How to write a book proposal: the 5 things publishers look for when reading a book proposal!

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Do you know what the good thing about January and February is? They’s sparse, yet full of promise. They’re the months where our goals are front-and-center, still shining bright in our minds, and the weather and life seem to cooperate to keep us inside working on them.

(That also makes it the best time of the year to establish a creative routine that’s actually going to stick through the bumpy ride of spring.)

If anywhere on your goal list you have “publish a nonfiction book” then I’ve got just the thing for you. One of my very favorite articles on c&b walked us through exactly how to write a book proposal, and best of all, it let us see exactly how an acquiring editor at a publisher reviews one.

How to write a book proposal: 5 things publishers look for

It’s all thanks to my friend, Chad Allen, who is rife with wisdom about publishing and up to some exciting new things lately.

Chad was the Editorial Director for Baking Publishing Group when he wrote this piece. He’s now working full-time as a writer, speaker, editor, and writing coach. A 20-year publishing professional, he has worked with many bestselling authors and is creator of Book Proposal Academy, an online course, and BookCamp, a mentoring and community hub for writers. His passion is helping writers get their books into the world, and he blogs at chadrallen.com.

Here’s Chad with an inside peek into the book proposal review process at publishers:

The 5 things publishers look for in a book proposal

Chad Allen

 

This year I will review well over a hundred book proposals, and my personal goal is to acquire at least fifteen high-quality original books within the year.

Just because I present a book in pub board does not mean I’ll acquire it because other publishers will also be pursuing it. Assuming a 50 percent success rate, I need to pick about 30 books to bring to pub board. Other editors may review hundreds of book proposals and have a goal of acquiring more or fewer books, but at least in trade publishing I doubt the math I’ve laid out here changes much from house to house or editor to editor.

We review a humongous number of book proposals and try to acquire a fraction of them.

So how can a writer make sure their book proposal rises to the top of the stack? In this article I’m going to share exactly how I review a book proposal and how you the writer can make sure I keep reading. That should be the goal, by the way: keep us reading. Here we go:

1. How To Write a Book Proposal: The #1 Thing Publishers Look For

Cover Page

The first thing I look at is the cover page, which typically includes the title, subtitle, and author’s name. I look quickly at the author’s name just in case I might know him or her. Then I take in the title and sub. Normally I have an immediate impression of how saleable the concept is just from the title and sub.

This underscores the importance of developing a great concept. It is the first thing acquisitions editors review, so it’s important to get it right. To download an infographic and four-minute video on how to come up with a compelling concept, click here.

2. How To Write a Book Proposal: The #3 Thing Publishers Look For

Bio

If the title and sub intrigue me, I read the author’s bio. I want to know who the author is, whether they’re credible to write on this topic, what their platform is like, and what they might be like to work with. To read more about writing a solid bio, click here.

3. How To Write a Book Proposal: The #3 Thing Publishers Look For

Brief Description

If the bio keeps me going, I go to the brief description of the book, which hopefully will flesh out the impression I got from reviewing the title and subtitle. Hopefully the brief description is written in a way that hooks me, that keeps me interested. Here’s a post I did on writing a compelling brief description.

4. How To Write a Book Proposal: The #4 Thing Publishers Look For

Marketing Section

Then I go to the marketing section, which tells me more about the author. The marketing section tells me more about the author and how much work she is willing to invest in promoting her book. Here’s a post I wrote on marketing.

Notice that up to this point I’m bouncing back and forth between concept and author. It’s not until the last step that I look at structure and the writing sample.

5. How To Write a Book Proposal: The #5 Thing Publishers Look For

Chapter-by-Chapter Synopsis and Writing Sample

Then I look at the structure of the book and how well the writer can write, although what I’ve read so far will give me some indication of the latter. If I’ve read your proposal up to this point, I really hope you don’t stumble here. And if you’ve done your homework—if you’ve had other talented people look at your structure and read your sample, and you’ve implemented their input—chances are you’ll be fine.

I review the elements of a book proposal in the above order because these are the things I value most. First and foremost is concept. If you don’t have a good concept, you’re done. “You might as well stay in bed,” as William Zinsser says. Then your bio. I want to know who you are, and would I like to work with you? Finally, the structure and writing. Does the structure make sense and suggest a good experience for the reader? Does the writing draw me in and make me want to stay in the book for a while?

