The Next Big Thing

I got tagged, virtually tagged, by the forever wonderful Lexcade over at Going from Nobody to Somebody. To re-hash, the dealio for those who don't know, which is probably no one since everyone knows (does that even make sense, I need sleep), The Next Big Thing is a lovely little tour/meme for selected authors to answer questions about their latest and greatest WIP, salute the author that tagged 'em, and tag 5 more lovelies to take part in the fun.

Let's get busy!

What is the working title of your next book? 

Bona Fide: Beauty 

Where did the idea come from for the book?
Coincidentally my day job. The people I work with same the damnedest, hilarious things and their lives spin like a soap opera. A few of my closest co-work pals seemed in need of happily ever afters; even if reality isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'm committed to delivering the HEA for each of them 1 book at time. Bona Fide: Beauty is just the first story.

What genre does your book fall under?
Contemporary Romance (a girl has to start somewhere)

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I've only got the two main ones, but for a teaser bit I'll list out some secondaries. For main hero, Devlin, Ben Barnes. For main heroine, Kat, Marion Cotillard. Best buddies Christiana, Natalie, and Betty: Lynsey Bartilson, Sharon Stone, and Mena Survari

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? 
Kat needs a promotion, for all the right reasons and some wrong ones, but she won't get it unless she can convince the delectable Dev, personal image consultant extraordinaire, that she's serious about changing her attitude and foul mouth for a chance at career success.

Will your book be self-published or agency? 
Hoping for the big agency win, but if it doesn't happen I'm open to any and all options.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 
It's still in progress. I'm fast drafting, but the holidays were a momentum killer. Here's to a new year. *cheers*

What other books would you compare the story to within your genre?
I would say it's a cross between Megan Mulry's mouthy feminine snark, and Shannon Stacey sweet with a touch of hot mess; add in some character growth and giggles a la Jennifer Crusie.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
The who is some people I work with. They say the darnedest things and I can't help but incorporate some of the hilarity. The what is the unconventional hero. We read about the billionaire's, the celebrity playboys, and the self made businessmen. What about the guy you least expect? Those are the guys I'm writing about.

Now for the tagging:

Phoenix Sullivan, who desperately needs to write another book for me to read.
Amalie Berlin, she knits and does awesome things with her hands. I can only imagine her writings is just as awesome.
Chad Thomas Johnston - eclectic, music lover, and all around awesome guy. Creatively  he's one of the most inspirational people I know. Couldn't ever compare and wouldn't want to steal his thunder.
Lori Sizemore- My critique partner and woman of awesome!

I honestly couldn't think of anyone else to list because almost everyone else I would list has already taken part in this meme of awesome. So dear reader if you would like to take part feel free to say I tagged you too. If you leave a comment with a link to your blog I will happily come and read about you-the-next-big-thing. :)

Writing Profession Series- The Proposal Writer Part II

It's time for Part II of The Proposal Writer.
Yesterday, Phoenix Sullivan gave me some awesome information about the details of proposal writing, job expectations, and what goes into writing a proposal. Part II of our information divining session is all about what it takes to be a proposal writer and the one thing everyone wants to know about... the moolah!
As always, Phoenix is excellent at crunching numbers. Those who follow her blog already know exactly what mean. With that I relinquish the floor...

Qualifications

A proposal writer must be able to work fast and to produce stellar work under constant pressure. They must play well with others and know when to compromise vision and craft. And they must intuitively understand how to weave technical details into a sales pitch that can’t help but sway the customer’s decision.

The Rewards

In larger companies, the proposal writer is often part of the sales organization and may be bonused for working on a proposal that helps close a deal. Bonuses may range from a small, fixed amount to a percentage of the overall commission on the deal. Depending on typical deal sizes and how many of the deals go on to win, a writer might receive up to $10,000 or more a year in bonus money. This on top of an annual salary that, on average, runs $40-70,000 depending on experience and – becoming even more relevant these days – location.
Many proposals are crafted in a “war room” environment, requiring all team members to be physically present. Larger companies may have the technology and mindset that allows proposal writers to work from home.

Real-World Numbers
I worked for a large technology company that produced thousands of proposals per year ranging from deals worth $50,000 to $100 million and more. Because of the sheer volume, only deals worth $20 million or more got dedicated proposal writer support. My job was to craft compelling boilerplate copy that was plug-and-play into the under-$20M deals and only had to be slightly customized by writers on the larger deals.

