How to Write a Proposal for Ave Maria Press

Writing a book proposal can be a daunting task if you’ve never done it before. At Ave Maria
Press we try to give our authors the support they need from the very beginning, however, and so
(as your new editor) I’ve put together this little guide for you, to help you through the process.

About Ave Maria Press. Ave Maria Press (avemariapress.com) has been in continuous business
for nearly 150 years, founded by visionary Holy Cross priest Edward Sorin, who also founded
the University of Notre Dame in 1842. Ave Maria has published important Catholic authors such
as Joseph Champlin, Lisa Hendey, Michael White, Mother Teresa, Thomas Green, Robert Wicks,
Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Elizabeth Scalia, and Bert Ghezzi. Our “Christian Classics”
imprint introduces important classic authors and works of theology such as Thomas Aquinas,
Thomas a Kempis, Louis Bouyer, Alphonsus de Liguori, Teresa of Avila, Caryll Houselander,
Aelred of Rievaulx, and the author of “Cloud of Unknowing.”

In addition to our high school religious texts and ministry resources, Ave Maria Press is
known for our trade books on prayer and spirituality. We are especially interested in books with
a connection to Notre Dame or the Congregation of the Holy Cross, and books for our “Christian
Classics” imprint.

The Acquisitions Process (How do I get a contract?) After we make initial contact about your
interest and ability to write for us, you begin to craft a book proposal with the help of your
editor. (This guide is intended to give you much of the help you will need.) I will present your
proposal to an acquisitions committee consisting of our publisher, members of the editorial and
marketing department, and other key staff members. At that time we could offer you a
contract, ask you to do more work on one or more parts of your proposal and submit it for
review again, or decide not to go to contract. At that point, you are free to approach another
publisher. (If you are currently in discussions with another publisher, please let me know.)

The contract will spell out the terms of the project: your advance and royalties, the
manuscript due date, word count, and other important details about your book. If you have
questions or concerns about any of it, feel free to contact me. If I cannot answer your
questions, I can direct you to the person who can.

Once you have a contract, we will set up a writing schedule to identify writing
milestones for the initial draft and subsequent revisions, to help you keep on schedule. Along
with your contract, I will send you some initial feedback from the team based on your sample
chapters, to help you craft your first draft. Some authors like to send a couple of chapters at a

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time for additional feedback – others prefer to complete the entire draft. We can talk about
what will work best for your project after the initial acquisitions process is complete.

At the launch meeting, I will meet with the marketing team and other key personnel to
discuss the final title, other marketing details, and how the book has been developing since
acquisitions. We will work together to come up with title ideas as well as names of individuals
you know personally who might be able to provide a “blurb” for your book, which I will also
discuss at this meeting.

After you have submitted the final manuscript, it will go through an editing process that
includes my developmental edit, copyedit, and several rounds of proofreading. You will typically
see the manuscript at least twice during that process – after the copyedit, and again after the
first proof (after the book has been typeset).

Once the editorial work is complete, someone from marketing will contact you about
the marketing strategy for your book, and discuss what you will be doing to help us get your
book into the hands of its intended audience. Over the years Ave Maria Press has developed a
strong reputation for our ability to market trade books successfully – your ability to assist in this
process will greatly help!

Okay, Ready to Start? A proposal typically has three parts to it:

Part One: Project Overview. This consists of . . .

 Working title/subtitle: (This title will often be revised in development, with input from
our marketing team.)

 “Elevator pitch”: This is a 100-word “project overview” that answers the questions,
“What’s your book about?”, “Who is this book for?”, and “What need does it address?”

Example (from one of my own books): “Behold Your Mother is a book of short
meditations on the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus. As a convert to Catholicism, I used
to struggle to understand what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus’ mother; as an
adoptive mother, I came to a deeper appreciate her in a new way. This book is especially
helpful for those who are thinking about joining the Catholic Church, adoptive parents,
and moms who are struggling to find time to pray.”

