A book proposal is always a business proposal

You’ll read lots of advice about how to write a book proposal: what to include, what to leave out, how many sample chapters, and what to say about competing books. Some of the advice that’s already out there is excellent, so there’s no need to repeat it. But here’s what most books and articles about writing book proposals leave out, and what most authors seem not to realize:

Your book proposal is a solicitation for venture capital. It must convince a publisher that, should it invest about $100,000 of  its business capital in your idea, that investment will be profitable.

Bear this in mind when you write your proposal. How will you show a publisher (venture capitalist) that if the publisher contributes its money and expertise toward editing, design, printing, distribution, marketing, sales, promotion and publicity (and, of course, your advance), it will be worth the investment?

When you think in these terms, you understand that the competing/complementary books section must demonstrate both that there’s a market for the kind of book you propose, and that your book fills a gap in that market.

You understand that you must demonstrate that there’s a ready audience, waiting to buy the book you write, simply because you wrote it.

You understand that your sample chapter has to be so compelling, that any reader will be eager to read (and pay for) all the other chapters, yet to be written.

And you understand that your Overview must serve a function similar to that of an Executive Summary in a business plan, giving a sense of the story, the writing, and the reasons why this book has the potential to reward your potential investor.

- Anita Bartholomew