Author Questionnaire: Initial Proposal

AUTHOR QUESTIONNAIRE

Please would you complete this form as fully as possible.

BOOK TITLE:

SUB-TITLE:

AUTHOR(S):

ABOUT YOU

Name (as you wish it to appear on the cover of the book):

Date of birth:

Nationality:

Postal address:

Email address:

Telephone number:

Mobile telephone number:

Occupation:

Please tell us about yourself in approximately 100 words. You may wish to include details such as education and academic achievements, current and previous jobs, travel, awards and hobbies. We are particularly interested in any experience you may have that is relevant to your book:

If you have any previous publications or have written for magazines or journals please list them here (include full title and subtitle, publisher/journal and year of publication):

ABOUT THE PROPOSED BOOK

Please summarise your book concisely in no more than 20 words (what is the key selling point? e.g. ‘the first book to prove that Battenberg was a traitor and conspired with the Germans to let the High Seas Fleet slip into the North Atlantic’):

Please summarise the book in no more than 150 words (imagine that you are writing the ‘blurb’ for the cover):

Are you able to supply the text as a Microsoft Word document?:

How long is it / will it be (number of words)?:

Will the book be illustrated? If so, please give details (how many, whether black-and-white or colour; N.B. it is usual for authors to source illustrations themselves and to pay reproduction fees where appropriate):

When will you be able to send us the completed text and all of the illustrations that you plan to use (N.B. we cannot start work on a book until we have received all of these materials):

SALES INFORMATION

If your book is local title please list five key sales outlets where you think your book could be sold (if possible please provide full details – contact, address, phone and email):

Please list non-traditional sales outlets where your book could be sold (e.g. museums, tourist information centres, libraries or newsagents; if possible please provide full details — contact, address, phone and email:

If there are any places of particular relevance or interest listed in your book (county, town or perhaps even something like a school or a hospital), please give full details:

Is your book being produced in association with a local organisation such as a library or local history society? If so, please give full details:

Are you (or your local history society if you are a member) interested in purchasing copies of the book on publication? If so, please tell us how many you would like to order. (Please note that you as the author qualify for a preferential 52.5% discount on all copies ordered by yourself.) This will be taken as a firm order unless otherwise stipulated:

Would we be able to have access to any mailing lists (such as membership lists of relevant organisations)?:

MARKETING & PUBLICITY INFORMATION

Please list five key points that make your book special (e.g. original research, previously unpublished material, exceptional illustrations, etc.):

Who is the book aimed at? Who will buy it? (e.g. members of a society, undergraduates, inhabitants of a specific place, etc.):

Please list key societies, organisations or associations that are relevant to your book and would form a key audience who might buy copies (please supply names, phone numbers and email addresses):

Please give details of competing books, including title and price, and how your book differs from them:

Can you suggest comparisons for your work with a film, TV programme or book, so that your book may capitalise on the similarity:

Please list any anniversaries, events, exhibitions, concerts, festivals, etc., associated with the subject of the book (if a location, please provide full details where possible):

Is there anybody who might be able to provide a quotation for the jacket/cover (e.g. a well-known expert on the subject)? Please note that it is usual for the author to make the first contact:

Please provide suggestions of appropriate and relevant media outlets we should contact about your book (individuals, periodicals, newspapers, magazines, press, radio, television, etc.). Please detail name, phone number and email address:

Are you a member of any professional organisations, learned or private societies or research institutes? If so, please give full details:

Please give full details of any school or university courses for which your book might appear on a reading list:

To help us sell the book, we would like you to be prepared to take part in book-signing events, give talks (e.g. at local events or on the radio) and be interviewed in the media. Have you previously given talks or interviews in the media? If so, please give details:

Please list useful websites where you or Tommies Guides could promote the book — for example, Google your subject and search for relevant sites, blogs and forums, and cut and paste the address here (please do not include online bookstores like Amazon):

Do you have your own website, blog, Twitter feed or Facebook page that could be used for promoting the book? If so, please give details:

Thank you for taking the time to complete this form.