Book Proposal Boot Camp

I have a good excuse for not blogging lately: I’ve been at boot camp.

It’s not what you might think. Although it is pushing me to set challenging goals and achieve them, this particular boot camp does not require me to wear a uniform or complete an impossible number of sit-ups and push-ups. I have enrolled in Book Proposal Boot Camp, an online class taught through the Loft Literary Center.



The eight-week course is described in the catalog as: a high-intensity basic training for writers with a nonfiction book idea, the readiness to write sample chapters, and the desire to get their proposal in the hands of agents and editors. By the end of this class, you will have a completed book proposal, a sample chapter, a query letter, and insider knowledge of the publishing industry, including how to successfully query agents.

Although being in a virtual classroom takes a little getting used to – I can enter any time I like, but I could also choose to never leave – I’m enjoying it so far, and I feel like I’m making progress toward my goal: writing a book about G. Oliver Riggs and the St. Cloud Municipal Boys’ Band (for more on this goal, see my post from October, Every Day I Write the Book).

I’m one of 16 students taking the class, which is taught by Ashley Shelby, author of Red River Rising: The Anatomy of a Flood and the Survival of an American City (she is also the daughter of former WCCO-TV news anchor Don Shelby). Her book is about the 1997 flooding of Grand Forks and was published in 2003 by Borealis Books, an imprint of the Minnesota Historical Society Press. I checked it out from the library two days ago and plan to read it when I’m not working on class assignments.

The dramatic cover of my instructor’s nonfiction book

I remember reading great reviews of the book when it came out, but somehow it never made it onto my short list of must-reads. Now it’s at the top, not just because she’s my boot camp instructor, but because G. Oliver directed the city band in Grand Forks from 1910-11. Some of the historic downtown buildings that burned in the aftermath of the flooding were new when he lived there, including this one, the B.P.O.E. Elks Lodge at 12 North Fourth St.:

My parents and I saw this plaque where the Elks building once stood.

The house where G. Oliver and his family lived, at 708 Fourth St., is also gone; when my parents and I tried to find it during a June 2010 visit to Grand Forks, we discovered that homes in that area were replaced by a levee that protects the neighborhood from flooding. It is part of the Greenway, a 2,200-acre recreation and flood mitigation system built after the devastating flood of 1997.

Fortunately, the Metropolitan Theatre, where G. Oliver’s band played concerts, is still standing.

The exterior of the magnificent former Metropolitan Theatre.

So far, I’ve completed two assignments for boot camp: an elevator pitch or brief summary of my book idea, and a longer overview of the proposed project, with possible titles and subtitles. My assignment for week three is to create an annotated table of contents, which will include chapter titles and a summary of the events of each chapter. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but it’s important work that will help me immensely as the book begins to take shape.

Speaking of shaping up, my internal drill instructor is telling me that my blogging R&R is over; it’s time to get back to those literary calisthenics!