Book Proposal

 “You never get a second opportunity to make a good first impression. –Mark Twain.

Most publishing houses and agents want to receive a book proposal rather than an entire manuscript. A few publishers prefer only a query letter. An editor or agent spends an average of twenty minutes reviewing your book proposal, so it is imperative that you provide the correct material and that your manuscript looks professional. To determine the submission format for each publishing house, check the Christian Writer’s Market Guide or check each publisher’s writers’ guidelines online.

There are many different ways to do a book proposal. I am giving you the simplest form. If this is your first book, you want editors to read an actual chapter in the 20 minutes they will allow you. I would suggest trying to keep your proposal under 40 pages.

If an editor or agent requests a manuscript from you, then in that case, follow those specific guidelines. For example, New Hope Publishers, which my recent books are with, wants a very detailed proposal. Our first one was 54 pages, but keep in mind this was requested material.

Here are timelines on two of my books to give you an idea of how long it can take from the time you present ideas to publishing houses to the time your book is actually released.

 Wounded by Words timetable: One-sheets and query letters, started marketing July, 2004. Was told we needed a professional involved.

Added family therapist as co-author and marketed proposal July, 2005.

New Hope Publishers offered contract December, 2005.

Book due to New Hope, August 1, 2006.

Original release date, August 2007.

Actual release date, February 2008.

Too Soon to Say Goodbye timetable:

One-sheet, July 2006

Proposal, May 2007

New Hope Publishers offered contract December, 2007.

Book due to New Hope, October 15, 2008.

Release date, July 2009.

This book was put on the fast track.

Why are you writing? Is it to share your story with others? Is it to make money?  Are you seeking personal growth? Most of my books sell wholesale. I make 22 cents-$1.50 a copy partly because I co-author most of my books. I carpeted my house with one of my checks. I’ve discovered that I’m not in this business for the money. I feel that writing is a ministry. I need to make enough with my consulting, writing, editing, and teaching to live, so for me it has become a business. But my main reason for writing is that I want to change lives. I want to share something with others that will benefit them.

How do you know that God has called you to a writing ministry?  Pray about it. Practice patience. Don’t rush God, your editors, or yourself. It will probably take you at least a year to get your book contracted, a year to write it, and a year for it to come out in print, perhaps longer. It has been my experience that book editors and agents do not respond before two to three months, at least not if they are interested in your book. They can hold it six months or a year or two before making a final decision.

Creating a One-sheet

When you verbally pitching your book idea to editors, you will probably have only 15 minutes to sell them on your idea. Thus I suggest you leave something in their hands so they will remember you after the conference is over. Editors and agents will have talked to many people, and you want to stand out. You can accomplish this with a “One-sheet.”  Also, there may be some editors you cannot get an appointment with. You can find a moment when they are free and hand them your “One-sheet.”

A “One-sheet” is one sheet of paper to hand out to editors that shows a book proposal project—thus the name. I would suggest printing it on your letterhead stationery so it will look professional. It should be single-spaced and done in block format.

It basically includes the same things that a cover/query letter would include and should basically answer five questions:

1. Why are you qualified to write this book?

2. What is it about (told in one paragraph)?

3. Who is your audience?

4. Why will this book be marketable?

5. What is your marketing plan?

An important part of pitching your book is what we call the “Thirty-second Pitch.” This can be used in a 15-minute appointment with an editor at a conference. If you pique an editor’s attention, he or she will want to hear more.

Here is my Thirty-second Pitch for one of my books.  Wounded by Words: Healing the Invisible Scars of Emotional Abuse offers hope and healing through Christ from these unseen hurts. Women who have grown up with the harsh reality of verbal abuse understand the pain and suffering it causes. The results of this kind of mistreatment may not cause bruises and other visible injuries, but nevertheless, the scars are there. These scars remain in the heart and mind, causing fear, powerlessness, and dependency.

