James Watkins Author Speaker Threat to society

Writing effective book proposals

Books are pitched to publishers, not as complete manuscripts, but as proposals that 1) must catch an editor's attention, 2) convince the marketing committee there is a market for the book and 3) you have a way to reach that market.

Here's a sample of the sections that must be included:

First, a single-spaced cover letter that concisely communicates the selling points of your book. (Keep in mind, you're pitching your book to both editors and those "bean counters" in marketing. (Bold face items to the editor can quickly scan your proposal for main elements.)

Your name
Your physical address
Your email address

Title and subtitle
Title, subtitle here

Contents
Keep this very short, very concise. If you can't describe your book in one breath, it's not focused enough. Use two paragraphs at most.

Readership
What you don't want to write is "everyone will love this book." Publishers don't publish for everyone. Detail the exact demographic (single moms of teenagers) or need (those with family members with cancer).

Competition | Distinctives
Go to amazon.com and search for your subject. Let the publisher know the titles, authors, and publishers. Show them how, for instance, your book differs from all the thousands of other books on prayer.

Marketing
Publishers love authors with a "platform." Are you a public speaker? Do you have a radio or TV program? A popular Web site? Do you know influential people who can promote your book? Do you have creative suggestions for promoting your book? Include endorsements from prominent people in the field. (Remember, you're aiming your proposal at the marketing people.)

Author
This is not a resume, but your education and/or experience that makes you the author to write this book. Do include any royal-publisher books (self-published don't count unless you've sold 5,000 copies of it) and prominent magazines (your local paper doesn't count).

Chapter Summaries

Chapter 1
Keep these very short as well. Aim for one paragraph for each chapter.

Chapter . . .
Provide summary for each chapter.

Sample chapters

Provide as many double-spaced sample chapters as the publisher requests. Make sure you use a header with your name on each page. And, of course, study very thoroughly either The Christian Writers' Market Guide or Writer's Market to be sure its in the format they desire (hard copy, e-mail attachment, etc.)

Read Terry Whalin's Book Proposals That Sell for a more complete treatment.

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Writing effective book proposals

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