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There’s a paradox here: On
one hand, you want to point to X, Y and Z books as evidence that this topic you’re writing on is really hot. On other hand, you want to make a strong case that yet another book—namely yours—is still necessary, and why. So you have to point out strongly yet tactfully—you never know what relationship person reading your proposal bears to your competition— what yours will do that others haven’t.
The market analysis makes case for size of book's audience. It usually covers a broad view of current interests and buying patterns in larger culture that bode favorably for book. It may include recent movies, documentaries on television, facts about memberships in organizations or clubs, social or ethnic groups whose constituents would be likely buyers of book. For example, a book with an exercise theme might cite circulation of major fitness magazines, membership in health clubs or recent TV shows on related topics. This approach can be adapted to whatever subject: parenting, cancer, gardening, dogs, mental illness, business, or entrepreneurship.
The chapter outline tells chapter by chapter what your book contains, and sample chapters, usually about 30 pages worth, represent best samples of your writing.
Why are so many book proposals rejected? Most book proposals are rejected because ideas presented in them fail to convince publisher that author has a worthwhile (read: marketable) project. Making a project appealing to a publisher is a specialized skill, very different from creating project itself.
In my experience, authors, whether of fiction or nonfiction are by nature creative people. If you’re reading this, chances are at some point in your life, you became enamored of an idea or ideas, and felt urge to move your thoughts into world in book form. Your mind is alive. You have something to say.
A successful book proposal, on other hand, is a specialized marketing document that follows a particular form, and answers very specific questions in a way that gets a “Yes!” from publishers. Unless your field is marketing, and in particular, marketing of books to publishers, chances are you don’t have expertise in creating a book proposal. And why should you? It’s nowhere near as much fun for most authors as working and playing with their own ideas.
The majority of my clients who give me book proposals to review, even those who have read books I’ve recommended and claim to have followed them, give me proposals almost certainly slated for rejection. An excellent book proposal is a tough document for most authors to produce on their own. However, help abounds!
If you are determined to write your book proposal on your own, can really, truly follow directions, and have patience it takes to polish your work with dozens or hundreds of revisions, I recommend Michael Larsen’s book, How to Write a Book Proposal, and Jeff Herman’s Write Perfect Book Proposal. Read them, study them, write your proposal, rewrite it several dozen times (no, I’m not joking) and have it professionally reviewed by someone who really knows what they are doing. Polish it to perfection—in this business, in which 99% of all proposals will get rejected, good enough simply isn’t.
Then, if you want an agent, make sure you find one with a successful track record of selling work like yours, otherwise your polished proposal may gleam, twinkle and shimmer for unappreciative and unqualified eyes. Unless agent has specified otherwise, query them first via a one- to one-and-a-half page letter. For query, read and study John Wood’s How to Write Attention-Grabbing Query and Cover Letters. Then have at it. Spend at least three weeks on this query letter, and get feedback from at least three people, at least one of whom truly knows field.
Want to get started (or move further along) on your book proposal RIGHT NOW? Check out our classes.
All best to you in your journey, and keep me posted!
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Author Jill Nagle is founder and principal of GetPublished, http://www.GetPublished.com, which provides coaching, consulting, ghostwriting, classes and do-it-yourself products to emerging and published authors. Her most recent book is How to Find An Agent Who Can Sell Your Book for Top Dollar http://www.FindTheRightAgent.com.
