Royal Guide

[Ella]

The Unauthorized Guide to Everything Royal is a xx-word chapter book written as a how-to guide.

Being royal is no walk in the park. It's more like a stroll through the gardens. Still, there are so many things for a prince or princess to learn: how to make a royal decree, dance at a ball, and step out of a carriage without looking like an oaf. If your ladies-in-waiting spend all their time embroidering or if your man-at-arms is a ninny, you are going to need outside help.

That's where this book comes in. The Guide provides 25 step-by-step instructions on such crucial information as how to battle ogres or giants (yes, a different technique is required) and how to summon a magic mirror (speaking in rhyme works best). And if you think kissing a frog is easy, you are wrong. For starters, make sure the frog WANTS to be kissed. Next, cup your hand under the frog, do not surround it as if it is a sandwich to be eaten!

That’s the sort of crucial detail the royal tutors overlook. No royal training would be complete without the Guide. It even includes how to live happily ever after without that pesky royal wedding.

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Okay, so it's written in second person, but not in third. And it's not a summary... Not sure how I could do that without making it sound very boring. "How to pet a unicorn, how to battle a dragon, how to escape a giant, etc." I'm just not sure how to approach a subject like this. So, is there promise here, or did I completely miss the boat? Thanks!

[Buried Editor]

Right now this is exceedingly good catalog copy for a book. This is just the sort of thing that is good for sellling the book to librarians and book buyer's (and with a little tweaking) for the jacket copy to sell to readers.

Also, in a slightly shorter form, this would be great for the summary in the cover letter. However, since this is a non-fiction style book, you would want to word the one page summary differently than you would a fiction story.

Obviously, you wouldn't want to try to tell a story like with fiction, instead you want to present a no-nonsense, authoritative approach to the guide. You also would still want to have this be in third person. It might help to think of it as a one page book report for the non fiction book instead of a summary. You wouldn't detail every information (like you would in the outline later on in the proposal), but you would want to highlight all of the main points.

Hope this helps some.

[gwen]

This sounds fun and clever! Have you seen the book, The Secret Lives of Princesses (Philippe Lechermeier)? It's different than what you're proposing, but it might be a competing title, so could be worth a look.

I have a little girl, and I really appreciate how the whole princess thing seems to be evolving. A princess book can be hip, smart, and even in some ways, "modern." That's why your line about the happily ever after without the pesky royal wedding really draws me in.

I know these are not really nuts and bolts kinds of comments, but I hope my reactions can be useful to you in some way. Best of luck with this project!

[bnlippy]

I think the appeal on this would be for the little girls (Mommy could read) to the older girls that haven't lost their inner princess yet.

It seems like you have too much detail and a lot going on.

I find the pov a bit confusing for a summary. But that could just be me.

Your summary is an enjoyable and intriguing read. Maybe I haven't lost me inner "princess" yet.

Good luck!!

[ella]

Thank you everyone for your feedback. Ms. Smoot, your advice makes perfect sense. I'll try that (not sure I'll get to it before Monday, though. )

Since people brought up potential audience, I will take this opportunity to go on a tangent. When this idea popped into my head, I went to Amazon to see what was out there. (This was a while ago, so forgive the vaguery. ) There are several princess guides; about half of those are "novelty" books with tiaras or stickers or what have you. Most seemed fru-fru (and at least one talked quite a bit about finding the perfect prince and stuff like that -- for girls under age eight for goodness sakes. ugh.) One or two seemed more humorous. There's also one or two books about being a knight. I didn't see anything that crossed gender, which makes me wonder if I'm foolish to try to do so. But why can't boys learn to summon magic mirrors or fairy godparents? Why can't girls learn to sword fight and battle dragons?

Any thoughts? Should I go ahead with a gender-neutral-esque book? Am I thinking too much about marketing, or not enough? Thanks!

[gwen]

My thinking is it's important to know your market and do your research, BUT I also feel you have to write what you love. In reality, we never know if something we write will end up being published. Even something that seems right on for the market can fail, of course. By the time you get it done the market may have changed or maybe the work just doesn't stand out enough, or maybe it never finds the right fit with an editor.

So if you've done some research and you love the idea of a prince-princess combo book, I say go for it!

[nolagirl]

I love the premise of this book, but I am not so sure about your title. It's a little long, and I think you may be able to find something more alluring for this age group.

I love that it appeals to both boys/girls, because my daughter, for one, would have loved to read about slaying dragons and sword fighting. I think it is a unique concept and could be a really fun book

[ella]

Nola, Thanks! I agree about the title. Hopefully something will come to me by the time it comes to submit...

[Stephanie Sims]

As a mom of two little girls, I would enjoy reading this book to them.

Great voice in this blurb, it's quirky and fun! The only sentence I would consider omitting is the following one.

Next, cup your hand under the frog, do not surround it as if it is a sandwich to be eaten!

I think the sent which preceeds it (about being sure the frog wants to be kissed) says enough.

Love your last para!

Nice job. ;D