Book Proposal for The History Press

Some of you may remember my dilemma of whether or not to send a requested book proposal to The History Press. Their editor in New England had seen my blogs and referred me to the editor in my area to write a history book for them. 

Although I majored in and taught history, my first writing love is Christian novels. I knew how much time it would take to do the research and write a non-fiction book, and I didn't know if I wanted to carve that chunk of time out of the writing I'm doing now. In addition, I wondered if this is what God wanted me to do. I received no clear-cut answers. Finally, a Christian friend suggested that I do the proposal and pray that God either closed or opened the way, according to his will, and this is what I did.

After I wrote and submitted the proposal, the editor told me I would hear back from him in three days or a week at the most. Three weeks later, I received a kind letter saying that they were impressed with my writing and my platform, but he felt my proposal was too broad. He suggested I narrow the scope to something like "Arts and Crafts in the Blue Ridge."

My proposal had been on "Traditional Blue Ridge Culture," where arts and crafts was one of the chapters. I honestly think my proposal would have wider appeal, especially in the gift shops and tourist stops I planned to market in. I love arts and crafts and could write such a book, but as a writer, historian, or reader, I would prefer a book that covered all the basics of life in the Blue Ridge, not just one niche. This is a subject I know well, because it's my culture and the one I wrote about in my first published series, Appalachian Roots.

However, given the way this evolved, I'm considering the rejection of the first proposal as a closed door. I don't think it's something I need to commit to at this point. Perhaps sometime in the future that will change. For now, I'm excited to be writing my novels. I'm in the process of publishing the third one in the Appalachian Roots Series, Uprooted by War, and one set in Pennsylvania in 1739, When Winter is Past. This and the new series I'm writing set in early New Mexico will keep me plenty busy for a while.

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