You have a fantastic idea for a book and you want to share it with the rest of the world. You’re confident that others are going to enjoy what you have to say and you can’t wait to get started, make your mark, and enter the world of writing. Before you do, however, there’s something that you need to do first: Submit a book proposal.
A book proposal is one of the first and most important steps on your journey toward becoming a published author. If you were to think of your book as a business, your proposal essentially serves as a business plan for your book. It’s how you present your story – your ideas, the message that you want to convey with the rest of the world, etc. – with prospective publishing houses in hopes that they will pick up your book and publish it. While the idea of creating a book proposal is certainly exciting, if you’ve never done it before, it can also be a bit intimidating and overwhelming.
Publishers receive countless manuscripts from countless authors, and only about half of those that they receive are ever actually read. Why? Because there are way too many of them and not only is there not enough time to get through all of them, but a lot of manuscripts are very similar in that they feature similar messages, plots, themes, settings, characters, etc., and even if publishers had all of the time in the world, they don’t want to invest it in reading 10, 20, 30, 100 – or more – of the same kind of manuscript. Can you blame them? Of course not!
That’s where a book proposal comes in. A proposal sets your book apart from the crowd; it provides prospective publishers with a snapshot of your story and the message that you want to convey, the audience you want to share it with, and other pertinent information related to your book. In short, the goal of a proposal is to set your book apart from the crowd, attract the attention and pique the interest of potential publishers, and convince them to pick-up and publish your story.
Needless to say, a book proposal is kind of a big deal, and how you write it and what you include in it can make or break your success. That said, you definitely don’t want to just craft it willy-nilly; you want to make sure that you put effort, energy, and thought into it.
5 Key Elements Every Book Proposal Should Contain
So, what should be included in a book proposal? Well, it varies and depends on several factors, including the guidelines of the publishing company that you’re sending it to. With that said, however, there are some key elements that every book proposal should include, no matter what. These elements include the following:
- A great title/subtitle. One of the biggest issues that commissioning editors and their teams complain about is titles that authors provide on their book proposals. The titles are vague, they aren’t related to the topic at hand, they’re bland, and they can even be confusing. If you really want your book to stand out from the crowd and you want to increase your chances of having it picked up by a publisher, then you’re going to want to include a really stellar title. You want to go for something unique, but not so edgy that it’s off-putting or that it doesn’t relate to the content at all. You also want the title to draw the attention of your target audience (and prospective publishers), to get them thinking, and to entice them to want to read your book.
- A description. Another element that all book proposals must have is a description; however, this is an element that many publishers complain about when they receive proposals from hopeful authors. The description should be short, concise, informative, and attention-grabbing. It should highlight what the book is about in no more than a few short sentences. It should contain flowery, fluffy language, but rather, it should be clear and to the point. Publishers often claim that the descriptions they receive are too long, drawn out, and confusing. Don’t make the same mistake.
- Author bio. You’ll also need to include an author biography in your proposal. The bio should contain any relevant information about you, as a writer, including any previous titles that you have had published, as well as anything else that is pertinent to your professional life – and if applicable, information about your personal life. Your bio lets potential publishers know why you’re the right author for the topic/ story/information that you want to share.
- Chapter synopsis. All book proposals should also include a chapter-by-chapter synopsis; that is, what each chapter in the book is going to be about. The synopsis should be brief, yet clear; it should be no more than a paragraph in length. If they’re too long or if they aren’t clear enough, well, you’re probably going to turn off prospective publishers. Additionally, you want to make sure that include a complete sample of at least one chapter of your book. Make sure that you select the chapter that you think is the best; the one that really conveys your message and demonstrates the uniqueness of your writing. Finally, make sure that your writing – both for the synopsis of each chapter and the sample chapter – is impeccable. Subpar writing will be frowned upon (for obvious reasons).
- Marketing information. Though marketing can be very unpalatable to writers, publishers rely on marketing; after all, they are in business to turn a profit, and they remain in business by selling books. If they aren’t selling books they publish, well, what’s the sense of being in business, right? Publishers want to work with authors who are willing to invest time, effort, and energy into their writing, and the marketing section of your proposal conveys this information.
A book proposal is a vital – and arguably, the most important – step on your journey toward becoming a published author. Crafting a thoughtful, unique, organized, and well-written proposal will help to improve your chances of success.
