Off to Historical Novel Society North America with a sample book cover!

Dear Friends,

I’m excited to be planning my trip to Historical Novel Society North America’s (HNSNA) 2023 Conference in San Antonio next month!

I’m planning to pitch my finished novel to a couple of smaller publishers while I’m at the conference and learned I need something called a “pitch sheet.” This sheet will have a blurb (much as one might have on the back of a book), a bio, and some historical background information.

Pitch Sheets

I looked at a couple of pitch sheets online and thought, “maybe I should do a sample cover?” Thanks to living in the 21st Century, I went on Fiverr, and sent a few images from my Pinterest to an artist along with a brief description of my heroine, and the plot and tone of the book. The artist sent a cover back in a little over two days. $30! I feel it was well worth it.

2021 Conference

I attended HNS’s conference back in 2021 when the entire thing was on Zoom and I loved it, quickly getting to speed in what’s going on in traditional publishing today, self-publishing, craft and marketing. One of the most valuable sessions was Jane Friedman’s “Self-Publishing 101.” I was stunned to learn not only that people now buy book covers online, but to learn that people sometimes bought pre-designed covers and then write the books around them––wow! 

My other favorite 2021 moment was when I attended a “Cozy Chat” with others writing about the American Revolution. We all had tri-corns. On hand. For when the occasion called for it. And we put them on!

I’ll write more next month after the Conference; wish me luck with my pitches!

Peace,

Kate

P.S. I’ve also helped HNS-NYC re-vamp their website over the past couple of months. Take a look if you’re interested in past events, or want to see what’s going in NYC, whether you’re a historical fiction reader or writer.