It’s important to be able provide focus for your book in one paragraph. This can also go on your cover letter or one-sheet, which we will discuss in later blogs. Plus if you get an opportunity to walk to dinner with an editor or sit with him at a conference, but you weren’t able to sign up to have an appointment with him, you can pitch that editor or agent on the run, so to speak.

Now look at the opening sentence and paragraph of the chapter you are working on, or at the section of that chapter. Do you have a strong hook? Does the reader want to keep reading? Many publishing houses and agents receive 5,000 to 10,000 proposals a year. If the editors aren’t impressed by the first paragraph, they may not continue reading.

For many authors, beginnings are the most difficult part of the manuscript to write. After reading thousands of book proposals that come through our manuscript critique service, I see that it often takes the author two to three pages to reach the meat of his or her message. You will probably spend more time rewriting your lead paragraph and your first chapter than any other part of your book. Beginnings, for me, are the most difficult part of a manuscript to write.

Don’t keep working on the beginning of a chapter, editing the material over and over again. Go onto another chapter and come back later with fresh eyes to the previous material. Writing requires a great deal of editing, but it helps not to dwell on one section for too long at a time.

Now read through your chapter straight through for flow and focus. Make marks in the margin wherever you see a problem. Read it uninterrupted. You will see things on the overview that you might miss when you are going through your manuscript line by line.

Ask yourself these twelve evaluation questions.

1. Do I have a good lead?
2. Is my chapter interesting?
3. Is it significant?
4. Is my story or book marketable?
5. Does it have continuity?
6. Does it make sense?
7. Have I left out any important points?
8. Did I say what I wanted to say?
9. Are my transitions adequate?
10. Did I repeat my thoughts?
11. Did I use complete sentences?
12. Does my ending tie into my beginning?

Now let’s talk about the third step in my Three-Step Writing Process:

3. Self-editing. Allow each chapter to cool before beginning to self-edit. This is the longest stage of writing and requires both sides of the brain.

Did you go where you intended? If not, you either need to change your manuscript or change your outline. Sometimes you even need to change your premise, because you didn’t go where you thought you were going.

Go back and look at your outline and theme sentence. Do they need revision? Does your chapter support your outline and theme for that chapter? If not, you need to change either your paragraph description or your first rough draft. Remember that neither is set in concrete.

What I’m saying is it’s all right to change your mind. Your manuscript doesn’t flow from your computer and settle in concrete. Sometimes the most basic parts of it eventually need to be changed. Be flexible and prayerful as you edit your work.

Writing the first rough draft is probably the most emotional birthing phase of the entire process of writing a nonfiction book. Once the words are on paper, you need to emotionally detach yourself from your baby. Lay it aside for a week and let it cool.

Go on to another chapter or on to another writing project. I suggest you go through this same writing process for each chapter of your book. Develop a focus, an outline, and then write the first rough draft. It might be a good idea to write the easiest chapters first if you are organized enough to determine those you can write quickly, or do them chronologically.

God inspires us to write, but He is not going to do our work for us—He will only guide us along the way. Writing the first draft is the creative part. For me, this is the easiest part. The hard part is rewriting, and rewriting, and rewriting. God never promised us that life would be easy, and He never said that writing would be easy. After 38 years I still struggle with my writing.

Step 2 of my Three-Step Writing Process is writing the First Rough Draft. To write your first rough draft, you use the creative (right) side of your brain.

Find a large block of uninterrupted time and write all the information you can think of regarding your book. Don’t get hung up in grammar, punctuation, or phraseology. Write whatever comes to mind. Some of your chapters will be briefly outlined on this first rough draft, others may be in detail, and some won’t exist at all.

You may choose to write a synopsis of the entire book, or you may want to take smaller chunks of your “elephant” so you don’t get indigestion. On the first sitting, I write a brief overview of the book. After that, I usually write a chapter at a time, so I’m usually dealing with 15-20 pages at a time. I follow the same steps for each chapter. If there are personal stories within the chapter, I use the same process for each story.