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Atricle Dump - Book Proposals 101: What Publishers Want
For anyone who has lost a loved one, filing a claim for life insurance settlements is not something your look forward to. It's hard enough at times in coping with your loss. Fortunately, the process is pretty straightforward once you have the required paperwork. Here is a look at what you'll need.Although most all life insurance companies are the same in handling claims, you'll want to be sure you call your insurance agent and find out exactly all the papers you need. If it's an employee life plan, get in touch with the benefits manager of the company.Get a list together of all life insurance policies, along with the actual policy if possible. This cou
Promotion
Remember, a publisher wants to acquire you and your connections, so this is another important section of the proposal. How will you put yourself out there for your book? You'll want to explain if you'll be doing public speaking, or maybe you have a huge list you communicate with vi
Excuse me for saying so what appears that General Motors loss of $323 million in Q1 is no time to celebrate. However analysts say that they beat the Street, as their losses were expected to be a lot worse. I find a troubling that someone would consider this to be good news. In fact I am appalled at the lousy business media coverage on this issue.Failure is not an option, weakness is not an American trait and GM's loss is not a good thing. In fact their dismal performance and excuse ridden rhetoric is typical of something you'd find coming out of Washington D.C. and not the largest automaker in the world.But apparently investors are happy to see the GM
A book proposal is also a great time saver for you because you'll find in the course of researching your book proposal whether or not your idea is viable, or whether your category is already crowded with similar books. Here are the parts that make up a book proposal, and a few tips on how to make it really stand out to a potential publisher.
Title Page
This is the first page of the book proposal. Your title should be centered and printed about two-thirds of the way down the page. In the bottom left hand corner you'll type in your name, address, phone number, email address and the name and contact information for your agent.
Overview
You'll want to have two to three pages explaining the overall premise of your book. You'll also want to include a Table of Contents that shows what points will be covered in each chapter.
Bio/Credentials
This isn't just your usual resume stuff, this is a big opportunity to sell yourself as THE person to write the book. Write it in the third person starting with your education and credentials. You'll want to point out any experience that specifically relates to the subject matter of the book. Have you written articles or previous books on the topic? Note those as well. List any public speaking that you have done and will do in the future, including television and radio interviews. Include a really nice photo. It doesn't have to be a glamour shot, but you do want to look interesting and engaging. A 5"x7" is fine.
Competition
The publisher will want to know if there are books similar to yours already out there. It will help them to see that there is a market for such books. At the same time, you'll want to point out how your book will be different, or better, than what's already out there. Do not trash someone else's work. It's bad form. It's enough to say a competitor's book left something out, or doesn't cover a certain aspect. If you don't know what competing books exist, you can look them up in Books in Print. Most libraries have it in the reference section.
Outline
This will be your chapter-by-chapter outline showing what you will cover, point-by-point, in each chapter. You can plan on allotting about half a page per chapter.
Sample Chapters
This is where you get to show that you really can write! You should submit at least three chapters of content. It doesn't have to be the first three chapters, but if you haven't written anything yet those may be the easiest to do. Then again, some writers like to start in the middle of a book! The main key here is to be good--no typos, no misspellings and no factual errors.
Marketing
The marketing section of your book proposal is so important that many publishers will often read it first. So make sure you spend the time to make this the best it can be. Lay out your whole marketing plan here. Explain who your target audience is, how big it is and why they will buy this book. How do you plan on reaching them? Are you buying your own advertising? If so, in what publications and what is their combined circulation? Will you be reaching out to book clubs, corporations or college classes where you book could be taught? How can you make your book stand out against the ones that are already out there? You want to make the case that there is a ready made audience out there and all the publisher has to do is reach out and grab them by signing you.
Promotion
Remember, a publisher wants to acquire you and your connections, so this is another important section of the proposal. How will you put yourself out there for your book? You'll want to explain if you'll be doing public speaking, or maybe you have a huge list you communicate with via
They want to share their vision and put their ideas and individuality across in the form of the venture they choose. They have a vision and a view of how they can serve the interests of the local community. They are would be entrepreneurs who have a vision and have taken the time to develop a business plan and have researched this plan, formulated it and, very often, staked it with their own personal savings. When that vision collapses into a quagmire of debt and responsibility, it is a time to seek professional help regarding the forms of financial help that are available, including small business bankruptcy.It is sad to realize that something that one ha
Overview
You'll want to have two to three pages explaining the overall premise of your book. You'll also want to include a Table of Contents that shows what points will be covered in each chapter.
Bio/Credentials
This isn't just your usual resume stuff, this is a big opportunity to sell yourself as THE person to write the book. Write it in the third person starting with your education and credentials. You'll want to point out any experience that specifically relates to the subject matter of the book. Have you written articles or previous books on the topic? Note those as well. List any public speaking that you have done and will do in the future, including television and radio interviews. Include a really nice photo. It doesn't have to be a glamour shot, but you do want to look interesting and engaging. A 5"x7" is fine.
Competition
The publisher will want to know if there are books similar to yours already out there. It will help them to see that there is a market for such books. At the same time, you'll want to point out how your book will be different, or better, than what's already out there. Do not trash someone else's work. It's bad form. It's enough to say a competitor's book left something out, or doesn't cover a certain aspect. If you don't know what competing books exist, you can look them up in Books in Print. Most libraries have it in the reference section.
Outline
This will be your chapter-by-chapter outline showing what you will cover, point-by-point, in each chapter. You can plan on allotting about half a page per chapter.
Sample Chapters
This is where you get to show that you really can write! You should submit at least three chapters of content. It doesn't have to be the first three chapters, but if you haven't written anything yet those may be the easiest to do. Then again, some writers like to start in the middle of a book! The main key here is to be good--no typos, no misspellings and no factual errors.
Marketing
The marketing section of your book proposal is so important that many publishers will often read it first. So make sure you spend the time to make this the best it can be. Lay out your whole marketing plan here. Explain who your target audience is, how big it is and why they will buy this book. How do you plan on reaching them? Are you buying your own advertising? If so, in what publications and what is their combined circulation? Will you be reaching out to book clubs, corporations or college classes where you book could be taught? How can you make your book stand out against the ones that are already out there? You want to make the case that there is a ready made audience out there and all the publisher has to do is reach out and grab them by signing you.
Promotion
Remember, a publisher wants to acquire you and your connections, so this is another important section of the proposal. How will you put yourself out there for your book? You'll want to explain if you'll be doing public speaking, or maybe you have a huge list you communicate with vi
Have you ever sat down and taken a good hard look at your finances?I'm not just talking balancing the checkbook. I mean every single part of your finances. If you've never thought about it before -- you should now. Think of it as a way to see where you are and where you are going. You could be surprised.Start by simply writing down what your financial goals are. Do this without looking at your checkbook or savings accounts. Simply list what is important to you financially. This could be saving for retirement, paying off your debt or even working on a college savings fund for your children.Now look at you checkbook, savings, budgeting (or lack of
Competition
The publisher will want to know if there are books similar to yours already out there. It will help them to see that there is a market for such books. At the same time, you'll want to point out how your book will be different, or better, than what's already out there. Do not trash someone else's work. It's bad form. It's enough to say a competitor's book left something out, or doesn't cover a certain aspect. If you don't know what competing books exist, you can look them up in Books in Print. Most libraries have it in the reference section.
Outline
This will be your chapter-by-chapter outline showing what you will cover, point-by-point, in each chapter. You can plan on allotting about half a page per chapter.
Sample Chapters
This is where you get to show that you really can write! You should submit at least three chapters of content. It doesn't have to be the first three chapters, but if you haven't written anything yet those may be the easiest to do. Then again, some writers like to start in the middle of a book! The main key here is to be good--no typos, no misspellings and no factual errors.
Marketing
The marketing section of your book proposal is so important that many publishers will often read it first. So make sure you spend the time to make this the best it can be. Lay out your whole marketing plan here. Explain who your target audience is, how big it is and why they will buy this book. How do you plan on reaching them? Are you buying your own advertising? If so, in what publications and what is their combined circulation? Will you be reaching out to book clubs, corporations or college classes where you book could be taught? How can you make your book stand out against the ones that are already out there? You want to make the case that there is a ready made audience out there and all the publisher has to do is reach out and grab them by signing you.
Promotion
Remember, a publisher wants to acquire you and your connections, so this is another important section of the proposal. How will you put yourself out there for your book? You'll want to explain if you'll be doing public speaking, or maybe you have a huge list you communicate with vi
Social Media Networking is another good way to get your name out in front of people. There are several choices of sites to get involved in, depending on the type and level of involvement you are looking for.MySpace – this site has been around for several years, but it is only in the past year or so that it has been getting attention from the business community. It is fairly fast and easy to set up a MySpace account and page. Remember that the purpose of using this site is to attract clients for your business, so try not to get carried away too much with the music and videos. If you present yourself as a professional sales person you will find that the
Sample Chapters
This is where you get to show that you really can write! You should submit at least three chapters of content. It doesn't have to be the first three chapters, but if you haven't written anything yet those may be the easiest to do. Then again, some writers like to start in the middle of a book! The main key here is to be good--no typos, no misspellings and no factual errors.
Marketing
The marketing section of your book proposal is so important that many publishers will often read it first. So make sure you spend the time to make this the best it can be. Lay out your whole marketing plan here. Explain who your target audience is, how big it is and why they will buy this book. How do you plan on reaching them? Are you buying your own advertising? If so, in what publications and what is their combined circulation? Will you be reaching out to book clubs, corporations or college classes where you book could be taught? How can you make your book stand out against the ones that are already out there? You want to make the case that there is a ready made audience out there and all the publisher has to do is reach out and grab them by signing you.
Promotion
Remember, a publisher wants to acquire you and your connections, so this is another important section of the proposal. How will you put yourself out there for your book? You'll want to explain if you'll be doing public speaking, or maybe you have a huge list you communicate with vi
An interesting ruling was made in the British Court of Appeals recently ...The justices determined that British customers who use a credit card abroad or on the internet will be given the same protection as those who shop in Britain.This decision allows purchasers to reclaim funds from their card company if the product they buy is faulty or does not arrive. As is the case in many countries, such a law already exists if goods are bought in Britain.The plaintiff in the case was the government itself, on behalf of its consumers. The Office of Fair Trading targeted three representative credit card companies --- Lloyds TSB, Tesco Personal Finance and
Promotion
Remember, a publisher wants to acquire you and your connections, so this is another important section of the proposal. How will you put yourself out there for your book? You'll want to explain if you'll be doing public speaking, or maybe you have a huge list you communicate with via newsletter every month. How many are on your list? If you plan to hire your own publicist, put that fact in as well. Do you have famous connections that will help you get great blurbs? Do you have a budget? If so, how much? Yes, they do want to know if you plan on spending some of your own money!
Publishing Details
Here you'll detail the length you propose for the book (in words) and whether the book will have any illustrations or photos. You'll also want to give an estimate for the time you'll need to turn in the finished manuscript.
And that's it. When your proposal is done you might want to hire an editor or a book consultantto go over it and give you some strong feedback. That way you'll know you have it in the best shape possible and you can feel confident when you're sending it out.
© 2005 Sophfronia Scott
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you send me a copy and/or link to the issue and include this blurb with the story: Author and Writing Coach Sophfronia Scott is "The Book Sistah" TM. Get her FREE REPORT, "The 5 Big Mistakes Most Writers Make When Trying to Get Published" and her FREE online writing and publishing tips at www.TheBookSistah.com
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