Customer Reviews

How to Write a Book Proposal

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I bought five books to help me write a book proposal:

"How to Write a Book Proposal, 3rd edition," by Michael Larsen

"78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published & 14 Reasons Why It Just Might," by Pat Walsh

"The Forest for the Trees," by Betsy Lerner

"The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published, 4th edition," by Sheree Bykofsky and Jennifer Basye Sander

"Think Like Your Editor," by Susan Rabiner and Alfred Fortunado

The worst was "How to Write a Book Proposal." This book felt like a bad date, like I wanted to wash my hair after reading it. The intent is to teach you to be an "Authorpreneur (r)." Yes, Larsen has registered this word. You'll learn such gems as everyone has 250 friends, and each of them has 250 friends, so you can "spread the word" about your book to more than 62,000 people by e-mail. I think there's a word for that -- spam. Larsen also says to include your promotion plan in the book proposal, including pushing "the paperback edition as hard as you can" when it's published a year after the hardcover edition. I'm not an agent or editor, but I'd think that an agent would giggle quietly to themselves if you were so presumptuous as to include a marketing plan for the paperback edition. (To the author's credit, he doesn't say you should suggest which actor should play the main character in the movie version of your book.) Then there's the chapter about including illustrations and cover art. Excuse me, I thought the editor and art director develop the cover art? I can't imagine creating the book cover to include in the proposal. And the author recommends including a "surprise," such as a baby shoe with a note saying "Now that I have a foot in the door." The book has one good piece of advice: pick a good title. For example, "How to Write a Book Proposal" is a title that will make 100,000 aspiring writers buy your book, regardless of how awful the book is.

"78 Reasons" was good. Some sections are wrong, such as #38 and #39, which correctly advises against paying for a vanity press to publish your book but confuses this with self-publishing. I've successfully self-published two books, and unsuccessfully self-published one book. The correct answer is that if you have a niche book in a niche market you know well, self-publish. Self-publishing mass market books is a recipe for disaster. Some of the advice is excellent, such as #16, about "killing your little darlings" (a scene you think is brilliant, that you build the rest of the book around). While most of this book is sound advice to a novice writer, as an experienced writer I didn't learn anything new.

"The Complete Idiot's Guide" covers the entire process from thinking of an idea through book proposals, book contracts, publicity tours, etc. It's a good overview but each chapter is too short. You'll need to buy another book about book proposals, etc. I'm keeping my copy as a reference to turn to occasionally but it's not the last word.

"The Forest for the Trees" starts with six essays about writing, with topics such as alcoholism, self-promoting poets (starting with Walt Whitman), the childhood of famous writers, writers who are too successful too young, etc. These are interesting reading. The second half of the book is essays about publishing, starting with literary agents. One paragraph describes the plethora of surprise gifts writers include with their query letters. She's received baby shoes, presumably from readers of Larsen's book. She says: "Please resist the temptation to do any of these outlandish things...a simple, dignified letter with a clear statement of your intent and credentials will win more affirmative responses than any gimmick or hype." If you read Larsen's book, read Lerner's book as the antidote. The next essays are about dealing with rejection, the life of editors, what writers want from editors, how book covers are designed, book titles selected, etc. This book is descriptive, not proscriptive, so you'll learn how the world of books operates, if not be told how to write a book and get it published. I enjoyed the author's "voice" and I recommend this book.

The best book is "Thinking Like Your Editor." The first half of the book is about preparing your book proposal. Unlike the other four books, reading this book made me completely rewrite my book proposal. The author begins by emphasizing the three most important things about a book: audience, audience, and audience. Who is going to buy your book? Not who might be sort of interested in your book, but who will feel that he or she must read your book. I'd thought about this before, but reading Rabiner's book made me think lucidly about this. She then walks you through the elements that must be in a book proposal, such as your thesis, or what makes your message unique and new and challenging; why is now the time to publish this book; and why are you the person most qualified to write it. The second half of the book is about writing your book, including the importance of narrative tension in non-fiction writing, and of presenting a balanced "argument" to make your views more convincing. The other four books made me say, "uh-huh, uh-huh" and not do anything. Rabiner's book made me spend several days working on my proposal. (My 2003 paperback copy has the typos corrected.)

