book proposal

Unlike fiction, where an author must have a completed manuscript ready before they approach a publisher or agent, a nonfiction author only needs to develop a proposal to submit to publishers and/or agents. The proposal should answer the following questions:

1. Content: What is the book about?
2. Market: Who would be interested in this idea?
3. Competitive Titles: What other books already exist on this topic and how does this one differ?
4. Platform: Who is the author, why is the author the best person to produce this book, and what are they doing to engage with potential readers?

Section One: Content

This section of the proposal is usually 1-3 pages, unless you include a sample chapter which can range anywhere from 5-20 pages. Length is not as big of a concern as the quality of what’s included.

First, you want to come up with a brief, one sentence pitch that captures the soul of your idea.  For example: “Affordable and complete wellness.” This is the hook of your book—the key message we discussed earlier.

Next you want to create a short summary paragraph that goes into slightly more detail about how the book will achieve your hook. For example:

This book is a guide for achieving complete wellness in an affordable and holistic way. It explores the pitfalls of the modern health care system and identifies ways to integrate alternative medicine techniques into traditional medical practices. The book educates the reader on current practices and arms them with new resources and techniques to achieve total wellness.

If you have a startling statistic that stresses the importance of this message, by all means use it here.  That information will help sell the importance of your topic to the prospective agent or publisher.

Once your opening summary is developed, you will follow it with your outline. Your outline identifies the chapters and the key topics they will address. Identify any compelling facts, strategies, case studies, or information you will use to support the ideas in each chapter. You may include a sample chapter if you choose. Some publishers and agents require one, but many don’t. It really depends on whether you will be the one actually writing the book (or working with a ghostwriter), and on the agent or publisher’s requirements.

Section Two: Market

This section can be anywhere from 1/2 of a page to 2 pages. Here you identify the market for your book both in qualitative and quantitative terms. To determine who your audience is in qualitative terms, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Who would be interested in your topic?
2. Where do they live?
3. What kind of work do they do?
4. What are their hobbies?
5. How do they get their information? And so on.

The key is to be as specific as possible. It’s not enough to say your book is geared toward “men” or “businessmen.”

Section Three: Competitive Titles

In your proposal, it is important to note the top 2-3 related titles and how your project is different from them. Not only does this help identify the potential sales numbers for your book, but it also helps the publisher identify exactly where you fit into the market.

Section Four: Platform

In this section list all platform-building activities you are engaged in and those that are in theworks. This includes any speaking you are doing on your topic, organizations you are involved in, articles you written or been cited in, etc. It’s important that the agent or publisher see that you are indeed an expert on the subject and that you are building a career as an author and an expert.

For more information on how to write a book proposal, check out the following resources:

How to Write a Book Proposal by Michael Larsen

Book Proposals that Sell: 21 Secrets to Speed your Success by W. Terry Whalin: