Proposing a book is an essential part of traditional publishing. Learning how to deliver a proposal that values your project and yourself will help you stay on the publisher's mind, prompting them to ask you to present you and your idea. Get them to publish you. Follow the next steps to learn more.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Planning a Project
Step 1. Choose an appropriate project
In general, the books published on proposal are historiographical texts, textbooks, texts for children. Usually, collections of poems, novels and collections of stories are not presented via formal proposal, because such proposals are more about aesthetics and realization than topic. Publishers regularly look for projects to invest in that deal with topics they are interested in.
Step 2. Choose a topic in which you can prove credible
You have to write about something you are an expert on or are becoming an expert on. If you want to write about World War II, but haven't read the necessary literature, or have never taken courses in Contemporary History, your credibility may suffer, Why should they believe your project can be successful, interesting and commercially viable? If you haven't posted much previously, the strength of your proposal essentially rests on three points:
- The strength of the argument and the point of view.
- The commercial validity of the book and the publishing house's interest in the subject.
- Your credibility as a writer.
Step 3. Find a broad point of view on the subject
Successful books make specific and particular topics universal. The average reader is not necessarily interested in knowing much about salt, but Mark Kurlansky's best-seller "Salt: A World History" has managed to find links between salt and the constructions of the modern world. It was a successful book because it made something specific and earthly a factor applicable to every aspect of life and to every place.
Alternatively, look for a specific point of view and only look for small publishers that provide niche publications. If you desperately want to write about the Rolling Stones' drug use in the summer of 1966, it might be difficult to sell the work to major publishing houses…
Step 4. Choose something that you would be able to work on for months or years
After six months of research, are you still interested in finding what the Union Commander Lieutenant Appomattox ate for breakfast on the third day of battle? If you are not, the project may need to be changed slightly. You must propose a project for which you will maintain the same enthusiasm throughout the duration of the work.
Step 5. Plan to cover most of the expenses yourself
Tell us if you want to write a historical tale about the great construction of Noah's Ark, or about the creation of an organic farm from nothing. If you haven't already published extensively, a publishing house is unlikely to help you financially with the sizable budget needed for the project. Are you ready to pay the bill out of your own pocket?
Perhaps instead of doing a completely personal job, it would be better to entrust the study and research to another person. Instead of building an organic farm from scratch, can your project go on by looking at a working farm? Always consider alternatives
Part 2 of 3: Preparing the Proposal
Step 1. Look for visions appropriate to your project
Start by consulting publishing houses and academic editors who have dealt with similar topics.
- Alternatively, you can check out publishers that you particularly like, are familiar with, and think they might be interested in the look and feel, even if they haven't published something like this before.
- Check whether or not they accept voluntary proposals from writers. If you can't figure it out from their online site, find a contact and write an exploratory professional email asking about their policy regarding proposals. In this email you can include a short biographical note and a short summary (one or two lines) of the project to know which editor to send the proposal to.
Step 2. Begin the proposal with a cover letter
It should be short (250-300 words) and personally tailored to each publisher, agent or publisher you submit your proposal to. In the letter you will introduce yourself and your project in a few sentences, thus creating a guide for the reader of the project. Let them know what they will read. Make sure the letter includes:
- Your contacts
- Your credentials, but not a detailed bio
- An introduction to your project
- The working title of the project
- Some reasons why you propose the project to that specific publishing house
Step 3. Provide an overview of the entire book
According to the project, the core of the proposal will be a comprehensive explanation of the themes, contents and organization of the designed book. The explanation will include a Table of Contents, a formal outline and a brief description of the specific chapters you would like to develop. The overview should include sections that direct the reader and some reasons why the publisher would benefit from the investment in the project.
- Describe the market for your book. Who is it written for? Who will it care for?
- Make a list of your contests and explain how your work differs from others. It essentially indicates your characteristic that makes you unique in the market.
Step 4. Include some sample chapters
In the overview, you will include chapter-by-chapter descriptions (as they are thought of in the project) throughout the book, thus giving the publisher a sense of its structure and scope. You also give the editor a sense of aesthetics and writing style, so it would be a good idea to include any finished chapters, especially if they are present at the beginning of the project.
Be prepared for criticism. For something ranging from the title to the nature of the project itself, editors will have opinions they will feel they need to share with you if they think about investing in the project. Be prepared to confront conflicting opinions and ideas about your writing style
Step 5. Include an "About the Author" section
Get into the details of relevant information about yourself and your credentials. Write a basic biography, deepening your qualities in the subject matter. Each academic qualification, publication or scholarship received must be entered.
Step 6. Include a pre-printed envelope with your address that they can reply to
If the publishing house is interested in publication, it must have the possibility to get in touch by phone or e-mail. If they promote you, chances are they won't get in touch personally if you don't make an extra effort. Since you will naturally want to hear from them as soon as possible, it is a great idea to include a pre-printed envelope with your address in your dossier so that they can communicate interest in your project to you.
Part 3 of 3: Submit the Proposal
Step 1. Personalize the formal proposal and cover letter
the more personal the proposal, the more it demonstrates that you are truly familiar with the operations of the publisher and the types of work it publishes, the more likely it is that the proposal will be considered seriously. Some publishing houses provide a list of editorial contacts in different thematic areas dealing with the proposals.
Address the letter to a specific publisher, not with a generic "To all interested parties" or "Section Editor". Taking the time to research the publisher will allow you to be more aware right away
Step 2. Ask the publisher you are sending your submission to if there is an additional template to fill out
Many publishing houses have templates to fill in to guide the submission process.
Much of the information requested in these forms will be data that you already have available, so submitting to each publishing house will become a reason to take your already written proposals and insert them into the template. It remains a good idea to first make a proposal adapted to a model
Step 3. Consider the benefits of submitting the project to multiple publishers at the same time
It can be tempting to have a project under consideration by multiple publishers at the same time, especially if the project is somehow time-bound. Publishers can take several months to respond to the deluge of proposals and projects they will have to sift through, although some do not consider projects sent simultaneously to different places. Find out their policy in this regard before submitting.
In general, publishing houses don't like being part of "carpet bombing", during which the author presents the same thing to every existing publisher, hoping that something will remain somewhere. Pointing to specific locations and paying attention to what they are interested in will make your project more palatable than the "shoot in the pile" approach
Step 4. Send it, save it, and forget it
Your psychological health will be more stable if you submit the proposal, record the date in a document, and promptly put it on the back burner. The good news will be even more good when it arrives.