You know that you are reading a good book when you are laughing out loud as you read it and you can't put it down. You know that the book is truly good when you find yourself planning your activities around reading it and sneaking in pages when you are supposed to be working. And finally, you know you have found a true gem when, after finishing the book, you smile knowingly to yourself, full of ideas, and say to yourself, 'I can do this'. One would never think that non-fiction could have that effect.

Michael Larsen's How to Write a Book Proposal is that kind of book. Mr. Larsen goes beyond mere information to give the aspiring new writer inspiration. Beginners and seasoned professionals will find very useful material in the book. Written in an active, easy-going, can-do style, Larsen's positive outlook and infinite love of the book really comes through. The reader will learn in quick, readily understandable succession, what goes into a book proposal, how to capture and sustain an agent's and editor's interest interest from the first word, and how to market and promote one's book for maximum profit. Useful advice on book proposal writing (advice that works) is presented throughout the book, as well as samples of various book proposals to show you exactly how to write the book proposal that sells.

This is, without a doubt, a must-have reference for any writer.

To those seeking guidance with writing a book proposal to obtain a literary agent's services or to obtain a contract from a publisher, I strongly recommend both this book and Write the Perfect Book Proposal co-authored by Jeff and Deborah Levine Herman as well as Strunk & White's The Elements of Style. True, there is some duplication of advice in the Larsen and Herman books which convinced me that the advice is sound. Given the importance and -- yes -- the difficulty of writing a book proposal, and given the competition to obtain a literary agent and then a publisher, the investment in all three books is indeed a small price to pay. Larsen organizes his excellent material as follows:

Part One Selling the Sizzle: The Introduction

Larsen explains how to get paid to write your book; how to devise the most effect "subject hook" and "book hook"; how to avoid technical and legal problems; which back matter to consider for inclusion; how to determine a book's markets; which subsidiary rights and spin-offs to consider; what a promotion plan involves; how to select and present competitive and complementary books; which resources may be needed; and how to formulate an author's biography

Part Two Baring the Bones and Sampling the Steak

Larsen explains what the the proposal outline should include; explains why verbs and structure are the two "keys" to the proposal outline; offers "quick fixes for six kinds of books"; and includes sample chapters, followed by a Q&A section on what to submit

Part Three: Getting Your Proposal to Market

He explains how to assemble the proposal components; how to make the proposal stand out; identifies three ways to test-market the idea for the book; and explains how to sell the proposal fast and do so with the best terms and conditions

Larsen then provides two appendices: one explains how to research competitive books; the other provides three sample proposals. Throughout his narrative, he includes a number of "Hot Tips" which deserve special attention. In fact, all of the advice which he offers should be carefully considered. Wisely, Larsen assumes that his reader knows little (if anything) about the process by which to prepare a book proposal. He patiently and thoroughly guides the reader through that process. Perhaps others will have the same reaction I did when reading Larsen's book as well as the Hermans' book: That it was written expressly for me, that Larsen had anticipated all of the questions I needed answered (and then carefully answered them for me), and that -- meanwhile -- he was disabusing me of whatever misconceptions I may have had about the process by which to obtain the services of a literary agent and/or secure a publishing contract. Both books cover much of the same ground and do so with meticulous care. However, there are differences (albeit mostly subtle) in how Larsen and the Hermans present their ideas. As already indicated, I had no problem with duplications because, first, they reassured me that the advice is sound, and second, repetition increases the impact of what they agree are key points.

For me, some of Larsen's most valuable advice to aspiring authors is provided in Chapter Eleven, "Getting the Words Write: A Style Guide for Your Proposal." (The same advice will be of great value to others who also need to write more effectively.) For example: "Avoid weak verbs. Use can for could; will for would, might, or should; is for seems to be. Readers want to be informed by an authority, so write like one! The more forceful your statement the better, particularly in the overview, when you're trying to sell your idea and yourself to an editor. Don't pussyfoot around. Be accurate, but be bold." Larsen's own crisp and lucid writing is the most convincing evidence of how sound his "Style Guide" is.

