Elements of a Nonfiction Book Proposal

A Guide for Authors and Professionals

Abstract:

A nonfiction book proposal is the key document that allows an agent orpublisher to determine the viability of a project. This white paper outlines thebasic elements of a nonfiction book proposal including content, marketinformation, competitive titles, and author platform.

Intro:

Unlike fiction, where an author must have a completed manuscript ready beforethey approach a publisher or agent, a nonfiction author only needs to develop aproposal to submit to publishers and/or agents. The proposal should answer thefollowing questions:1.

Content: What is the book about?2.

Market: Who would be interested in this idea?3.

Competitive Titles: What other books already exist on this topic andhow does this one differ?4.

Platform: Who is the author, why is the author the best person toproduce this book, and what are they doing to engage with potentialreaders?

Content: What is the Book About?

This section of the proposal is usually 1-3 pages, unless you include a samplechapter which can range anywhere from 5-20 pages. Length is not as big of aconcern as the quality of what’s included.If you completed the steps in the section titled “Where to Start,” you shouldalready have an outline for the information you want to cover in your book.Based on that information, you want to come up with a brief, one sentence pitchthat captures the soul of your idea. For example: “Affordable and completewellness.” This is the hook of your book—the key message we discussedearlier.Next you want to create a short summary paragraph that goes into slightly moredetail about how the book will achieve your hook. For example:

This book is a guide for achieving complete wellness in an affordable andholistic way. It explores the pitfalls of the modern health care system andidentifies ways to integrate alternative medicine techniques intotraditional medical practices. The book educates the reader on currentpractices and arms them with new resources and techniques to achievetotal wellness.If you have a startling statistic that stresses the importance of this message, byall means use it here. That information will help sell the importance of your topicto the prospective agent or publisher.Once your opening summary is developed, you will follow it with your outline.Your outline identifies the chapters and the key topics they will address. Identifyany compelling facts, strategies, case studies, or information you will use tosupport the ideas in each chapter. You may include a sample chapter if youchoose. Some publishers and agents require one, but many don’t. It reallydepends on whether you will be the one actually writing the book (we willdiscuss ghost writing later), and on the agent or publisher’s requirements.

Market: Who Would Be Interested?

This section can be anywhere from 1/2 of a page to 2 pages. Here you identifythe market for your book both in qualitative and quantitative terms. To determinewho your audience is in qualitative terms, ask yourself the following questions:• Who would be interested in your topic?• Where do they live?• What kind of work do they do?• What are their hobbies?• How do they get their information? And so on.The key is to be as specific as possible. It’s not enough to say your book isgeared toward “men” or “businessmen.” For example, this paper is not gearedto all professionals. This paper is for professionals who are consideringpublishing a book, but who may not necessarily be writers. Instead of“businessmen,” one could say “middle managers of Fortune 500 companies” or“solopreneurs in the retail sector.” Not only does this help you identify marketingopportunities for your book, but understanding your market helps the publishingteam cultivate your content so that it speaks to and meets the needs of youraudience.Quantitative information is a bit more time consuming to locate, but can bevaluable in determining the strength and validity of your topic/idea. If there are alarge number of potential readers, publishers will consider a project. Specialty orniche topics that appeal to a smaller group are more difficult to place with apublishing house and are even more difficult to distribute nationally. To help you,here are some resources for locating numbers on specific groups:

Go to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics atwww.bls.gov. There you can locate demographic information includingnumbers and geographical saturation.2.

Contact organizations that cater to your market and ask for data on thenumber of members and their demographics.3.

Identify the top magazines your audience reads. Go to their advertiserspage. Often, there is an advertisers kit that includes demographics andaudience size.

Competitive Titles: How Does This One Differ?

In your proposal, it is important to note the top 2-3 related titles and how yourproject is different from them. Not only does this help identify the potential salesnumbers for your book, but it also helps the publisher identify exactly where youfit into the market. There are several ways you can locate this information:1.

Go to the bookstore and talk to a bookseller responsible for the sectionyour competitors are shelved in. Ask them which titles are “evergreens”and which titles have a good sales history. Though local trends can vary,it’s a good place to start.2.

See which relevant titles are listed on the

New York Times

and

Wall Street Journa

l bestseller lists.3.

Nielsen provides a service called Bookscan. It lists the sales for eachbook title, including each edition of every title. Publishers pay to have asubscription, but individuals can purchase sales history on individualtitles for $85. After you have identified the top 2-3 titles, compare them with your project. Howare you different? It’s extremely important that your book be different in at leastsome way. Readers do not want a rehashing of existing information. They wantsomething new and fresh. You can set yourself apart in a number of ways:1.

Do you challenge any of the assumptions or strategies those authorsmake?2.

Do you have a fresh approach or new information to add to thediscussion?3.

Do you have a more engaging voice?4.

Do you have more credibility or experience?5.

Are you more specialized, or more comprehensive?Knowing the answers to the questions above will also help you to further honeyour message and develop your marketing strategy.