Don’t keep us in suspense! Start your book proposal with your book idea. It seems obvious, but potential authors are often tempted to lead in with a lengthy description of who they are or how they got the idea. And not to sound like a jerk, but I have an awful lot of proposals to read. You have about two seconds to get to the point before I start skimming to find it.
Imagine the first section of your proposal is the back jacket of your eventual book. How do you grab the potential reader’s attention and thoroughly, succinctly explain what your book concept is? You only have a few seconds to capture their attention. Go to it!
This short description will likely be a couple of sentences or a short paragraph. It’s okay to spend more time on this paragraph than you spend on entire other sections of this proposal. It will not only to help you craft a successful proposal, but it will help you craft a successful book concept. Here’s some tough love for you: If you can’t explain your book concept quickly and clearly, you need to work on it.
Use the rest of this section to elaborate:
- How does your concept approach your topic in a fresh, interesting way?
- What is your concept’s unique hook?
- What will your concept teach your reader? Or if it’s a how-to/lifestyle book, what benefit will it offer your reader?
- What are your book’s key selling points?
You can also include any other information we need to know going in. Does this book absolutely need to be an enclosed spiralbound with a fuzzy cover? Does it necessitate you going on some sort of road trip to gather the content before you can turn in a manuscript? Are all the chapters going to have musical introductions? What would that even look like? What else does your editor need to know?
Let’s Talk Title
Here’s your homework: Make a list of the key terms that need to be in your title in order for people to understand what your book is about. Write them down the left side of a piece of paper. On the top, make a numbered list of the top three key selling points of your book. Be really specific: 100 projects, step-by-step photos, $5 materials, the most in-depth analysis of 17th century coffee houses, the funniest profiles of the founding fathers. Use numbers.
Now use the rest of the page to come up with possible title and subtitle options. You’re looking for an appealing combination that clearly advertises your book’s benefits to your reader.
Tiffany Hill, Editor 