How to write a book proposal

Before you take time to write a full-length book of fiction or nonfiction, you can save yourself time and worry by writing a book proposal. This will help you to think through your book, keep your writing on track, then propose your book in a professional manner to the editor of a traditional or indie book publishing company.

A previous article "Basic Steps for Writing & Marketing" will give you an idea of what to expect as you aim for traditional publishing markets, which the e-book, Christian Writer's Guide discusses too, along with everything else you need to get started as a freelance or assignment writer. Also, see "Outline or Synopsis" for information on preparing an outline for your nonfiction book or a synopsis for your novel.

In addition to an outline or synopsis, your book proposal package will include one to three chapters of your book, depending on the publisher’s preference as shown in their writers’ guidelines. You’ll also need to include a one-page cover letter and a book proposal sheet with headings relevant to your manuscript as shown below:

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[Place your name and contact information across the top of each page as you would for a letterhead.]

Book Proposal for (name of the company that your research shows might be interested)

Title: (Check online bookstores to see if anyone else has used the title you want. Then place your catchy but relevant title here.)

Author: (Type your full name as you want it to appear on the manuscript.)

Theme: (For Christian writers, a favorite Bible verse such as Romans 8:28 can provide an excellent theme. Regardless of your choice, a theme and purpose will help you to keep your writing focused from beginning to end.)

Purpose: (An incomplete sentence or phrase with no punctuation usually works well here, for example, “to strengthen faith” or “to promote unity among Christians.”)

Genre: (Fiction, Nonfiction, or Poetry, but if fiction, add another heading entitled Setting.)

Book Summary (for nonfiction book or Story Line for fiction: Summarize the book in a sentence or two or a brief paragraph written to encourage an editor to read more.)

Audience (or Readership): (State here what group or age of readers you aim to reach. For instance, a nonfiction book might be aimed at pastors, youth workers, or general laity, whereas a children’s book might appeal to a 2 to 4-year span among toddlers, preschoolers, or school children, for example, 6 to 8 or 8 to 12.)

Length: (Put the expected number of double-spaced pages or the expected word count.)

Marketability (or Comparative Analysis): (Base this brief information on what you find as you research your topic and title in Internet bookstores. Provide any similar or competitive titles and publication dates. If you believe your idea will fill a unique need, say why.)

Platform (or Ideas for Promotion): (If you already have a following or have established an online presence in a blog, website, or profile page on the major social networks, include that information here.)

Author Bio (or About the Author): (Group prior publishing experiences by genre and/or age group. Briefly provide relevant information such as your education, research, teaching experience, or workshops you have led on your topic.)

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© 2015, Mary Harwell Sayler

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Christian Writer’s Guide to writing options

After starting the Christian Poets & Writers group on Facebook, I realized that most of our members self-publish because that’s what they know. Since my 30+ years of experience have mainly been with traditional publishers of books and manuscripts for Christian and educational markets, I wrote the Christian Writer’s Guide e-book to provide the info you need to have more options as a freelance or assignment writer in almost any genre.

Hopefully, the table of contents will give you a good idea of what to expect:

Table of Contents

Dedication
Pray!
Let God and the Bible Guide
Welcome Your Gift or Calling
Find Your Favorite Genre
Listen for The Voice in Your Voice
Write, Write, Write
Search and Research
Record Information Accurately
Edit or Revise
Prepare to be Published
Write Freelance or on Assignment
Inquire with a Query Letter
Cover Highlights in a Cover Letter
Prepare Your Manuscript
Propose a Book in a Book Proposal
Track What Went Where and When
Develop Your Bio
Establish a Presence on the Internet
Learn Writing Terms: A to Z
About the Author


© 2014, Mary Harwell Sayler is the poet-author of 26 books in all genres and approximately 1500 poems and short manuscripts, ranging from church curriculum to children’s “take home” papers to nonfiction articles on subjects as varied as the Bible, poetry, writing, family life, and natural health.


