What it takes to write a killer book proposal

A nonfiction book proposal that attracts traditional publishers shows three things:

1. This is a great idea.
2. This author can write.
3. This author can sell.

Authors are very focused on the first two. Publishers are very focused on the last.

Traditional publishers are very tough to convince these days. Advances are down. Expectations are up. If you’re an author, hybrid publishing is a faster and easier option, although it’s more expensive and carries less prestige. Even so, many authors crave the respect that comes from a traditional publishing contract. To get that, you’re going to need a killer book proposal.

If you want a model to copy, it’s free to download the proposal I used to sell a recent book for a six-figure advance here.

Now let’s review the parts of the proposal and what it takes to make each one successful. In this writeup, the “editor” is the acquisitions editor at the publisher, the primary person who makes the decision to offer to publish the book or not.

Title, subtitle, and overview

A great and clever title catches the editor’s eye. I’ve previously suggested starting the proposal with the opener of the book; you can also start with an overview. But do not just write a bland summary (and for lord’s sake, don’t let ChatGPT write this). Write a pitch that says, “This is a great book about a great idea that solves a problem for lots of people.”

What does this part show the editor? This is a cool, fresh idea and a potentially great book. If the rest of this proposal is this good, we should publish it. (If you don’t do a good job, this part of the proposal says “This book idea doesn’t stand out and has limited potential, so we should pass on it.”)

How much work is it to create this? Titles, subtitles, and overviews are short. But creating a short, persuasive pitch for the book is a lot of work. It starts with idea development. But I’ve often seen titles and overviews go through multiple drafts before they’re doing justice to the book’s potential. It pays to create a solid draft of this at the start of the process and revisit it after you’ve created the rest of the proposal.

How should you write this? While this is written to the editor, don’t be explicit about that. Show what the book will accomplish for readers. They’ll get the idea.

Main ideas

At the core of your book is an idea, or possibly two or three. This is where you show them.

What does this part show the editor? The idea is new, big, and provably right.

How much work is it to create this? You’ve probably been writing or speaking about the idea for a while. The work is putting it into words briefly and persuasively.

How should you write this? The audience is both the reader and the editor. Don’t use “you” in this part. Talk about the readers as “marketers” or “entrepreneurs” or whatever group you’re targeting.

Market

Who is likely to buy the book? (“Everyone” is a terrible answer.) The book needs a defined market, whether that’s “project managers” or “introverts in business.”

What does this part show the editor? How many people fit the description of your target market? You need numbers. For example, how many project managers are there working in the U.S. right now?

How much work is it to create this? Just some basic web research. It also helps to cite sales of other books for the target market, if they’re bestsellers.

How should you write this? Objectively. Just the numbers, please.

Differentiation

This answers the question “What sets this book apart?” Publishers have little interest in more books on topics that are already well covered by existing books.

What does this part show the editor? “This is the first book that . . . .” Write it exactly like that. Describe what makes it different.

How much work is it to create this? You need to understand the positioning of the rest of the books in your market (see the Competing Books section below).

How should you write this? Persuasively. Intrigue the editor with your unique take on the topic.

Competing books

This is your analysis of the other significant books in the market. There’s a lot of detail about that in my post on “comps,” here. Competing books that you analyze should be recent (published within the last five years) and selling at least reasonably well.

What does this part show the editor? That you understand the rest of the market. Also, that your book is differentiated from other books. For books that sold well (with at least 500 Amazon reviews or recognized as a best-seller on a major best-seller list), you must show how your book is different. For those that didn’t sell as well, you must explain what the problem with those books was and how you will solve it differently.

How much work is it to create this? You don’t have to read every word of every competing book, but you need to know enough about them to identify their position in the market. Unless, for each book, you have a good answer to the question, “Why is my book different and more promising than this one,” you have some hard thinking to do.

How should you write this? Don’t be mean about other authors. Best-selling books got that way for a reason. Show how these books prove there is a market. Then analyze where there are holes or weaknesses in what they set out to do, or how they have become out of touch with a changing market.

