Pitch and Promote Like a Pro by Terry W. Burns

When I attended the ACFW conference last month, I was privileged to meet and talk with Terry Burns. The man exuded wisdom, gentility, and compassion, and I went away wanting to know more about him and his expertise. (I also wished an agent or editor could have reviewed my proposal and told me if it was not only acceptable, but exemplary--'Sorry. That's my perfectionist tendencies talking.)

A few days later, I clicked on Terry's website, www.TerryBurns.net, zeroed in on his bookstore, and found a jewel. Pitch and Promote Like a Pro CD. And the price was better than right. I ordered it, hoping it would help me give my book proposal the edge I felt I needed to impress an agent who had invited me to send one.

Pitch and Promote Like a Pro arrived a few days later, and it provided a wealth of down-to-earth advice about every facet of pitching one's book. Nineteen topics spread over eighty easy-to-read pages that range from overcoming his personal fears about pitching to writing the dreaded proposal step by step. Terry uses his own proposal as an example and breaks it down, page by page, with simple explanations to help the writer not only create the blasted thing, but understand the reason why he or she must follow certain guidelines. And he's taken the guesswork out of the "Marketing Analyses" and "Marketing Comparables." Yay! Great, great stuff!

My proposal is finished. I can't say that it's exemplary, but I have a lot more confidence in it than the version I took to the conference. Thanks, Terry, for sharing your invaluable info. To God be the glory.