Christian Writer's Guide e-book on Kindle



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The Golden Rule of book reviews

According to the Bible, the Golden Rule urges us to treat others as we want to be treated. If we apply that biblical thinking to our work as Christian poets or writers, we might say:

Review unto others as you would have others review unto you.

To consider this from both sides, let’s talk about the two views of reviews:

Giving a book review

Getting a book review

Either way, Christian writers and readers need helpful reviews of books in any genre, and most of us want to encourage each other whenever we can.

To give book reviews, start by letting publishers and writers know you’re willing to review books in your favorite genre. This will give you a free copy of a book you can read, enjoy, and learn from as you aim to improve your own writing too.

If you absolutely love the book, great! You have added to your personal library at no cost. If, however, you hate a book, you do not have to give a glowing review nor be brutally honest by saying the book, writer, and writing stink! Just decline the review. If the person presses you, pray to say something unhurtful and generic such as, “I didn’t connect so am not the best person to review your work.”

Since you have already reviewed the book yourself though, make a point of re-viewing the book for errors or anything you did not like in order to learn from that writer’s mistakes.

Similarly, reviewing a well-written book can help you to stretch toward higher literary quality too, but frankly, it’s easier to pinpoint what does not work than to see what works well! Nevertheless, as you read a well-written book, make a point of noticing the development of the characters in a novel or the theme in a nonfiction book. Notice the transitions, too, since a skillful writer will be especially subtle in getting readers from here to there in a smooth move of time, thought, or place.

As you continue to do book reviews, keep these tips in mind:

Be fair.

Be thorough.

Be specific in stating what you like.

Begin with positive comments, but, if you must make a negative remark, be honest but kind.

Be particular about the books you review to keep from getting bogged down in your own library. For instance, I’m only interested in reviewing traditionally published books for children or traditionally published poetry books for any age group.

Be particular about where you place your reviews. Some publications pay for book reviews; others do not. Although most of us prefer getting compensated for the time we spend reading a book and writing a review, payment should never sway our opinion.

Some book reviewers have their own blog to post reviews, and, if you enjoy reviewing, you might set up a free blog on Blogger or WordPress. (I use and like both.) Posting reviews does not fit the focus of my blogs though, so I occasionally write reviews on the Amazon site where I often order books that interest me.

As you become the kind of reviewer you hope to find, you will soon develop your own voice and approach. And, as you approach people about doing reviews for your book, the Golden Rule will again apply and guide.

For instance, I do not like receiving books out of the blue to review, so I do not feel free to mail someone a book of mine that I want reviewed. Instead, a short letter or email with a short blurb about the book and a request for a review shows respect for the reviewer's time and also saves you or your publisher the expense of mailing a book that the potential reviewer has no interest in reading.

To find interested readers, check out writers’ groups on LinkedIn or Facebook, join Group discussions, and look for people with whom you connect who might be willing to review your work.

Notice, too, the people who post helpful reviews on Amazon or other bookstore websites for the kinds of books you write. If you do not know the person, you can probably find a contact on their Amazon review page or, with a name search, on the Internet.

As you consider your options, I need to tell you that some writers are willing to pay for book reviews, but I’m not one of them. Nor do I accept payment for the promise of a shiny-bright review. I do, however, offer honest critiques of devotionals, book proposals, poetry, and children’s picture books at a reasonable fee for your eyes only. If you want that kind of professional help, visit the Critique, Edit, and Writing Consult pages on The Poetry Editor website for more information.

Meanwhile, may God bless our reading and writing life and rule each of us Golden!

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© 2011, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.

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Writing a book proposal

Before you take time to write a full-length book of fiction or nonfiction, you can save yourself time and worry by writing a book proposal. This helps you to think through important aspects of your book, keep your writing on track, and propose your book in a professional manner to the editor of a traditional book publishing company.

