Part Three of “How to Find a Publisher for Your Nonfiction Book”
For most potential authors, crafting an excellent book proposal is the most significant step they can take to find a publisher for their nonfiction book. I recommend investing as much time and energy researching, writing, editing, and proofing your book proposal as you would the first chapter of your book. It’s that important.
The goal for your proposal is to capture the acquisitions editor’s attention right away and then to efficiently and effectively give him or her all the information necessary for making a good decision about whether your project is a good fit for the publishing house. Here are the key elements of a good proposal.
1. Title Page. Start with a clean, easy-to-read title page that includes your manuscript’s title and subtitle, as well as your contact information. In general, editors are not worried about or impressed with design at this point. So unless design is a key element of your book, don’t waste a lot of time making your title page attractive. Just make sure it’s clean and error-free.
2. Description. Next you need to give the editor a detailed overview of the book itself. This typically includes a three to four paragraph summary of the book, an overview of the structure of the book with an annotated table of contents, a list of the book’s unique features and benefits, a description of the status of the manuscript (how much is written?), and an estimate of the completion date.
3. Market Analysis and Plan. Like it or not, the publisher will make its decision based on whether or not they can sell enough of your book to make it worth their while. So, in the third section of your proposal, you’ll want to make your case that there is a sufficient market for your book. This includes a description of your target audience, your relevant biography and platform (existing audience), the competition for the book, and your personal plans for marketing the book.
4. Sample Chapters. A full proposal always includes a sample of your writing. In most cases, the acquisitions editor will want to see at least two completed chapters of the proposed book. Include the chapters you feel represent your best, most polished work regardless of where they fall in the outline of the book. As important as all of the preceding information is, it will get you nowhere if your sample chapters fail to sufficiently impress.
In coming weeks, I will break down each section and guide you in more detail about how to write an excellent nonfiction proposal.
Continue the series: Choosing Sample Chapters