The When, Why and How of Book Proposals

My book coaching client, Rob Johnson, has his book coming out next month, published by Wiley. And it all started with a smart book proposal! If you’re just beginning to learn about the book publishing process, you were probably surprised to hear that for some projects, you have to write a book proposal before you write the book. For some, that’s good news: they don’t have to write a whole book right off the bat. For some, that’s bad news: a proposal can be harder to write than the actual book! Then there are others–and maybe this is you–who have no clue what a proposal is and whether they need one. Let’s clarify a few points about the whole book proposal thing.

What is a Book Proposal?
A book proposal is a document that presents the detail and scope of your book idea. It summarizes the book, provides sample chapters and explains why you’re the right person to do the book. Depending on the book, the proposal can be as few as 20 pages or as much as 45-50 pages or more. Think of it as prospectus–you’re making the pitch to the publishing house on why your book would make a great investment for the company.

Do You Need One?
You’ll want to write a book proposal if…

–you’re writing a non-fiction book
–you’re seeking a traditional publisher and/or a literary agent.

Making Your Case
The great thing about a book proposal is that it proves your book is a great idea–so much so that you’ve written pages of detail to back it up. This is important because your proposal won’t be read by just one person. These days it often takes a whole team of people to make a decision on whether or not to sign your book. Imagine what it would be like if you had to pitch each person again and again in person? Let your proposal do the talking for you!

Saving You Time
The work that goes into writing a book proposal can be very telling. It may show you that you’re focusing on the wrong area of your topic. Or that the audience for the book isn’t as big as you had hoped it would be. Such discoveries can be disappointing, but the upside is that these discoveries give you the chance to make a choice: you can re-focus the book, take steps to make it stronger or even decide to abandon the project altogether, which can save you lots of precious time.

How Will You Sell Your Book?
Many writers get so caught up with the idea of a book–and getting it written–that they give no thought to how they will sell the finished product. But in a book proposal you have to present all the ways you plan to market and sell your book. It makes you think about your audience and how you’ll reach them. The exercise is a great reminder of who you’re writing the book for in the first place, which can motivate you to get your project done.

Getting Started
Okay, now for the technical part. Here are the different sections you’ll want your book proposal to have. Of course these days you can add many bells and whistles: photos, videos, product samples. But your proposal still needs the basics:

Title Page
This is the first page of the book proposal. Your title should be centered and printed about two-thirds of the way down the page. In the bottom left hand corner you’ll type in your name, address, phone number, email address and the name and contact information for your agent.

Overview
You’ll want to have two to three pages explaining the overall premise of your book. You’ll also want to include a Table of Contents that shows what points will be covered in each chapter.

Bio/Credentials
This isn’t just your usual resume stuff, this is a big opportunity to sell yourself as THE person to write the book. Write it in the third person starting with your education and credentials. You’ll want to point out any experience that specifically relates to the subject matter of the book. Have you written articles or previous books on the topic? Note those as well. List any public speaking that you have done and will do in the future, including television and radio interviews. Include a really nice photo. It doesn’t have to be a glamour shot, but you do want to look interesting and engaging. A 5″x7″ is fine.

Competition
The publisher will want to know if there are books similar to yours already out there. It will help them to see that there is a market for such books. At the same time, you’ll want to point out how your book will be different, or better, than what’s already out there. Do not trash someone else’s work. It’s bad form. It’s enough to say a competitor’s book left something out, or doesn’t cover a certain aspect. If you don’t know what competing books exist, you can look them up in Books in Print or on Amazon.com.

Outline
This will be your chapter-by-chapter outline showing what you will cover, point-by-point, in each chapter. You can plan on allotting about half a page per chapter.

Sample Chapters
This is where you get to show that you really can write! You should submit at least three chapters of content. It doesn’t have to be the first three chapters, but if you haven’t written anything yet those may be the easiest to do. Then again, some writers like to start in the middle of a book! The main key here is to be good–no typos, no misspellings and no factual errors.

Marketing
The marketing section of your book proposal is so important that many publishers will often read it first. So make sure you spend the time to make this the best it can be. Lay out your whole marketing plan here. Explain who your target audience is, how big it is and why they will buy this book. How do you plan on reaching them? Are you buying your own advertising? If so, in what publications and what is their combined circulation? Will you be reaching out to book clubs, corporations or college classes where you book could be taught? How can you make your book stand out against the ones that are already out there? You want to make the case that there is a ready made audience out there and all the publisher has to do is reach out and grab them by signing you.

Promotion
Remember, a publisher wants to acquire you and your connections, so this is another important section of the proposal. How will you put yourself out there for your book? You’ll want to explain if you’ll be doing public speaking, or maybe you have a huge list you communicate with via newsletter every month. How many are on your list? If you plan to hire your own publicist, put that fact in as well. Do you have famous connections that will help you get great blurbs? Do you have a budget? If so, how much? Yes, they do want to know if you plan on spending some of your own money!

Publishing Details
Here you’ll detail the length you propose for the book (in words) and whether the book will have any illustrations or photos. You’ll also want to give an estimate for the time you’ll need to turn in the finished manuscript.

And that’s it. When your proposal is done you might want to hire an editor or a book consultant to go over it and give you some strong feedback. That way you’ll know you have it in the best shape possible and you can feel confident when you’re sending it out. Be positive, be clear, and good luck!

© 2010 Sophfronia Scott

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, but you must include this complete resource box with it: Sophfronia Scott is Executive Editor of the Done For You Writing & Publishing Company. Learn what a difference being a published author can make for your business. Get your FREE audio CD, “How to Succeed in Business By Becoming a Bestselling Author” and your FREE online writing and book publishing tips at www.DoneForYouWriting.com.

Be Sociable, Share!

•