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The Case for the Book Proposal

Last week, Janet Grant wrote about the importance of writing an excellent comparative book section in your book proposal. You can find that post here. Those kind of specifics are invaluable.

But I can almost hear the collective writerly groans when we talk about book proposals so I want to back up and make the case for simply creating the best proposal you can create. Too often I hear writers say, “I hate writing the proposal. I can’t wait until I get to the place when I can sell a book with a paragraph or two.”

I’m here to say I hope you never get to that place. Too many well-published authors are getting sloppier and sloppier about their proposals. It’s a big mistake. Let me tell you why:

  • The proposal process helps you nail down the book, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction. The very act of creating a book proposal helps you decide exactly what the book is and what it isn’t. When it comes time to sit down and write the book, your proposal is your blueprint.
  • Doing a good job on the competitive book section lets you see what is on the market and gives you the information to make your book distinctive.
  • A thorough proposal gives your agent the tools she needs to not only effectively pitch your book but also to get downright excited about it. My newer authors are giving me proposals that make publishers open their wallets.
  • A superb proposal gives the acquiring editor everything he needs to take your book to committee.
  • It’s also the perfect roadmap for sales and marketing to get a handle on your book.
  • Back cover copy often comes right off a great proposal.
  • Your synopsis or book description goes a long way toward helping the cover designer come up with the perfect design.

I could go on and on, but you get the picture.  You’d never think of starting a business without a business plan. No one would ever offer a grant without a carefully thought out grant application. Why do writers think they can offer a book to their publisher without a carefully constructed proposal?

If you’ve been writing for a long time and think you are long past having to write a proposal, I’d love to show you the kind of work being done by unpublished writers. It’s one of the reasons publishers are eagerly looking at new writers and feeling ho-hum about mid-list writers. Too many are cutting corners and just mailing it in these days. Big mistake. Big. Mistake.

My question for you: How can you reignite a passion for doing the hard work of writing? the unglamorous business part of writing?

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  1. Where is God, I wonder, writing,
    and the unwelcome answer comes.
    He’s in the bloody details, hard-biting
    PR and proposals, the literary slums.
    I want to soar above the mire,
    but He sent His Son to perish.
    Mine Art is my heart’s desire
    but it’s me God chose to cherish.
    My life and words are not my own
    and that reality confounds;
    by professional diligence seeds are sown
    by my words, and God’s Grace abounds.
    I will thus bow to the market’s needs;
    I can’t be haughty while my Saviour bleeds.

    Reply

    • Oh my goodness Andrew. On my blog stop this morning, I saw the post title and wanted to read it. And of course, I knew you would more than likely be the first to comment.

      This poem is my heart too. In a nutshell, years ago when I began to understand what Jesus did for me, and then after having watched the movie, “The Passion” produced by Mel Gibson, even if something is difficult my goal is to do my very best. I can do no less. In addition, years ago, in my early twenties, I memorized this verse:

      Colossians 3:23-24

      23] And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
      [24] Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

      This has made all the difference for me. Down to the very center of the seed of everything I do.

      Reply

  2. Covey says, “Begin with the end in mind.” I try to write the book with the proposal in mind. Sometimes a chapter takes a turn I didn’t expect and I sigh–I’ll have to change the chapter outline. Or I’ll rethink a section I’m writing because it doesn’t live up to the book’s purpose. I discover a book which shares the theme of one of my chapters and add it to the comparison list. While I craft the book, I sketch in my head a rough outline of the proposal. Some of that outline actually makes it to paper, because my brain is a slippery place where some of the best ideas slide into oblivion.

    Reply

  3. As a self-published writer, in theory I have no need for book proposals. However, writing a proposal of sorts is good discipline as to the business side of the book. I don’t worry about format, but committing most of the proposal elements to writing is something I sort of do, but at the outset of the book, not at the end. Today I begin that task for my next nonfiction book, the research for which is 80% done.

    One thing I don’t bother with, however, is the competition. I feel like I have a story to tell, I’m going to publish once it’s written, and trust I can find a market and it will catch on.

    Reply

  4. Great post, Wendy. It seems like we writers/authors should be remembering we are working in a competitive marketplace. Why wouldn’t we want to put our very best work forward? First to honor the Lord, and then to gain the best chance for our books to be the ones picked by publishers.

    Reply

  5. Thank you, Wendy and Janet. Your blog posts have helped me see the competition section as an opportunity to hone what will make my book unique from what’s out there. I’m working on a proposal now and after several days of working on the competition section I’ve realized that the tone and specific chapter distinctives will be what makes my nonfiction book not only different from others out there but more appealing as well.

    Reply

  6. It’s always so helpful to have a review of what makes an excellent and exceptional book proposal. I have become accustomed to what one publishing house likes to see from their previously published authors. That’s not the standard though. Thank you for your great advice.

    Reply