 Expanded Table of Contents: This is a chapter-by-chapter “map” of your book, including

both (working) chapter titles and a one-sentence (or so) description of what is in that

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 chapter. (If your book has many short chapters, such as a book of meditations on a
number of saints, list a dozen or so of what you think are the most important.

Part Two: Sample Chapters. Once you have your Overview, develop about 20 pages or up to
5000 words of the manuscript (typically 1-2 chapters). Typically this would include the
introduction, to give an overview of the work, and one or two chapters. It should be polished
writing, represent your best work.

This is often the first part of the proposal you’ll need to develop after our initial contact
by phone or email, and I will be happy to give you feedback on this stage. Don’t worry if this
takes some time – it’s important that your proposal be as strong as possible when it goes to the
acquisition meeting, and so investing time at the front end is prudent.

Ave Maria Press trade books generally have an appealing literary quality, written from
the perspective of one who is journeying alongside the reader in a way that is both honest
(engaging) and respectful of the sensibilities of those who are at different stages of growth.
While it should be theologically sound, your manuscript should also avoid a “triumphal” or
harsh tone. When appropriate, you may want to interview “experts” who are able to back you
up, theologically or in some other capacity, when you are touching upon subjects in which you
may not have established expertise. Highlight these names in your proposal, as they can also be
helpful in marketing.

Please be sure to double-space and paginate your sample chapters, using 12-point,
readable type. Please send it to me as a Word document (rather than PDF). If you have any
questions or concerns about this, please let me know.

Part Three: Market Proposal.

Writing a book is truly only half the task of any author! The other half of your task is being able
to get that book into the hands of your readers. While we assume much of the responsibility
(and financial investment) of reaching our core audience, we are always eager to acquire
authors who have the ability to reach new markets, or help us to reach our existing market
even more effectively. Here are some details that will help us determine whether a particular
proposal is a good “fit” for us:

 Author information: Your educational and professional background and credentials,

previous books published (with sales figures, if possible), professional and religious
associations, and anything else we should know about you as an author.
 Where are you currently speaking or writing? This would include online and print
columns (include web activity information as well as frequency of publication), radio or
television appearances (past, present, and scheduled), and frequency of your speaking

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 engagements (where, when, to how many). If you have previous books, and can provide
sales figures, those help.
 Who do you know who can help us promote the book? Once you have identified the key
“audience” for this book, think about who you know: This would include individuals you
know personally who might be willing to help you promote it by providing an
endorsement or review, and groups or organizations with whom you have a personal
connection that have a newsletter, website, or other means to sell or distribute the
book. If you can provide a list of bloggers or other social media contacts who can help, it
is always a good idea to provide links to those sites whenever possible, as well as give a
reason why they are in a good position to reach your particular audience on this
particular topic.
 Finally, list as concretely and specifically what you will commit to do to generate interest
(and sales) for your book. Examples include . . .
o “For my regular column at NCR I will write four articles on __________ linked to
the Amazon.com and AMP website.”
o “I will sell my book at an author’s table when I speak as scheduled at the
Columbus Catholic Women’s Conference.”
o “I will personally contact my college roommate, the religion editor at The New
York Times, and ask him to review the book.”
o “I will commit to securing at least six speaking engagements in the next year
where I can sell my book.”
o “I will send out a mailing about the book to my personal distribution list of 2000
people.”
o “I will create a YouTube video that can be used to introduce my book to parish
groups or other small groups, and a series of discussion questions that can be
used to discuss one chapter of the book each week.”
o Remember, that building a website or blog is like writing a book – it’s only half
the work! The other half is doing the “leg work” necessary to generate interest
(traffic).

There! That’s not so hard, right? You can do it! And if you have any questions, I’m only an email
away … Please let me know how I can help.

I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Heidi Saxton
(734) 634-5980
Heidi.hess.saxton@gmail.com
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