Monday, July 14, 2008

One-Sheets

In my travels on the Internet, I've seen repeated references to one-sheets. Unable to locate an example that was not in pdf form (Adobe Reader), I contacted Randy Ingermanson, at Advanced Fiction Writing. He generously agreed to do a blog post on the subject. (Note: My Adobe Reader isn't functional.)

Two main questions nagged at me. What is a one-sheet, and is it optional or required? Randy's post and the comments of other writers gave me the answers I needed. To summarize, a one-sheet contains your name, contact information, a professional-quality photo, some details about your publishing credits, and information about your book. It is not a requirement, but editors and agents occasionally ask if you have one available.

While a one-sheet is not mandatory, there are advantages. This is Conference season, which means editor/agent appointments. Since I get nervous and tend to stumble through a meeting, a one sheet could provide a safety net. In the same way a writing prompt triggers creativity, a one-sheet gets the conversation rolling.

I'm glad the one-sheet isn't a required element, but I can see how it's a useful tool. Last night, I drafted mine. Anything that helps my confidence level is worth the effort.

A big "thank you" to Randy and all those who commented. A link to his blog is located on my blogroll.

2 comments:

Christina Tarabochia said...

Susan, if you're interested, I'd be glad to send you the one-sheets my agent, mom, and I came up with.

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Christina -

Thank you! I'd love a copy. You can send it to me via email. (If you don't have my email, my update is coming out tomorrow evening. You'll be able to pick it up from there.)

Blessings,
Susan :)