NONFICTION BOOK PROPOSALS ONLY THE PROS WRITE by William Cane

John has always wanted to be a writer. Ever since he was a young boy, he’s been telling stories. In school he excelled in his writing classes. In fact, his friends were often amazed at how quickly and effortlessly he WROTE term papers. Now that he’s been out of college for a few years, he’s ready to graduate to bigger and better writing assignments. This next one is actually an assignment he gave himself, almost as a challenge he wanted to face: He wants to write a book.

But when John goes to write his book proposal, there’s going to be one big difference between his work and a professional’s. John is writing a full book proposal, which is entirely appropriate, while a pro will write what is known as a short-form or mini book proposal. I got the term mini book proposal from Michael Larsen, and it’s a great name meaning a short-form book proposal.

In order to write your first book proposal, it’s helpful to know the difference between the proposals the pros write and the one you’re going to be expected to submit for your first book.

THE PROFESSIONAL BOOK PROPOSAL

The mini book proposal, or what I’m referring to as the short-form book proposal, is essentially a boiled down long-form proposal, containing everything that the long form does except it omits the “about the author” section. That’s because the publisher already knows who you are.

Knowing the differences between the long- and short-form proposal can help you write your book proposal because knowing what’s in the short-form proposal can solidify your understanding of what must go into the long-form proposal, which is what you’re going to write.

THE MINI BOOK PROPOSAL

The mini book proposal contains an overview, a marketing section, a promotion section, and a competing books section. Sometimes it omits the about the author section, but you can even include that in abbreviated form, just in case someone hasn’t heard of you at the publishing house where you’ve published most of your books. Then you include a list of chapters, a chapter-by-chapter outline, and a sample chapter.

All of the sections are the same as for a regular long-form commercial book proposal. But the mini proposal is shorter and more to the point.

Next time you begin working on a book proposal and get stuck in the middle of the promotion section, saying to yourself, “Why do I have to write this thing?” just stop and realize that even the pros have to write promotion sections. Their marketing and promotion sections might only be a page each, but they still have to include them. So lighten up on yourself and push forward to get your first draft of your book proposal completed.

The short-form proposals that only the pros write should inspire you to write your own book proposal. They’re struggling to come up with all that verbiage about how their book will appeal to a large market, be easy to promote, and beat the competition. Do the same, and you’re likely to write a book proposal that will land you a book contract that will change your life.