What is a Book Proposal and How does it Work?
As a successful business professional, you likely don’t have a lot of extra time–certainly not time to write a book you’re not sure will even sell. Or sometimes you have a great idea but you’re not sure it will work as a book. The goal of book proposals is to determine a book’s marketability. It helps publishers and authors understand the odds of success before investing resources in writing and publishing a book.
Agents and publishers prefer book proposals when considering non-fiction books. Only fiction books require the author to submit a full manuscript. If you are a busy professional with a book inside of you that you want to be published by a traditional publishing house like Random, Barrett-Koehler, Wiley, Harper, or Fireside, your book proposal must stand above others to get noticed.
Book proposals also save time and money like a well-thought-out business plan by determining the cost/benefit of writing the book. Business plans analyze the audience and market, the author’s platform, as well as other competing books to help calculate the odds of success and help sell the publisher on the author’s idea.
As a ghostwriter and best-selling author, I’ve had to write almost as many book proposals as books. I often suggest even clients who wish to self-publish should consider a book proposal first. Why? Because book proposals help authors think through their book marketing strategy. That’s important if you want your book to be profitable.
When it comes to writing, many people want to have written a book, but not very many want to do the work of writing one. Most would love to bask in the success of a published book, but few want to work at making that book successful. Book proposals force writers to look at the hard numbers to decide if their book really stands a chance in the market. Publishers only care about sales. If the book has no market or a very limited one, they won’t touch it no matter how passionate the writer feels about it. A book proposal can save you time, money, and heartache.
I can complete book proposals in as little as two months. Call me now to discuss your book idea and I’ll help you decide if a book proposal is the right way to go. I’m offering book consultations for free for a limited time. If you decide to work with me, I accept all major credit cards through PayPal. PayPal also offers a 6-month interest-free payment option, which means your book proposal could be finished even before you have to make your first payment. Wouldn’t it be great to have the publisher paying for your proposal and your ghostwriting? It’s happened for my clients in the past; why not for you, too? Fill out the form on the Book Consultation/Contact page (click here) or give me a call at 818-276-6597 to talk about your book today.
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