Book proposals – seven elements necessary for success!

Write a good book proposal and your task to produce a good book is well under way. Like any other creative endeavour, the ground work is crucial and makes the ultimate task – writing, embroidery, project management – easier. In the case of writing, a book proposal reduces the task to do-able chunks. So let’s get down to the spade work.

The seven elements of your proposal are:

1. An overview of your ‘product’ – yes, publishers do call books ‘products’ these days – and why it’s a must-have.

2. A Marketing Bit indicating
a. How the unique features of your product will make it stand out from others on offer
b. Target audience – who will want to read this ‘product’ and in what numbers?
c. Where will they buy it?
d. And what you are prepared to do to promote it.
e. Enclosures – newspaper cuttings (relevance and timeliness)

3. Publishing data:
a. When will it be ready?
b. How long will it be?
c. Non-textual information (graphics, charts etc)

4. About you and why you? Include your reviews, your credentials, anything which indicates why you should write this book.

5. Sample Chapter (although for some publishers, published articles provide your bona fides relating to ability to write or your expertise.)

6. Table of Proposed Contents – including where appropriate sections on acknowledgements, resources and index.

7. A detailed Outline – written in continuous prose (for example the plot-line of a novel) or chapter block-outs for a non-fiction works such as an autobiography or a how-to book.

This will clarify your mind and provide your potential publisher with a reason to publish.