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The most valuable gift you can give a prospective publisher is an easily reachable market that’s dying to buy your book. Get the marketing section of your proposal right, and you’re gold.

No aspect of your proposal is more important than how you’re going to reach your audience. Hundreds of thousands of potential readers may hunger for information on your topic, but they’re no good to you unless they know about your book. Focus on the least expensive, most cost-effective ways to get information to them. If you even hint at the possibility of national television advertising, you will lose credibility. That’s not how book publicity is done. Read John Kremer’s excellent 1001 Ways to Market Your Books and Dan Poynter’s classic Self-Publishing Manual for gazillions of affordable ideas.

Pay special attention to the definition and size of your target audience, your primary competition, the benefits your readers will derive, and why you’re the right person to write the book. If you have any kind of “in” with influential people who will promote you, or any company or organization that will purchase your book to give away or sell to their customers, say so loudly and clearly!

Some publishers ask for specific proposal sections that may not be covered here, so check before you submit. Many publishers post guidelines on their Web sites.

Conduct your competitive analysis before writing one word. If you find a plethora of books out there exactly like yours, revise your idea before you go to all the trouble of completing your proposal and sample chapters.

Now, to the general format.

Title. Select a working title. You want something that will attract attention but will also make the book easy to find when a reader is searching for a topic. You can accomplish this dual objective by having a cool-sounding main title and a factual subtitle. Take, for example, the business best seller Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life. The cheese part is the sizzle, the grabber when you’re browsing through the shelves. However, you would never search for a book about coping with change by using the word “cheese” unless you knew about this specific book. That’s where the steak comes in. You need ordinary words like “deal with” and “change” that describe what the book is about and help people find it. Title = sizzle. Subtitle = steak.

Length. Estimate the length in pages and/or words. Look at other books to get an idea of the appropriate size for your subject and audience.

Bookstore section(s). I cannot overemphasize the importance of fitting into existing bookstore subject categories. If your book is shelved incorrectly, no one will ever find it. Visit some bricks-and-mortar stores and note the categories they use. If you don’t fit in, tweak your scope and approach until there can be no doubt about where your book should go. Some publishers even print the category names on the spine so that bookstores won’t have to guess.

Hook. Also known as the premise or elevator pitch, this tiny section comprises a sentence—three at the most—that sells the book in about five seconds. You can state the need and the solution, boil down the idea behind the book to an enticing log line like the ones used for screenplays, or present your unique selling proposition, a well-known business concept. It is very difficult to come up with a good elevator pitch! Think “what am I selling?” and “why would someone find my book irresistible?” in a very small nutshell. Here are some examples of good elevator pitches:

• Escape the humdrum workaday world and be your own boss by running a consulting business.< /li>
• Create authentic Italian dishes like Mama used to make.
• Insure your future by planning ahead for your long-term healthcare needs.

Notice the benefit implicit in each elevator pitch. With your help, your reader is going to become more independent, master a skill and perpetuate a cultural tradition, or protect his or her future well-being and avoid catastrophe.

You can write elevator pitches for biographies, histories, reference books, and even fiction by using the same principles. For an excellent primer on writing log lines, see Hollywood by the Bay.

Synopsis/Overview. Write an elegant, concise synopsis or overview of your book. This section should expand your elevator pitch so the publisher gets a good idea of your approach, scope, and objectives for the book. That means:

• The angle from which you will approach your subject and speak to your audience
• The scope: what you will and won’t include
• Your objectives: what you plan to accomplish, and what your readers will take away

Examples:

The Angle

• This book will comprise a comic look at the world of consulting.
• This book will approach the life of So-and-So from an edgy, contrarian point of view.
• A smorgasbord of approaches to dealing with defiant pre-teens.

The Scope

• This book will cover the following alternative energy sources: solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, hydrogen. It will exclude fusion and all traditional sources like oil, gas, hydro, and nuclear.
• This book will cover So-and-So’s life from birth through the age of 45, the years during which he established and expanded his reputation as one of the most innovative artists of his time.

Objectives

• This book will take the reader from concept to first client. He or she will be able to set up a business structure, write a business and marketing plan and timetable, brand the business, and create marketing material. He or she will also know what kind of contracts to use, how to charge, where to get support services, where and how to look for clients, how to negotiate, and how to get paid.
• At the end of the book, the reader will have gained a new perspective on the character of [biographee’s name] and the time in which he lived.

The need for the book. Why will someone buy this book? Identify the potential buyer’s pain and describe how you will alleviate it. Explain what you have to offer that no one else does. Mention ways in which you and your book will benefit your publisher.

A stunning range of choices is available to book buyers. You must discover what will motivate them to select your book rather than someone else’s. The book should also fit in with your publisher’s mission, enhance their reputation, and contribute to their bottom line. If the book has legs, that is, the potential to sell over time, explain why.

Here are some examples:

Why people would buy the book

• Many people are fed up with working for others and would like to use their expertise in a way that confers independence and prestige.
• There is a growing back-to-my-roots movement that makes people feel a part of something greater than themselves. Cooking traditional dishes keeps culture alive, brings joy to others, and enhances one’s personal image.
• Many people are scared and worried about becoming infirm in their old age. Knowing how to plan ahead can give them peace of mind.
• The life of General So-and-So provides inspiration for people faced with tough choices while trying to make the world a better place.

