Heather Evans Editorial

Writing a book proposal is a huge undertaking and it can be difficult to know where to start. You’re probably asking yourself questions such as:

• What is a book proposal?
• Do I need to write one, and why?
• Can I write the whole manuscript and submit that to publishers instead?
• What does a strong book proposal include?

I will break these questions down, provide you with helpful tips, and lay out what you need to include in a strong book proposal.

What is a book proposal?

Book proposals are documents written by non-fiction authors to convince publishers to sign their books. They present the business case for why a publisher should offer a contract and provide their resources to promote, print, and sell your book. You need to outline why your book is marketable so that publishers will invest.

Do I need to write one, and why?

You should always check the publisher’s submission requirements as these can vary (you can see my previous company’s submission process here), but if you are a non-fiction author, then yes. Unlike fiction authors, you don’t need to go through the process of writing the whole manuscript, securing a literary agent, writing a query letter etc. If your proposal clearly demonstrates to the publisher why there is a real need for your book and it will sell copies, then you don’t need to write too much sample material. However, you need to write a compelling proposal to the commissioning or acquisition editor’s satisfaction.

Can I write the whole manuscript and submit that to publishers instead?

It doesn’t really work like that. The publisher needs to see where you place your book in the market and if they can meet your expectations. Nonetheless, if you have already written the manuscript, you can submit this and the editor can use it to support your proposal when sending it to reviewers or when presenting it to their editorial board. Be prepared to make edits – the editor may request some changes to the manuscript to strengthen its sale potential or as a response to feedback from reviewers or the board.

What does a strong book proposal include?

Okay, so now we are ready to write the proposal. The key features and factors you need to include and consider are:

What is the book’s aim?

A major pitfall of any book proposal is when the proposed book’s rationale is not well-considered. It needs to be clear what the book’s point is as well as ensuring that it isn’t too broad. It needs to answer a question simply: why is this book relevant now? The title of the book needs to reflect this, ensuring it uses discoverable keywords.

Who is the book’s audience?

Who is the book for and why do they need it? Most importantly, why do they need this book in comparison to others already published? You need to clearly define your market and outline that there is, in fact, a market, i.e. it isn’t too obscure. Additionally, the book cannot be for everyone. If a book tries to do everything for everyone, then ultimately it does nothing for no one.

How is this book different?

The book has to have a unique angle that sets it apart. This could be the topic itself (as long as it isn’t too niche), special features included in the book, the author’s characteristic voice or new perspective, or the book’s format, such as it being a workbook, colouring book etc. However, it genuinely has to be different. It isn’t enough that it is a ‘deep-dive’ into a topic. You need to seriously consider what your sales points are that will make a publisher get excited.

Who are you (the author)?

Authors rarely realise that who they are is incredibly important in a publisher’s decision. If you are writing about a topic from your own experience but have no credentials, or you get so lost in the writing that you forget about your audience, then publisher’s will most likely pass.

Additionally, publisher’s will want to see if you have a platform. If you have a strong social media presence, offer classes or teach courses where the book can be used, have any professional leadership or organisation roles, or speak regularly at events, on podcasts, or to the media, this is really important to include. For them, this shows that people will be willing to listen and buy your book, and this is now typically required.

In short, make sure you have a really solid author bio that details your connections, credibility, and authority in the topic you’re writing on.

What is your marketing plan?

Publishers need to see that you have creative ideas to market your book and you won’t just sit back and hope the book will sell (because it won’t). You need to be confident and provide information on what you are realistically able to do. This could include conferences you plan to speak at, hosting book launches, speaking on podcasts you have connections with, organising competitions on social media, promoting the book on newsletters or blogs you write. You need to show that your outreach can lead to actual sales.

Who is the competition?

Proposal forms will ask for your competition and market analysis. For this, you will need to look up relevant titles to your proposed one and write out the title, publisher, price, length, first published format, and ISBN. The most important part is writing a small paragraph comparing your book with the competitor, demonstrating why your book is doing something different and why it is needed. During this activity, it is worth checking that the market exists, is not in decline, and isn’t too saturated so that your book proposal makes sense. You can look into this by reading this helpful article. Remember, publishing is a small industry so try to be constructive when writing your comparisons.

What sample material do I need to prepare?

The more information you can give, the better. It shows that you have considered your content, avoids there being any gaps in your proposal outline, and the publisher will trust you know what you’re doing.

However, as a minimum you will need to prepare a table of contents with abstracts accompanying each chapter that outline the proposed content. It is smart to write the introduction and either one chapter or some other sample writing (such as articles or blogs) to accompany the proposal.

As a note, you will need to include your estimated word count and/or pages you expect the book to be. Be mindful that if the book is too long or too short this might not be viable for the publisher to move forwards with.

Need more help writing your proposal? Get in touch!

This was a very brief guide on how to write a strong book proposal. However, I am always happy to support prospective authors in writing and strengthening the business case for their books. If you would like support with your book proposal, get in touch with me and we can organise a call 🙂