeting dozens of individuals are lucky if they
remember one or two. But Tom Horton, using the Horton memory system can remember three or four hundred…not only at that
moment but even years later. What’s more almost anyone can master this same system…almost overnight.
The what is it lead, example 1:
In this age of food as fashion, mini-vegetables are in. Baby or miniature vegetables started off in innovative restaurants
such as Water's Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, and Lawrence Forgione's An American Place in New York, and spread to
the specialty food markets such as Balducci's New York, where they were picked up by gourmet cooks, and are now the rage among
hostesses everywhere.
The choice today is huge.
What is it lead, example (2):
It was my first day on the line, walking the toughest
beat in the state. All I had under my belt was the six-week academy and one week
of orientation. I arrived at the East Gate at 0700 uncertain that I would make
it through the maze of Folsom Prison to my assignment as a correctional office in One Building by 0730, The East Gate has
a celebrity's reputation. Movie companies have staged opening, mid, or final
scenes to prison movies like 48 Hours and American
Me, using its ominous structure.
At times most women probably have wondered what it would be like to be a prison guard's wife,
They also ask, what happens to a guard's mind when all they do is watch all day?
How do they relate to their families? And what do guards do to relax? What happens to the families?
- Statistical Lead: This
lead uses statistics to state the problem
Statistical lead, example 1:
Once upon a time, "real life' began with marriage.
Today, however, 40 percent of all Americans over eighteen years of age are single--twice as many people as were living
alone ten years ago--and singles want the same things as couples: 92 percent want to own their own homes. And many are doing
so with singles now owning more than one third (35 million) of all owner occupied homes. This year alone more than 800,000
single Americans will buy homes.
Simply pick up the quote of someone (usually well known) and use it to illustrate the thrust of your book.
Quote lead: example1:
Observes, Alice
Waters, owner of Water's Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, "Mini-vegetables are in. Baby or miniature vegetables started
off in innovative restaurants such, as Lawrence Forgione's An American Place in New York, and spread to the specialty food
markets such as Balducci's New York. Now they are being picked up by gourmet cooks everywhere."
Quote lead: example
2:
"Affirmative action,"
Explains Secretary of State, Colin Powell, "Literally opened up the world for African Americans and other minorities. Now
the acceptance of minorities into colleges has slowed to a snail's pace. It would
be a tragedy if we didn't do something about this and find a solution that all of us can live with."
This lead starts with a story or example that illustrates the thrust of the book.
Anecdotal lead, example 1:
I couldn't cry.
I was paralyzed with grief. I lay there in shock. My baby had just been born, now she was acting like she was going to pass
out. The midwife cleared her nostrils and mouth with the syringe, she held her
back with one hand and her tiny heels with the other. She slapped her bottom--no response!
"Please God, I prayed,
don't do this to me!"
I heard Charlotte's
sobs first. "She's gone Irene, she's gone.
Death is something
that happens to someone else…I could barely endure life…No way was I prepared for this…It couldn't be happening
to me.
Anecdotal Lead: Example 2
Fear was everywhere. The word Japs reverberated throughout the country. Newspapers, politicians, business
and organizations frantically called for imprisoning all Japanese into concentration camps. It was as if we had dropped the
bomb
I was just 18 in 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and I was
terrified of what
was about to happen to us. Three FBI agents ransacked our farmhouse outside of Sacramento, California. They dragged away neighboring
Japanese-American Farmers as saboteurs." Unable to cope, Mr. Iwasaga hanged himself after a grueling FBI questioning.
Assignment
Start with your subject and angle and write
a lead for your about the book section. Select the type of lead that works best
for you.
2. The What the Book is All About Section:
This section comes directly after the lead
and explains in a paragraph or two, what the book is all about. In many cases this section pulls in the author and helps establish
him or her as an authority.
Example (1):
Written for singles by nationally known and published real estate professional and single homeowner--Jenifer Green,
president of Rhode Island Singles Real Estate Inc. (a real estate company specializing in selling homes to single buyers),
HOME FOR THE FAMILY OF ONE takes singles
step-by-step through the home buying process. Singles learn that they really can afford a home even though they have only
one income and may think they do may not have sufficient savings for a down payment.
Example (2):
Both my husband
and I worked and lived in the California prison system for 33 years. KEEPERS OF THE DAMNED chronicles the frustrations of balancing between two worlds that of being prison guards
at one of the toughest prisons in the country, and trying to maintain a normal household. It also unfolds a tragic family
story as our athletic son became confined to a wheelchair by a doctor's accident. KEEPERS
OF THE DAMNED answers all the questions people often ask about prison families and more.
Assignment: Write a What is it For Your Own Book
Section 3. How You Are Going to Put the Book Together?
Generally
you can do this by picking out five things that you feel are important in the book and explain those in two or three paragraphs
each. I'll show you how this is done using the home for single's example. You can also combine this with breaking this section
into halves or thirds.
Example: What you intend to include (5
important parts of the book)
(1) HOME FOR THE FAMILY OF
ONE guide’s singles through the maze of financing options in a clear and readable format. It explores and simplifies
the nitty-gritty of financing a home for the single by mapping step-by-step paths
through the loan process and through the creative financing techniques such as
leasing a home with an Option-to-buy
(2) Lenders often
discriminate against singles by using what federal regulators have called "subtle bias," when the applicant doesn't quite fit the typical borrower mold. In other words, though the terms bachelor
and spinster may have fallen out of use, negative attitudes nonetheless face singles in the marketplace and they frequently
find themselves experiencing a virtually invisible form of discrimination. Singles will learn the strategies necessary to
combat this discrimination.
(3) HOME FOR THE FAMILY OF ONE also helps singles develop a personal
profile of home by examining lifestyle and available housing types as well as evaluating the home plan with consideration
for guests, home off ice,
hobbies or potential
lifestyle changes. Single buyers learn to "try on and custom fit" the neighborhood and to evaluate a house for purchase HOME FOR THE FAMILY OF ONE even includes
an afterward with insider tips and helpful moving hints to help single home buyers cross the threshold into their new home.
(4) As a group,
singles take more time to make informed choices. The single person who understands
the market and its institutions will triumph over "the system." Singles living in homes of their own are becoming part of our cultural imagery. As one single homeowner said, "My home is my investment
in my own future."
(5) HOME FOR THE FAMILY OF ONE: The Single's Guide to Home Ownership will be
the most comprehensive guide and how-to manual available to single home buyers. It will contain charts, graphs, and sample
contracts in an easy-to-read format. it
Will also addresses fully and responsibly all of the emotional and practical problems that singles face, written in understandable
language designed to make the process so comfortable and natural that singles will feel in-control when they make that largest
purchase of their lives.
That is five things
that make this book hum. Notice that each section explains what the reader is going to get out of that section.
Assignment: Write your own how I am going to put the book together
section. Just pick out about 5 important things in the book explain them and detail how they are going to help the reader.
Now let's give you a complete About the Book Section:
About The Book: HOME FOR
THE FAMILY OF ONE: The Single's Guide to Home Ownership
A revolution has hit the home ownership market. Today twice as many people
as were living alone ten years ago are buying their own homes. This book offers a complete primer for singles who are confused,
yet still want to buy their own home. It also offers all the forms and instructions necessary
to help singles purchase their first home.
Once upon a time, "real life" began with marriage.
Today, however, 40 percent of all Americans over eighteen years of age are
single--twice as many people as were living alone ten years ago--and singles want the same things as couples: 92 percent want
to own their own homes. And many are doing so with singles now owning more than one third (35 million) of all owner occupied
homes. This year alone more than 800,000 single Americans will buy homes.
A home is an outward expression of the singles' interests, their style, and
their security. Here they can escape to be themselves. It is a physical place where they can celebrate holidays, entertain friends, and raise children. All of these things may actually be more important to singles than they are to couples.
But many singles get knots in their stomachs when they consider buying a
home. Why? Because they start thinking about the " what if's." What if they pay too much and the value goes down? What if they get transferred and can't sell the home? What if they discover a structural problem, such as hidden roof damage, and they can't
afford to repair it? For singles, all of these "what if" issues are compounded
because they must handle them by themselves. There is no one to fall back on
for support and no one to bounce problems and potential solutions off of. Most
singles must make this, the biggest decision of their lives, alone. And they
must do it in a foreign language, the language of real estate law and mortgage financing.
Written for singles by nationally known and published real estate professional
and single homeowner--Claudia Deprez president of Florida Singles Real Estate Inc. (a real estate company specializing in
selling homes to single buyers), HOME FOR THE FAMILY OF ONE takes singles step-by-step through the home buying process. Singles learn that they really can afford a home even though they have only one income
and may think they do not have sufficient savings for a down payment.
HOME FOR THE FAMILY OF ONE guides singles through the maze of financing
options in a clear and readable format. It explores and simplifies the nitty-gritty
of financing a home for the single by mapping step-by-step paths through the loan process and through the creative financing
techniques such as leasing a home with an option-to-buy.
Lenders often discriminate against singles by using what federal regulators
have called "subtle bias," when the applicant doesn't quite fit the typical borrower mold.
In other words, though the terms "confirmed bachelor," and "spinster" may have fallen out of use, negative attitudes
nonetheless face singles in the marketplace and they frequently find themselves experiencing a virtually invisible form of
discrimination. Singles will learn the strategies necessary to combat this discrimination.
HOME FOR THE FAMILY OF ONE also helps singles develop a personal profile
of home by examining lifestyle and available housing types as well as evaluating the home plan with consideration for guests,
home office, hobbies or potential lifestyle changes. Single buyers learn to "try
on and custom fit" the neighborhood and to evaluate a house for purchase.
HOME FOR THE FAMILY OF ONE even includes an afterward with insider
tips and helpful moving hints to help single home buyers cross the threshold into their new home.
As a group, singles take more time to make informed choices. The single person who understands the market and its institutions will triumph over "the system." Singles living in homes of their own are becoming part of our cultural imagery. As one single homeowner said, "My home is my investment in my own future."
HOME FOR THE FAMILY OF ONE: The Single's Guide to Home Ownership will
be the most comprehensive guide and how-to manual available to single home buyers. It
will contain charts, graphs, and sample contracts in an easy-to-read format. It
will also addresses fully and responsibly all of the emotional and practical problems that singles face, written in understandable
language designed to make the process so comfortable and natural that singles will feel in-control when they make that largest
purchase of their lives.
