Book Proposal Foreword
People thinking of writing books often spend alot of time talking about writing books. Not very often do you hear them address the subject of book proposals though. A first class book proposal is often over looked, yet it’s the beginning stage of getting a deal with a publisher. The book proposal is where you detail every reason why the publisher should buy your book, you have to sell it to them. Constructing a book proposal will also benefit the writer by allowing him or her to scrutinize the viability of the book. The sections that make up a book proposal are as follows, I have tried to come up with one or two ideas to make it stand out from the crowd.
Placing your Title Page
This is the first page of the book proposal. Align your title in the centre of the sheet of paper and place it almost two thirds the way down the sheet. Reference your personal details such as email and phone in the bottom left most of the page, place your agents contact details underneath.
Paint an Overview of the Plot
Put a couple of pages outlining the general story of the book. A table of contents itemising key points in each section of your book would be wise.
List your credentials
Sell your skill set here and make the reader believe that writing your book is well within your capacity. Your credentials and any educational references should be mentioned from a third party viewpoint. If you have had relevant experience with the subjects in your book then make a point of briefing the reader in this section. All previous work that you have undertaken relating to the book’s subject should be outlined. Mention any public appointments you may have or have done in relation to the book or it’s content, especially noting any upcoming television interviews, make sure you also give them an appealing photo of yourself.
Assessing your 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 fine to highlight items that have been neglected in your rivals books. Alot of libraries have a reference point where you can research books currently in print if you are where to look for rivals books.
An Outline of your Book
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.
Sampling your chapters
Ok kid time to show these big boys what you can do, dish out 3 or 4 chapters from your written work of art. 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. There is no write or wrong here, you just need to select the chapters that represent your best stall (must be sequential chapters). The main key here is to be good–no typos, no misspellings and no factual errors.
Your approach to 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. Shape your projections with a purposeful outcome, explain why a particular target area of the market will seek to buy your work, what sort of scalability does your projected market provide? How do you plan on reaching them? Are you buying your own advertising? If so, in what publications and what is their combined circulation?
You should try and brain storm all the end uses for your book, consider that it may be that your book could be taught in Universities or colleges for example. Is your book going to highlight itself from the mountain of books already out there? how will it? 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.
Specifiy Publishing Criteria and details
Note in this section extra materials your book may include, for instance your book may accompany a DVD or contain pull-out pictures or guides. The following point is surprisingly neglected in all too many book proposals; the estimated completion time, make sure you include a guide time-frame to complete your book.
Closing Thoughts for your Book Proposal
And that’s it. A wise person with a bit of cash to burn may at this stage wish to seek professional advice from a writing consultant before sending it to their publishers. It will no doubt boost your confidence if a professional gives your book proposal the nod before you ferry it outward to a publisher.
