How To Write A Book Proposal
How to Write a Book Proposal and Get Your Book Published
Author: Dee Power
The agent said yes to the query letter! Finding out how write a book proposal is your next step.
The agent will let you know what they want to see. Even with an affirmative response, they don’t always ask for a full manuscript. A nonfiction book hasn’t been written yet in most cases, so there isn’t a manuscript to send. What publishers and agents will ask for is a proposal for your nonfiction book.
A Nonfiction Book Proposal
Concept:
A brief, no more than one page description about why your book is unique.
Market:
Who will buy your book and why. Include the demographics of your potential readers and how many of them there are. If you can, quote statistics, such as baseball is the most often viewed sport on TV with x million people watching. Or x number of people attend arts and crafts shows a year. Or $xxx dollars of revenues are generated by customers buying garden tools. Whatever is relevant to your book’s topic.
Competition:
Similar books that have been published in the last year or that will be coming out soon. You can get an idea of soon-to-be published books by going to amazon.com, and searching under key words. When you get a listing of books that you think are similar to yours, then rank by publication date.
Include the title, author, ISBN, and a brief description. Then state why your book is better or what your book addresses that the competition doesn’t.
Go to the library and read currently available books you feel are competitive to yours. Again include the title, author, ISBN, and a brief description. Then state why your book is better or what your book addresses that the competition doesn’t.
All books have competitors.
Promotion:
What you will do for promotion. How will you market your book? Be specific. If you are willing to give seminars or speak at events, try to line up a few. Publishers want authors that actively market their own books. This doesn’t mean that you have to spend money, but it does mean you have to expend effort.
About The Author:
Pretty self explanatory. What makes you the best author to write this book. This is not a resume; include what is relevant to the topic of the book. If you have previous books published list them, with a short description.
Media Placement:
Any newspaper or magazine articles you’ve been featured in. Include articles that you’ve written and have published. Offline, hard copy publications are better than online. Online is better than nothing. Plan ahead and in the months while you’re working on your book proposal see if you can get a few articles placed. If you have just a few, include clippings. If you have more than a few, list the publication, date, title of the article. Writing a book makes you an expert in the eyes of the media, but you have to let them know you’re available.
Endorsements:
If you can get a well known authority figure, expert, celebrity or author to give you an endorsement, or to commit to an endorsement, it puts you ahead in the game.
Chapter Outline or Synopsis:
Two to four pages. Each chapter is listed and the subheadings with a brief description, a paragraph or two explaining what will be included in the chapter.
Sample Chapter:
It doesn’t have to be the first chapter. Pick the chapter you’re most excited to write, or that you are the most knowledgeable about. The editor will judge the quality of your writing by this chapter.
The proposal not including the sample chapter can run from 10 to 20 pages.
Resources:
Write the Perfect Book Proposal: 10 That Sold and Why, 2nd Edition, Jeff Herman, Deborah Levine Herman.
Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write: How to Get a Contract and Advance Before Writing Your Book, Elizabeth Lyon, Natasha Kern
Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction–and Get It Published, Susan Rabiner, Alfred Fortunato
Book Proposals That Sell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/how-to-write-a-book-proposal-and-get-your-book-published-187338.html
About the Author
Discover How You Can Achieve Your Dream And Get Your Book Published. Sneak peek of Dee Power’s new book, The Publishing Primer. Get your free chapter. Find out how books get in bookstores. How bookstores select titles. How the bestseller lists work. What boosts a book to the top of the bestseller list? And
frequently asked questions about publishing
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Writer’s Market 2007 (or the updated version will be released in 2008) is a terrific guide for writers.
Usually, you write a one page query letter to a publisher. It tells a little bit about your book, a little bit about your publishing credentials, and how your novel can contribute to the company.
Never be cocky and say “I’ve written the next classic” or “I slaved over my desk for hours” when a publisher reads those lines – it’s an automatic rejection. They don’t really care if you spent eight years locked in your basement writing a novel. Leave them to judge if it is a next classic.
Again Writer’s Market will show you the format. Never make it longer than one page – a publisher will probably immediately push it aside.
Don’t know but I hope you get the job! Is it on a political or social issue? Good luck.
Depends on the type of book u propose, mystery, romance, science or what ever. Normally, each part shd not be more than 6 to 9 pages.
What do u mean by How Should it be written? I dont understand. Pl clarify. How ever, I suggest u use MS Word in ur computer to type out what ever u want to write & u can always edit it later and save it for publication.
I think the best idea would be to at least get a “rough draft” of your novel finished before you try to pitch it. You’re more likely to be taken seriously if you have something more than just an idea to present.
If the book is non fiction, that is how it is done. However you need more than one sample chapter. You need three. If the book is fiction, then the book should be completed, rewrite-en and edited before you submit. You send a query to the agent or publisher first and then if someone shows interest, you send the complete manuscript and a proposal. There are books that teach you how to write a proposal. It is a very time consuming, precise document to write, but it is essential in selling a book. It is your number one selling tool. It is very rude and amateur to say you don’t trust publishers and agents. They are there to help you. Trust me – they are not interested in stealing your work. If they feel you don’t trust them, they will reject you. Pax-C
How do you write a book proposal?
Do you follow a specific format and length? How long does it take for you to prepare it?
How to write a good book proposal for a novel?
How do you hook a publisher on your book idea. Considering that you haven’t started writing it, what are some things you should incorporate into your book proposal to get them interested? Should you (in addition to your outline of course), write a summary of major literary themes and philosophies you plan on weaving into your story? Or might that insult their intelligence? Should I let them read the lines in my story itself so they can analyze it themselves? Whats the best method…
And if your an unpublished author, and don’t have a degree or any other major accomplishments, whats the best way to convince them you have the insight and ability to write a good book? Thanks for your help…
How Long Should It Take To Write A Book Proposal?
An agent saw some of my work and liked it,asked me to write
a book proposal. It’s non-fiction,a subject I know well and I have
no idea how long it’s going to take to do this. Anyone?
I know that everyone is different,different styles of working at
their writing,etc. But a ball park would be helpful.
Thank you!
Το Persephone, αγαπητός μου, εσείς είναι ένα δυσάρεστο κομμάτι της εργασίας. Λέγοντας με θα αποτύχω και ευμένος μου την ειρήνη; Ρώτησα ακριβώς για το χρόνο, όχι ΠΩΣ να συντάξω μια πρόταση βιβλίων, ευχαριστίες.
Can you submit a book proposal without first writing the book? Will an idea and sample chapter suffice?
I have a book idea and I started writing it, but I really have no idea whether or not it will appeal to anyone. I have no sense of how interesting these aspects of my life may or may not be.
I wish to keep this project a secret until it is truly underway and have no one to pre-read it (at least no one that I can trust to be brutally honest). Can I submit a sample chapter and book proposal to agents or should I have the final work complete first? I would hate to spend so much time writing a book that no one will ever want to read.
Also, please note that I do not think my idea is a bad one or I would not press forward with it. I just have no concept of what will be interesting for others to read.
Thanks!
Help writing a book proposal?
What needs to be included in a book proposal? How long should each part be? How should it be written? Any help appreciated.