A One Page Presentation

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One Page Presentation

A One Page Presentation

The day I had finished my last book, I had three weeks to get all the details for a writers’ conference done – I was the Conference Director! It’s all been fun but grueling, and VOW UNBROKEN’s Amazon standings keep climbing, and it’s barely two months old.

To date, it has 30 five-star reviews. All the kind and encouraging words humble me. So please forgive me for being a little late with these Texas Tenders, and I thank you.

Last summer, I had no idea what a One Page was, and so I’m going to assume many of y’all don’t either. It’s a fabulous marketing tool writers use to get their novels noticed. I first heard of them when my agent told me nonchalantly as though I should certainly know, “Send me a One Page.”

But I had to ask, “What exactly is that? What do you want on this page?”

And she told me, “It should be about three-quarters synopsis and one-quarter biography.”

I could do that. So I wrote that just as I would any Word document and emailed it along. Then came a big blessing, the means to attend the 2013 American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Conference. In preparing for it, I spoke online to other first-time attendees through a special Newcomers Loop.

We shared questions and ideas. This is when I learned what a One Page could be, and I was impressed and amazed at how professional it should look.

First, add your photo, bordered and framed beef it up. Perhaps a banner like on your Facebook page at the top establishes the theme of your story or series. You can let your imagination soar. Use attractive color combinations that complement the hues in your photograph.

I was creating one for a mid-grade reader titled STARFISH PRIME, so I bordered the entire page with tiny yellow stars. Be artistic.

I set mine up in Word Art, in two columns. On the right, wider column, my larger title is followed by its synopsis (for a how-to on synopsis refer back to Texas Tender ‘After The End’ Part One, Polish and Synopsis). Use the tag line, jacket paragraph (perhaps shortened a bit) then another paragraph or two as space allows telling the end of your story. No cliffhangers.

At the top of my left column is my framed photo. It does not take up the entire width, and my bio starts beside it and continues below it. Toward the bottom of that column, you want to leave room for your contact information including real name, pseudonym (if using one), address, phone, email, website – then skip a line and put genre and word count. If you have an agent, of course, his or her contact information is given instead of yours.

Anytime thereafter you’re pitching your unpublished work to an editor or agent, or a published novel to a librarian or bookstore, an eye-catching One Page will set you apart.

Next time, let’s take a look at writing Biographies. And as always, I’m happy to take questions or suggestions for Texas Tender topics. Y’all be blessed!

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1 Comment
  1. Avatar of Bart
    Bart says

    Welcome back, Caryl!
    Thanks for providing us with another solid piece of advice.

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