Because I didn’t have to be present in the war rooms, I worked exclusively from home for the last 4 years I was with the company. I also didn’t have the frenzied pace of a writer working live deals (even though I often worked 60-hour weeks), but I did sacrifice commission-based bonuses in the trade-off. Still, between end-of-year bonuses and individual incentives, even in tight years affected by the economy, I received about $6-8000 extra, on top of a $78,000 salary. During my best-earning – and busiest – year, I took home $93,000.
Why did I quit? Because I retired this past January. At age 51. Not everyone will be in my situation – no partner, no kids, a home in a low-cost state, Texas – but my career as a writer in the corporate world allowed me to pay off my mortgage and save enough to tide me over till I can start collecting pension and social security in 13 years. So yeah, you can earn a decent living writing. It just takes hard work, skill and, as with most things, a lot of luck in landing the right jobs along the way.

Okay... maybe tons of research, good communication and people skills, and 60+ hour work weeks are worth it; especially at that pay grade. Now of course I agree with Phoenix, there is a little bit of luck involved in landing the right proposal job with the right company, and you have to be willing to fight for the best positions by honing skills.
I will say that being a proposal writer has perks and pitfalls as does any writing profession; even the potential lure of working in your jammies or birthday suit!
The true question would be for those interested in pursuing proposal writing: Is this the kind of writing I could do day in and day out?
What do you think?

If you missed Part I of The Proposal Writer post check it out here.
Next week I attacking: The Copy Writer

Also if you missed yesterday's post then you missed the links for Phoenix's blog and my all exuberant push for you to buy her novel Spoil of War: An Arthurian Saga. Definitely check out both and come back by tomorrow as I list my record breaking reading list for the month of June!

Writing Profession Series- The Proposal Writer Part I

It's week 3 of the Writing Profession Series and I'm learning tons! How about you??
This week it's all about Proposal Writer's!! Now proposal writing is a huge topic...
So, without further adieu I'm turning this over to the expert. My guest today is Phoenix Sullivan, author, animal lover, farm owner, and extremely experienced proposal writer. Let's just say, she knows the job details intimately. Take it away Phoenix!

Mix one part technical writer with two parts copywriter, add a dash of the creative and you’ve whipped up a proposal writer.

What’s A Proposal?

Companies wishing to buy equipment in bulk or to have certain services performed solicit bids from contractors who in turn audition for the work. Some bids, such as for window washing or providing one or two printers for an office, are uncomplicated. The contractor sends the potential customer some marketing brochures and price lists and lets the customer choose their own solution.

More complicated services, such as designing and building a new headquarters or installing and maintaining a network system for 60,000 employees worldwide, often require a team of differently skilled people to:

• Meet with the customer

• Understand the results expected

• Design a solution that meets those expectations at a competitive price

• Present the solution in a clear and compelling written proposal

• Negotiate the close

Proposals are often written by committee. For large, complicated deals, the proposal team might consist of :

• Salespeople who will ensure the language of the proposal is geared toward the customer’s specific needs and focuses on how the proposed solution addresses what the customer values most, be it cost, how fast the work can be done, or service after the sale

• Technical people who will flesh out the details of the proposal with specifics on timelines, what products will be used and how exactly the solution will be put together and delivered

• Financial and marketing folk who will ensure the price is competitive enough to win the business while still being profitable for the contractor

• Proposal writers to add the magic it takes to put the benefits, features and costs of the solution together in a way that tells a compelling and persuasive story that strikes the perfect balance between sales and marketing language and that keeps the customer’s concerns front and center

The Proposal Document
The format of the proposal itself is usually dictated by the customer who might provide a template of questions to be answered by all the contractors who are bidding. There might be word count limitations imposed. For especially complex services, there might be several sections requiring multiple teams of experts working on their own sections simultaneously.
Depending on the services being proposed and the customer’s guidelines for the document, a proposal can run anywhere from 2 or 3 pages to several hundred. And when the government is the customer, page counts can be pushed into the thousands.

One constant you can count on is that the customer will provide a hard deadline for delivering that’s impossibly short and that will be met with only seconds to spare. Be prepared to deal with high stress and short tempers.

Whoa... and Phoenix worked as a proposal writer! Whoo, a song comes to mind.
"She works hard for the money!"
I have to say that being a technical writer alone is intimidating at times. I can only image the pressure that comes with proposals. Obviously proposal writer's are required to be a jack of all trades when it comes to knowing the business they work for.
In my opinion there are some things to consider:
-You should probably have an experienced background in whatever product or field you are going to be conducting proposal writing for. Example: I wouldn't want to write proposals for farm equpiment. I know jack diddly about farming.
-Formatting and editing skills are most likely required. The way Phoenix describes it, a proposal writer is the one who ultimately formulates the pitch. Typos and bad grammar will get poor results for sure.
-Short or long, creative flair is a must. Proposal writer's have to make the idea sound delicious.
-Based on the fact that a proposal writing could combine the work of multiple entities, you have to be able to pull the important pieces together.

Okay, so proposal writing is detail oriented and very demanding. What do you need to become one and what are the benefits?
Stop by tomorrow for Part II of The Proposal Writer.

Big thanks to Phoenix for being a guest. For those of you wanting to learn more about my wonderful, talented, firey guest visit her blog. Also, Phoenix recently published a wonderful novel called Spoil of War. You can read my review here and if you want to buy this fantastic work of fiction go here! Important tidbit: I'm not the only one mesmerized by Phoenix's tale, check out the other reviews on Amazon... you'll see what I mean.

Review: Spoil of War by Phoenix Sullivan

Independent Publication Review
Spoil of War by Phoenix Sullivan
ATTENTION: This review is SPOILER FREE. For a more detailed description on the book go to Spoil of War. Personally, I recommend not reading the detailed virtual back cover on Sullivan’s website, and enjoy this book without prior influence.

Spoil of War is gripping, an exceptional story that breathes new life to Arthurian Canon.

Elsbeth, a Celtic noblewoman, finds herself in a dangerous situation when her father starts a small war with the neighboring stronghold of Cameliard, and its newly crowned ruler Leodegrance. War is a way of life for Elsbeth’s father and other lords scattered across Britain. When her father’s quest for victory takes a deadly turn Elsbeth becomes tossed in with the spoils. Not just any spoil, but Leodegrance’s.

One would think a spoil’s only trial is the singular attention, said spoil, must bestow on her captor, though Elsbeth quickly discovers that life is not as simplistic as it seems. The loss of her home and the life she lived disappear like a thief in the night, replaced by warring emotions, political squabbles, and the danger of once more losing another place called home.

The story and Elsbeth’s trials of being a spoil are poignant. The entire story is told from Elsbeth’s perspective, which is exciting and leaves more to be discovered. One of my favorite scenes is shortly after Elsbeth's arrival in Cameliard and she finds that Leodegrance has a queen:

Already he seemed to have forgotten about her, though. She watched the crowd part again as he and his queen, hand in hand, left her with his war steed and moved off toward the inner keep.
Dismounting, Ector's men followed them, the crowd swarming behind them, cutting off Elsbeth's view of the king's retreating back.
She felt a touch on her shoulder. Spinning around, she found Ector at her side, looking at her, amused. "He didn't tell you, did he?"
For some reason Elsbeth blushed. She knew perfectly well what Ector meant, but some demon made her ask, "Tell me what?"
"That there was already a queen."
"What makes you think I even entertained the idea that he was taking me to be his queen?"
"You're a woman. What woman would not want power?"
Too True. "But at what price?"
"It seems to me you've already sacrificed your chastity. What else have you left to lose?"
"Honor. Pride." Myself.
"Those are men's sacrifices, not women's. He left you with nothing, didn't he, save the one vain hope that you could win yourself a king." 
"Maybe a Roman would dream of marrying the man who warred against her father and burned her home, but I'm no Roman. It would do you -- and your king -- well to remember that."
"As you will, my Lady." The knight smiled easily.

Readers will find moments to cry, scream, and even rage while reading. The detailed descriptions of life in an era where women were properties, merely to be traded or used in any fashion devised, are emotional, but worth the experience. There is something for everyone: battles, romance, conflict, and the unmitigated courage of a woman who refuses to back down in defeat.

Spoil of War is by far the largest book I have ever read in 24 hours. The story grabbed me by the eyes, and wouldn’t let go! As a fan of Arthur and Camelot, I found Spoil of War unique, but not damaging to Arthurian Canon. I found the historical element and period information on practices, beliefs, and even politics fascinating. This book is graphic at times, but the scenes portray the reality of life in early Britain. Absence of such scenes would have marred the story, in my opinion, and created more of a fairytale versus a work of fiction that truly entertains through facts. Overall the book was refreshing, real, and will easily engross readers.

Spoil of War is available on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Amazon UK, and Smashwords. The retail price for this glorious novel is $0.99. That's right $0.99 thru June 30th. So I recommend you spend the small fortune now on getting yourself a copy, your brother, your best friend, and everyone you know!