4 Reasons Why You Need to Write a Book Proposal—Even if Your Book Isn’t Finished Yet

If you want to get your book published, the proposal is an essential tool for convincing editors that they should give you a chance.

If you’ve thought about publishing a book, you’ve likely heard the term “book proposal.” And you’ve also likely gone, “Errrgh, do I really need to do that?” Well, yes. And guess what? It can be fun, and even creative. Narratively contributing editor Shawna Kenney has published an award-winning memoir, authored two nonfiction books and edited an anthology. She’s also helped many other writers create their own book proposals. This month at Narratively Academy, she’s teaching a four-week workshop called How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal That Sells. We asked Shawna to walk us through why a proposal is a must-do for any author.

When I first started writing, coming from a blue-collar family and the D.I.Y. punk world, many things about the publishing business confused me — especially that business part. Now, as a creative nonfiction teacher, I mostly focus on the craft of writing, but when students are all done with their manuscripts, they often ask, “What’s next?” In many cases, the “what’s next” is: You need to write your book proposal. If you want to get your book published, the proposal is an essential tool for convincing editors that they should give your book a chance. Yet, when the idea of a proposal comes up, many writers freak out, preferring to tinker with the final-ish draft of their books instead.

I have written proposals for my own books and have also guided dozens of other writers through crafting their own contract-winning proposals. Here’s what I’ve learned about why, if you want to sell your book, you really should get going on that proposal…

1. Book proposals speak the language of the gatekeepers.

Have you ever started your own business, or do you know any entrepreneurs who have? Most likely their investors wanted to see a business proposal. The same is true of books. If you want a publisher to invest in publishing your book, they need to know why it’s a good investment for them. Book proposals are sales tools. Yeah, your book is your precious baby, but it is also a product (cuz… capitalism). You will want people to buy it. Welcome to the Land of Publishing. Here we speak not only in words but also in numbers and imagination. Publishers are businesses with bottom lines to worry about. Agents get paid a percentage of any publishing deal they make for you. And even if you circumvent the agent route by aiming for a mid-sized indie publisher, most will want to see a book proposal, which helps them to see whether you are a good bet for them (or not).

2. A book proposal shows you where your book fits into the market.

By the time you are done with your book proposal, you will know exactly which section, shelf or categories your book will be filed under in bookstores. Your audience cannot be “everybody.” All of the research you will do for your book proposal will clarify for agents and book buyers where your book fits into the literary marketplace. It also helps you to think about like-minded fellow authors or organizations you might team up with to reach readers, casting your net even wider than you could alone. For example, with my own memoir’s debut, I organized a reading at the Hollywood Public Library with another local author for Banned Books Week, an event called “I’m With the Banned!” since her book was about growing up in the punk music scene in L.A., and mine, about working as a dominatrix, had been nominated for an IPPY (Independent Publisher Book Award) in the “most likely to be banned” category. Between my mailing list, hers and the library’s, we tripled the size of our normal audience. The snappy title got it picked up in local media calendars, too. Thinking about the “market” for your book can help you get it published, and help you promote it down the road.

3. Book proposals can serve as a roadmap for what happens after publication.

On that note, yes, you will have to promote your own book. Publishers will get your book to distributors, but their publicity departments (if they have them) will only do so much for you. Authors are expected to do a lot of the selling and marketing on their own these days. Most press outlets have a three-month lead time while bookstores and venues tend to book out their spaces four to six months in advance. Social media influencers (reviewers) tend to stack content ahead of time, too. This means that waiting until your book is at the printer is too late. Seriously thinking about marketing, promotion and platform (ick, I know) in the proposal stages — way before you have an ARC (advance reader copy) on hand — will help you to get the ball rolling.

4. Your book proposal will help you to better understand your own story.

By the time you finish your book proposal, you should have a crystallized written and verbal pitch for your book. I have worked with writers who, after spending months refining the 30 or so pages of their proposal, realize their book is not actually about what they thought it was about. I have also seen writers finish the work of a book proposal only to decide that this is not the book they want to put into the world just yet, for a variety of reasons. The proposal process can also help you zero in on what you do want to publish. One such author is my former client Marni Battista, who first wrote a beautiful memoir about family and the grief of losing her father — then after shopping her proposal around and getting the same feedback from several agents, decided to write more of a self-help book (and book proposal) which shared the same message. That resulted in her forthcoming book, Your Radical Living Challenge: 7 Questions for Leading a Meaningful Life (Penguin Random House/Hay House).

Overall, a book proposal helps you and others understand the book that you’ve been living with for so long, that you might not be able see the forest for the trees, so to speak. In most cases, it helps you step back from your story enough to appreciate the bigger picture — and to define that bigger picture for agents and publishers, so you can sell your book and get it out into the world.

Ready to get writing? Sign up to join Shawna in How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal That Sells, a four-week workshop starting Wednesday, November 13.

---

Interested in joining but can’t afford the full price? We are happy to offer sliding scale, income-based full and partial scholarships, which you can apply for here.