How to Write a Deal-Clinching Book Proposal

The world of book publishing has changed the way it operates. There was a time when a writer with a brilliant story idea could approach a dozen or more publishing house in the hope of successfully selling his proposal and bag a contract. Today, the same writer has a lot of publishing options both in the traditional non-traditional publishing market to sell his proposal.

Though traditional print publishing houses are reserved only for experienced best selling novelists, a new comer with a good idea and an impeccable writing style can publish their own works with ease these days.

The non-traditional publishing option include publishing e books or electronic books. This particular option has thrown the publishing door wide open for beginners who can write a complete novel, a reference or how-to book or even a promotional pamphlet in the form of an e book. You can make these books downloadable in the computer, can be read on the screen or even be downloaded for printing if the reader so desires. Though this form of reading is more popular with the modern tech-savvy generation, the traditional book lover still would like to hold the book in his hands and feel it before sitting down to read it in his private library. The ‘real’ book still holds its charm for this crowd. The evolution of the e book has enabled numerous publishers to churn out equally large number of books in a short time incurring very minimal costs.

The compensation for the author is also less than traditional printed books. For writing a 50-page e book, the author would only receive a fraction of what he would have got writing a real book. Of course writing e books cost the author less time and effort, which makes it possible to write more that two books per month. On the other hand, a traditional book would take even the most prolific writer a couple of years to complete.

Irrespective of the publishing option you take to publish your book, a publisher still needs a water-tight proposal from the author which proves that the author knows what he is doing and can deliver what the publisher wants in time and in good order.

Thus a good proposal which a writer ought to present the publisher must convince him that you are fully equipped to handle the project. It must be a presentation of your ideas in a clear and concise way, so that there is nothing left to ambiguity or guess work. The following critical elements must be incorporated when you are making the book proposal to the publisher:

The Introduction: This is the most important part of your proposal which sell you as well as your idea. Write it with the publisher in mind. Why will he accept your proposal? What’s in it for him? So, your proposal must contain the major selling points: the market need for such a book, your unique resources for doing the research back up for writing the book, the angle of your presentation that you wish to adopt; the target audience of the proposed book – who will buy the book and why; the financial viability of the book – what the publisher can look forward to from your book; and finally a short biography of your self, for the publisher to get to know your credentials better.

The Chapter-wise Outline: Through this, you can really tell the publisher how well you have planned out your book and the process or order which you will follow for completing your book.

Some sample chapters: Considering that you have been able to successfully come this far with the publisher, present him with a few sample chapters of your book. Give the first chapter – as this is also the chapter which your readers will read first, followed by another two chapters from the book. It is entirely up to you which chapters you choose – it could be first second and third or first then somewhere in the middle and then the last. Whichever sample chapters you choose, give him the best written pieces. Remember, the proposal however well written it may be, can not proceed further if the sample chapters do not win his head and heart.

Author’s Bio: This is the final piece where you do your own selling. an extensive resume along with some of your previous writing work can do the work for you satisfactorily. Prove it to the publisher that you can add more value to this project which he can not expect from anyone else. Sell your uniqueness and you can expect to seal the deal then and there.

Today’s writing world, like any industry, is filled with competition where thousands of writers are trying to sell thousands of proposals to publishers. While the market is large enough to accommodate many writers, thanks to alternative publishing options, it is still mandatory for a budding writer to submit a well-documented proposal to achieve success in his writing career. A book proposal written with care and diligence can go a long way in striking a lucrative deal for an author.

Writing Maven recommends BodiesLanguage.com, eBookIncomes.com, and Williger.com.