Banned books display at the Lacey Timberland Library, 2012.
Thank you, one and all, for kindly sending your ideas for my next book.
All great ideas. Exceptional. But I've been inspired by recent events to look for a very specific sort of idea, which I will tell you about it in a minute.
Just in case you're thinking about writing a book of your own, the next phase after an idea is writing a proposal. Think of it as a business plan for your book, but instead of taking it to the bank for a loan, you're showing it to a publisher for an advance.
There's no set way to write a proposal — they come in all shapes and sizes. There's usually a table of contents and a few marketing ideas. The centerpiece is what is known as the "sample chapter," which proves you can tell a story and can explain your subject matter eloquently. Very often, this becomes the opening to the eventual book. Once you've written a few, it's very easy to spot those sample chapters when they make their way into print. It's an amazing ten to twenty pages to hook the reader, setting up the premise. I remember reading a book by a well known non-fiction guy a few years back and having the sudden realization right around page five that these words were lifted directly from his proposal.
Sadly, I do not have that capacity. My sample chapters never make it into the book because the section I originally intend to become Chapter One winds up being Chapter Thirteen or so. Look no further than Taking Berlin for proof.
So I don't have an idea yet, but I have time. Taking London comes out in five months and we're just getting ready to ramp up the marketing. Taking Midway, I am happy to say, is developing a life of its own, veering away from a stiff recitation of the battle itself into a bigger meditation on the amazing year that was 1942. ("Meditation" sounds unwieldy and a little like navel-gazing but I promise you it is exciting.)
This faint whisper of hope you hear in these words is the residue of January. It's a month of possibilities, a call to action. The new idea will show itself.
Taking London will soon appear in my hot little hands as a paperback advanced reading copy, which is always nice. Dry January is helping me shed a few unwanted pounds. The entire year sprawls before us, this blank slate calling us to do something special with the days and months.
Ultimately, that something special means being banned in Florida. All the best writers are these days. In fact, that seems to be the modern mark of a successful author. Stephen King, John Grisham, and Nicholas Sparks just got banned in a place called Escambia County. I should note that I was on that list. Killing Jesus and Killing Reagan were also banned, so I'm in good company.
But I co-authored those books. If I'm to be properly banned, it has to be something I write on my own. So as we count down the days to Taking London (139, to be exact), I will be vigilant in my search for a book idea the people of Escambia County can kick out of their library.