You Only Need One Yes: My Winning Query Letter to the ABA

This is the query letter that got me a book deal with the American Bar Association. All it takes is one yes. Never give up!

July 7, 2010

___________________

Director of Book Publishing

American Bar Association Publishing

321 N. Clark Street

Chicago, Illinois 60610

Re: Proposal to Publish Foreclosure Defense Articles and Guides

Dear Ms. _________:

I am a Florida attorney and have been practicing law for almost six years. Most recently I worked with one of the largest foreclosure firms in Florida, representing lenders and servicers. However, in May I left this firm to begin my own private practice focusing instead on foreclosure defense.

I have been posting a number of instructional guides on Avvo.com, explaining to foreclosure defendants in plain English various defenses to foreclosure they may have. I have posted eleven articles in the last month alone. The foreclosure crisis in Florida is so severe that I have been willing to put my work out there for free. Enough other attorneys have contributed to the information database that anyone looking for guidance has plenty to draw from on Avvo.com.

I believe that I could expand on what I have already done to create a legal how-to book on foreclosure defense. I enjoy writing in plain-English style and employing user-friendly features such as tables, flowcharts and lists, as Writer’s Market suggests.

To view my articles on Avvo, please visit _________, or you may look me up on Avvo.com and view my profile. These legal guides are a good example for a more developed work I could create for American Bar Association Publishing.

I appreciate your review of my letter and proposal. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Respectfully submitted,

________________

Comments

Day 22 - Beck Diet Solution, Say “Oh Well” To Disappointment

Inigo Montoya: Who are you? Man in Black: No one of consequence. Inigo Montoya: I must know... Man in Black: Get used to disappointment. Inigo Montoya: 'kay. The Princess Bride (20th Century Fox 1987) Just as Inigo shrugs off the disappointment of the Man in Black’s declining to reveal his identity and gets right back into the duel, so too must we shrug off those discouragements that go hand-in-hand with losing weight and keep truckin’ down the weight loss trail. It’ll go easier for us if we do. What if we just lay around bellyaching about how horrible it is that we can’t have that donut, can’t eat/drink exactly what everybody else does at parties, can’t just open the fridge and eat whenever we felt like it? How much would we really accomplish that way? Even if we do stick to our plans for a little while under that mindset, we’d be fighting an exhausting battle with ourselves every day and eventually give in. Even the patience an...

Day 18 - Beck Diet Solution, Change Your Definition of Full

Sacha Chua via Flickr Naturally-thin people are usually good at the skill of eating to the point of normal fullness. In general, this means being just as able to take a brisk walk after a meal as before the meal. Eating past fullness doesn’t feel normal to thin people – it feels uncomfortable to them, says BDS. But for people with weight problems, this overfull sensation may actually feel normal for a number of reasons – wanting to prolong the eating experience, taking advantage of food being around, wanting to load up to avoid being hungry between meals, and so on. If you’re worried about getting hungry before your next meal, just remember what we’ve learned about hunger – that it’s never an emergency and that we can withstand the sensations. We have plenty of distractions and anti-craving techniques at our disposal to deal with cravings as well. If you’re triggered to eat more because there’s food sitting around, like at a dinner or party, you c...

The Ogre

By Joseph Jacobs John Dickson Batten [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Shelley and I were friends almost immediately. However her father did not like me. The only reason I can imagine is that my family was too poor for him and that he did not consider me fit to be around his daughter. Despite how her father felt about me, the moments when he was away at work as a lawyer, and when Shelley and I were together were the thrill of my life. We did everything for fun, it seemed like there was nothing we couldn't do, no fun that we couldn't have. Her house was an entire wonderland within itself. An enormous granite-walled mansion, there were four floors of enchanting adventure for us. The first floor held a kitchen where we made all kinds of goodies, an adjacent playroom where we played house, Barbie, watched "It's A Living," "Silver Spoons," "Small Wonder," "Dukes of Hazzard," "Laverne & Shirley," two mag...

Endless Summer Creations

Search This Blog