Detailed outline

List each chapter and what will be in it. Write in phrases or bullets, for example, “Case study about how Procter & Gamble used social media to connect with adolescent girls. Four principles for social media marketing.”

What does this part show the editor? Your chapter titles, taken together, tell a story. And you have the material to actually fill a series of chapters. The number of case studies and frameworks mentioned is itself a persuasive point about the rich content that the book will include.

How much work is it to create this? It’s a huge amount of work to create a rich and credible set of content for each chapter. It takes research and organizational effort. But this is work you’ll have to do anyway before you write the book, so do it now.

How should you write this? Write about the book content in interesting phrases. A table of contents that’s witty as well as complete is more persuasive. Write this as if you are writing to the reader, not the editor.

Author bio

This is a page or so on who you are and what you have accomplished.

What does this part show the editor? You’re an impressive person who’s qualified to write this book.

How much work is it to create this? If you’ve maintained a resume or LinkedIn profile, you have the basics. But you want to concentrate on accomplishments and recognition, not jobs you held. List your more impressive accomplishments, then assemble them into a short narrative.

How should you write this? Write about yourself in the third person (yeah, it’s weird, but that’s what they expect). Avoid overt statements about how awesome you are. Focus on actual accomplishments: awards, publications, and recognizable things you contributed to.

Marketing plan

This plan explains how you will generate book sales. From the publisher’s perspective, that’s your job, not theirs.

What does this part show the editor? First, that you have assets that you are already leveraging (your “platform”) to boost your reputation, such as Instagram followings, podcasts, columns in publications, speaking gigs, and the like. And second, that you have a series of creative ideas on how to build on that platform to launch the book. You should also mention marketing partners like publicists and social media experts. Be aware that editors give far more weight to what you have already done than what you plan to do.

How much work is it to create this? Frankly, this is as much work as everything else combined. If you don’t have a proven platform, you may want to give up on pitching traditional publishers and choose another publication path. Great books by authors without a solid platform and plan require publishers to have faith in you, and that’s in short supply right now.

How should you write this? The audience for this is the acquisitions editor. Note that publicity professionals can help you create this section. I’ve done a few of these with the help of the author support firm Monaco Associates; Carolyn Monaco is an awesome partner in the creation of marketing plans. Of course, you’ll have to pay these professionals to help build your plan. The impressive part of this is the extent of your plans. Shouting about how effective you are at marketing isn’t effective.

Sample chapter(s)

This is a chapter from the book, or if the chapters are short, several chapters.

What does this part show the editor? You can do research; you can structure a chapter; you can write great, helpful, and persuasive prose.

How much work is it to create this? Creating one chapter as a demonstration is a lot of work. You’re not just writing a chapter, you’re creating a template for all the other chapters. It’s best if this is a typical chapter, not Chapter 1, which is an unusual case and usually includes content you already covered in the overview. Pick the easiest chapter and the one for which you already have the most content; there’s no reason to make this any harder by picking a difficult or problematic chapter.

How should you write this? Write with the reader in mind, not the editor. The audience for this is the audience for the book.

Why bother?

I’m sure this sounds like a lot of work. In my experience, it’s about one-quarter of the work that goes into the book. But it primes you for everything else you’re going to have to do as you write the book.

You may want to get the help of a ghostwriter or developmental editor (like me). That will cost you, typically more than $15,000. But if it’s done right, it will pay off in a book advance. Expert writers will sometimes ask for a share of the advance, but they’ll still want a pretty significant cash payment, because there’s no guarantee the proposal will land a deal. We don’t work on spec.

But if you can prove you have a great idea, you can write, and you can market the book, you’ve got a good chance to succeed. Every bit of effort you put into the proposal will help land a better deal with a bigger advance. And you’ll be able to build on all that effort as you write the book; none of it is wasted. So don’t scrimp here. Great proposals are the first steps towards writing a publishing great books.