Sample Proposal Outline

Not many writers–or at least writers who aren’t already famous–will have a publisher approach them to write a book. The normal process is the other way around–the author approaches the publisher to see if his or her idea seems appropriate for that particular business. I don’t use the last word lightly, either. Publishers are as driven by the bottom line as any other business. That’s why you have to build a good case that your idea for a book is one that will make them money.

Most writers I know really, really dislike the business aspect of writing. We want to write, dream, research, and get our words out more than anything. With fiction (and I’ve written plenty of it!), sometimes it’s best to just jump in and get going, and then present your finished product to an editor. Nonfiction plays out a bit differently, and there are some distinct advantages and disadvantages to that.

With nonfiction, you seldom need to write an entire book to get a contract. Some conservative publishers want to see the whole work if you’re an unknown or have few credentials, but many times you can get a decision based on a proposal. Proposals have several elements: a quick synopsis of what your book is about, a list of chapters and two or three sample chapters, and a marketing section that shows you’ve thought this through and know where your book fits and what its competition will be. There’s still plenty of room for creativity, but you’re basically giving publishers (through an editor) enough information to see that there is a market for your book. One side benefit to all this work is that you will have to think through your topic all the way, and that will help you in the long run.

I will discuss the proposal process a bit more in my next post.