What Happens in Pub Board

If I like your proposal, I first talk about it with my editorial colleagues to see if they have any push-back or ways to make your proposal better. If I come back to you and ask for you to, say, flesh out your marketing plan, work hard! I’m asking because I think this is the one weak link between you and a book contract.

Then I bring your project to our pub board, a group of about fifteen people from editorial, marketing/publicity, and sales. We distribute book proposals to pub board members about a week before we get together.

Each editor has their own style of presenting. We like to keep our presentations to five minutes or less because the point in pub board is not presenting but dialogue. We want to engage with each other about the project, tell each other what we think, why we like it or why we don’t.

After touching on how the proposal came to me, I typically introduce the author—who he or she is and what their platform is. Then I talk about the concept, how the book is constructed, and what I thought of the writing.

Like I said, my shtick is less than five minutes, and in most cases we come fairly quickly to a consensus one way or the other on a proposed book. The three possible outcomes are “Yes, let’s publish it,” “No, let’s don’t,” or “Let’s ask for this first.”

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Now that you know the 5 things publishers look for in a book proposal, and in what order, you’ll know exactly how to write a book proposal that catches a publisher’s attention.

Time to get writing. 🙂

You might also enjoy:

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Shouldn’t 2019 be the year you finally DO that big creative goal?

I’ve been so happy to see the enthusiastic response to my new creative essentials subscription, Literary Paper Co., and I can’t wait to see all the things you guys dream and make with it.

This month our habit was all about establishing a Growth Mindset, which is one of the defining characteristics of high achievers. Throughout the month, we’re asking ourselves one powerful question that can transform your Fixed Mindset into a Growth Mindset so that challenges feel like adventures rather than setbacks.

 

Sign up here to grow with us, or click here to learn more!

 

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5 quick links for the week

1. Habits are the new goals. And the best way to make those big habits stick? Start with micro-habits.
2. I love these kinds of stories. (Especially when they feature a Stonesong book!)
3. No one wants to abandon a book you’ve already started (what if it gets better?), but it may be good for your reading health to call it off.
4. All of the best writing, publishing, and literary blogs in one place–and hooray, they were kind enough to include yours truly!
5. How many synonyms are there for “the best ever”? Stonesong client Deb Perelman compiled a list of 100 different ways to promote your “best ever” recipes. It might be…wait for it…the best ever.

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What We’re Eating This Week

If healthy-ish is a thing, then I guess you could say Jarrett and I are on a diet-ish after gaining, oh, 10-ish pounds over the holidays. But I like to think of it as “recalibrating” because, truly, there was something uncalibrated in my brain to think eating two entire Virginia hams and fifty thousand desserts in the span of one month made a whole lot of sense.

Luckily, I’ve invented the best diet-ish ever. You know the Whole30? Well, forget that. This is called The Pasta Diet. It involves me eating whatever pasta I want (Bolognese, cacio e pepe, kale pesto, the varieties are endless…) but (for once in my life) doing so in reasonable portion sizes alongside a nice big heap of vegetables. I’m hoping this makes me less sad, because carbs are my spirit animal. And so far? It has been magical, like the Never-Ending Pasta Bowl at Olive Garden, but, you know, actually good.

Monday: We had the day off and it was negative a billion degrees, so I made a big pot of Pasta e Fagioli. Did you know: this classic Italian soup can be made healthy-ish by swapping the pork sausage for chicken sausage and stirring in big handfuls of kale? Well, now you know. Whether you care is still TBD.

Tuesday: We were craving pasta (ha—I am an addict.) so I made my Spicy Tomato and Olive Sauce to slosh over some whole grain spaghetti. But I ate a salad, too! It was just right.

Wednesday: Out? Takeout? Time to change things up and order pizza?

Thursday: I am horribly, indisputably basic and will be making a Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake. But it’s a skinny alfredo! And there’s broccoli! And lean protein! So I’m actually really cool.  

Friday: Broccoli and Sweet Potato Soup. Except probably not. Probably more pasta. I love my new diet-ish lifestyle.

Cheers!

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