A previous article, Basic Steps for Writing & Marketing, will give you an idea of what to expect as you aim for traditional markets. Also, see Outline or Synopsis for information about preparing the outline you need for your nonfiction book or synopsis for your novel.

In addition to an outline or synopsis, your book proposal package will include one to three chapters of your book, depending on the publisher’s preference as shown in their writers’ guidelines, and a cover page with relevant headings such as those shown below:

[Place your name and contact information across the top of each page like a letterhead.]

Book Proposal for _(name of the company your research says might be interested)_

Title: (Place a catchy but relevant title or a tentative title here.)

Author: (your name)

Theme: (For Christian writers, a favorite Bible verse such as Romans 8:28 often provides an excellent theme. Regardless of your choice, your theme and purpose will help you to keep your writing focused from beginning to end.)

Purpose: (An incomplete sentence or phrase with no punctuation usually works well here, for example, “to strengthen faith” or “to promote unity among Christians.”)

Genre: (If fiction, include another heading entitled Setting.)

Book Summary (for nonfiction book) or Story Line (for fiction): (Summarize the book in a sentence or brief paragraph written to encourage an editor to read more.)

Audience (or Readership): (State here what group or age of readers you aim to reach. For instance, a nonfiction book might be aimed at pastors, youth workers, or general laity, whereas a children’s book might appeal to a 2 to 3-year span among toddlers, preschoolers, or school children, for example, 6 to 8 or 12 to 14.)

Length: (Put the expected number of double-spaced pages or the expected word count.)

Marketability (or Comparative Analysis): (Base this brief information on what you find as you research your topic and title in Internet bookstores. Provide any similar or competitive titles and publication dates. If your idea will fill a unique need, say why.)

Platform (or Ideas for Promotion): (If you already have a following or have established an online presence in a blog, website, or profile page on the major social networks, include that information here.)

Author Bio (or About the Author): (Group any prior publishing experiences by genre and/or age group. Briefly provide relevant information such as your education, research, teaching experience, or workshops you have led on your topic.)

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© 2011, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.



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Outline Or Synopsis?

Before you write a book, prepare either an outline or a synopsis, but which and why? This can be confusing, especially since all sorts of misinformation abounds. So to understand the very real differences, let’s back up a bit and look at what the outline and synopsis are meant to do.

For both, the first purpose is to help you keep your book on track as you write. Later, the same tool helps a potential editor or literary agent get an idea of what you had in mind without having to read the whole manuscript.

Besides having those traits in common, the outline and the synopsis run about the same length – usually a couple of pages. Otherwise they’re as different as a book of fiction and a nonfiction book can be.

If you’re writing a nonfiction book, you’ll develop an outline by simply listing the main points you want to include. Once you’ve written down the points you want to remember, group them into whatever categories they have in common. Each group then needs an appropriate heading under which you’ll arrange the points in a logical order or sequence.

As you write, this outline of well-organized thoughts will remind you what’s next – sort of like using an in-depth checklist to be sure you don’t forget something you want to include. Later, when you’re ready to send a nonfiction book proposal to an editor or agent, this same outline will go with your query letter and a chapter of two of the actual manuscript.

Similarly, a synopsis guides you, first as you write your novel then later as you try to give the editor or agent an overall feeling for your story. The synopsis is not the full story, nor is it a little paragraph or “blurb” like the one you’ll find on the back of a book jacket. It does not outline points nor list anything. Instead, the synopsis tells about a main highlight in each chapter of your novel – not giving the full story but telling about it in the present tense as though your very interesting story is happening right now.

When you complete your manuscript, add a query letter, the same synopsis you just used for writing, and a chapter or two of the novel. Then presto! You now have the fiction book proposal you’ll send to an agent or editor.

Besides this standard book proposal, literary agencies and book publishing companies sometimes have additional preferences they want you to include. To find out, locate the website then follow the writers' guidelines on the Submissions page of the company you think will be the very “best fit” for your book.

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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.

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