Note that the second example doesn’t mention anything we normally think of as “pain.” However, longing, need, and desire can serve the same function. A person who wants to cook authentic dishes is attempting to fill a hole in his or her life, no matter how tiny.

Your qualifications

• I have my own successful consulting business.
• I am an expert in northern Italian cooking, a skill I learned from my mother, who was from Bologna.
• I am a gerontologist who works with convalescent homes.
• I am a journalist who has covered every war since 1970 for The Dallas Morning News, The Los Angeles Times, and the Associated Press.

You don’t have to be a professional in a field to be credible. You can write about your experiences, people you know, or your hobbies, or you can be an expert researcher and writer who can get up to speed on a subject. Everyone has something special to offer.

What this book will do for your publisher

• This book provides a solid opportunity for [publisher’s name] to reach a corporate and small business book buying audience eager to improve their career, financial independence, and self-employment prospects. It will tie in with [name a few titles or areas of coverage] and help [publisher’s name] build a strong backlist that will sell steadily over a decade.
• This book expands [publisher’s name]’s themed cookbook line and builds strength in the ever popular Italian cuisine area. Its tradition-filled message will appeal especially to aging baby boomers and the “Me generation” of the 1970s, both of whom will enjoy increased leisure time and disposable income over the next several decades.
• This book will allow [publisher’s name] to appeal to the largest, most robust component of the book buying population: baby boomers. It will tie in with [publisher’s name]’s offerings in the areas of retirement planning and living, healthcare and fitness for seniors, and family life, leveraging [publisher’s name]’s investment in publicity, products, and services for that audience.

Target Market

List and explain several critical points:

• Who is your market? Identify primary and secondary markets—as many as you can.
• How many people make up these markets? Quantifying is tough and iffy work, but it has to be done. You should attempt to find out or estimate, based on some real numbers, how many people make up this market. Don’t get too excited about your results, though. Your publisher doesn’t expect every one of them to buy your book, and neither should you.
• How can you and/or your publisher reach this market? Present lots of ideas here, preferably those that are the most effective and cost the least. These can range from your sponsorship and maintenance of a Web site to sending out press releases.
• What role are you prepared to assume in marketing the book? You can leave this point out, but if you are truly willing to help, you will zoom miles ahead of most authors. I know how time consuming marketing is. If the sales potential of your book is only so-so, it’s hard on authors to put in the extra time without compensation. Decide ahead of time whether you can live with this reality and whether the benefits outweigh the costs or vice versa.

Competing Books

Most book buyers do not limit themselves to one purchase, which is good news for authors. Nevertheless, your publisher will want to know which books readers might choose to buy instead of yours.

You do not have to write a tome. Your job is to identify the five or so most popular competing titles, not everything on your topic. Amazon’s catalog can be helpful because you can identify similar books and look at their rankings and reviews. Just make sure that the other books really are comparable to yours. If you’re writing an introductory book on astronomy, chances are you will find many similar books. However, if you’re writing on a particular kind of 3D graphics technique, then not all books on 3D graphics necessarily comprise your direct competition. Put yourself in your publisher’s shoes and exercise your best judgment.

Include title, publisher, publication date, price, and a description of the approach. For each book, explain how yours will differ, fill an unfilled need, or excel. Go to a bookstore and examine the books in person if you have to. Your success may depend on a little legwork and a lot of attention to detail.

If the competition looks too formidable, consider changing your approach.

Author Information

Explain why you are qualified to write the book. You may have special subject credentials, writing experience, a following, exceptional marketing abilities, or access to a market. If you already have a Web site or business devoted to the subject, say so. You can list your publications here; including copies of one or two in an appendix is not a bad idea. Include reviews of previous books, also in an appendix, if they are favorable.

Time to Completion

Tell the publisher how long it will take you to deliver a clean manuscript and when you can start. Be realistic. If you promise too much, you will feel pressured and may not meet your deadline. Meeting deadlines enhances your reputation and makes your publisher’s life easier.

Table of Contents

And now, the content—at last!

Build a table of contents composed of both headings and subheadings. Annotate briefly so the publisher understands what you intend to cover and how you will approach each topic. Once you start working on the book, the table of contents will change, and the publisher knows that. Just demonstrate that you’ve thought your project through.

Special Features and Graphics

If your book will benefit from special features like tables, info boxes, quick start instructions, quizzes, photographs, diagrams, graphs, charts, or drawings, and you will be able to provide these, describe them in this section. Remember that color graphics add significantly to the cost of producing a book, so be sure to state what you can do if your publisher is not prepared to use color.

Sample Chapters

Showcase your writing abilities. Include two or three sample chapters, starting from the beginning of the book. One editor advises, “Nothing drives an editor crazier than getting Chapter 8, or Chapter 57, or Chapters 1, 6 and 12. It’s all about context, and scene setting, and when I get a chapter from the middle of a book I also wonder if maybe this is the author’s strongest topic–perhaps the first part of the book is garbage.”

Make your chapters shine. You may have to do some research first. That’s normal.

Other

Your name and contact details should appear on a cover page or at the top of page one. Include a footer with your name, book title, page number, and email address. Be neat, spell-check your work, and proofread several times, both on and off your computer screen.

© Paula Berinstein 2005

Purchase our recommended books at Amazon.com by clicking on the covers below: