August 7, 2012
Two years ago just before the 2010 ACFW Conference, someone mentioned in one of the loops that if you were pitching to an editor or an agent, you needed a One-sheet. What the dickens was a One-sheet?
Much to my dismay, I discovered a One-sheet had LOTS of stuff on it. My photo…my bio…my pitch…the name of my book…you could hear my groan across town. So, I got to work Googling how to write One-sheets. I found Kathy Hartman’s blog and it had several articles to check out. You can also check out Rachelle Gardner’s website. She has a link to several author’s One-sheets. Then I went to work in Publisher. You can do basically the same thing in Word, but I found a template I liked better in Publisher.
Below is a One-Sheet for a romantic Suspense.
I put the title of my book at the top, my photo and bio on the left side. My bio included my writing credentials, organizations I belong to and my contact information. Then, to the right I added a log line and brief paragraph of what the book is about, then added a photo that fits the book. On the back, I included a one-page synopsis of the book. The lines around the boxes disappear when you print the One-Sheet.
I wanted the One-Sheet for my Romance Story to have a different feel. See below:
As you can see, I went for a whole different look. One-Sheets are fun to play around with, and while they aren’t easy to make, neither are they particularly hard.
If you have any questions, leave them in the comment box with your email addy.
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Comments 14
Fantastic post, Pat! It is so helpful to see what others are doing to create their one pages! Thanks for sharing with us.
Author
Thanks for stopping by, Michelle. I find handing an agent or editor my One-sheet so much easier than trying to stumble through a speech. lol
Pat, you’ve done a great job on both your one-sheets. They are good examples of how changing the placement of the elements and using different fonts provides, as you said, “a different feel.” I enjoy creating one-sheets (in WordPerfect LOL!). Just another suggestion: my agent had me replace my contact information with hers (address, phone, email).
Author
You’re right, Johnnie about putting the agent’s contact information instead of your own. And that’s how mine will look at Conference. Thanks for stopping by as always!
Loved this post, Pat. You make creating a one sheet sound doable. 🙂 So, I do have a question for you. If I don’t have Publisher, do you have any tips for creating one with another program? Thanks for sharing your insights and how you created yours. I love them, BTW. 🙂
Author
Jeanne, you can do the same thing in Word. Open Word in a new, blank document. Go to Page Layout and click on Page Color if you want a colored background. Then insert the pictures you want, text boxes, whatever. I created the header for SFTP in Adobe Elements, but just made a text box for The Brass Ring and used WordArt for the letters. It really isn’t hard. Perhaps a little time consuming, but even that gets better the more you do it.
You can also create a One-Sheet in any card program you have. Just choose Poster and go from there. I hope this helps.
This helps a ton! I can see I’ll be getting to know my computer better. Thanks so much!
Author
Yes, my dear, you will. :>)
Pat, I’ve never heard of One Sheets before, but I love what you’ve done here and I’m going to check out the other sites you plugged too. Way cool! Your sheet looks phenomenal, by the way. Excellent job! (Oh, and good luck at conference!)
Author
Thanks, Kathy. Sometimes they’re called Pitch-Sheets. When I have an appointment, I just hand the sheet to the editor and respond to any questions they ask. It’s so much easier than plain pitching!
I had never heard of these either. Great topic!
Thanks for the tips!
Author
So glad I could be of help, Stephanie. Thanks for stopping by.
Great post! Can I share it with the first timers loop?
Author
Cara, feel free to share it, and I’ll be glad to answer any questions…not that I’m an expert or anything. I always tell people, if I can do it, anyone can. lol