I strongly recommend that readers of this book visit Larsen's Web site which offers a wealth of valuable information, such as "A Mission Statement" and "The Author's Platform." And as indicated previously, given the importance of an effective book proposal and the difficulty of what the preparation of one involves, I also strongly recommend that this book be consulted in combination with both the Hermans' Write the Perfect Book Proposal and Strunk & White's The Elements of Style.

I used this book to prepare the book proposal for my first book and sold my manuscript. That was a couple of years ago and I plan to apply Larsen's approach for my next proposal The author provides practical advice and more than a little introduction into the "business" of publishing--and that is one of the principles the reader of this book will come to understand. Simply being a good writer does not assure one of a publisher; the succesful writer must show a publisher that her book is a good business proposition. Larsen's book can help you do that. In this light, you won't find any tricks or shortcuts. What you will find is solid advice on how to put together a good book proposal, the key ingredient being a lot of hard work. I recommend this to friends who say they want to write.

I used this book when I wrote my book proposal. The results: a bidding war for my book from major publishing houses. Also, editors asked if they could keep my proposal, as a "model" of what a proposal should be. Thanks to much to the authors for graciously giving us this information.

I edited a book proposal for my first time using the step by step instructions in Mr. Larsen's book. The proposal was shopped around to all the major publishing houses in New York City. All 10 wanted the book. My client was able to choose the publishing house! The best news is -- she got a $90,000 advance, which is virtually unheard of for an unknown author! If you want results, follow Mr. Larsen's recipe!

The one thing a book on this subject must have, above all else, is brevity. Michael Larsen's suitably thin volume has this and many other qualities, making it a very useful tool for the writer who seriously wishes to publish. I can't say whether it actually works or not, as I have not yet sent off a proposal based on this work. However, I have laboriously put together one proposal (for a book which missed its deadline and has become, at least for the moment, rather defunct) using this work as a guide. I can affirm that its wisdom is distilled in sufficiently short order so that it is possible to find your way about in it all, as you are trying to come to grips with the finer details (and not forget anything). A larger book would, in contrast, have you wallowing. In any case, Larsen has built this text from his own experience: he knows it works and he manages to convey that sort of confidence to the reader of "How to Write a Book Proposal." Anyone thinking of writing something publishable would do well to get this beforehand - much of the roadwork can be done on the way and it helps enormously to know what your chances are, before coughing up 200,000 words or more on a subject that no-one will publish anyway.

To anyone trying to publish a book in the future, I therefore say: good luck, and you can increase your chances by reading and understanding this book first.

I am a nonfiction writer, and I've had three books published so far. I used this book to write my very first proposal, and I sold that book. I used it to write my second proposal, and I sold that book, too. I've recommended it to so many other writers that I thought I would finally write a review. When I knew absolutely nothing about the publishing world, when I didn't know how to start a proposal or what to expect from the publishing industry, this book made me feel as though I had a personal friend walking me through the process. This is a tough but wonderful business, and I feel privileged to be able to write full time. I don't think I would be doing this today if I didn't start with this book. My advice for anyone who wants to write is to work diligently, read constantly, and write the best proposal you can. A potentially fabulous book won't ever sell if the proposal is less than spectacular. Read this book, and every other book on proposal writing, then get to work. Best of luck!

Finding the right publisher is not easy. Selling that publisher is a challenge. Publishers are consolidating. There are only five publishers left in New York. There are just nine that will give a worthwhile advance. So, the package you send to them is critical.

Hey, you are a writer. You can write. Once they see your stuff, they will love you. Right-if they see it. Wake up! You have to send the agents and editors what they expect, when they want it. If you send your manuscript to a publisher "over the transom", it will be returned rubber-stamped "return to sender". You will be rejected without being read. Save your (postage) money, save the publisher's time and stop upsetting the Postal workers (very dangerous). Find out how to do it right. Michael Larsen provides a paint-by-the-numbers outline. Follow his steps to success.

Michael Larsen is an author and an agent; he has been on both sides of the desk. He knows what you are facing . . . and he reveals what to do about it. DanPoynter@ParaPublishing.com.

This may sound like a contradiction in terms. Your topic is also essential to the process. By using this book I recieved requests to see the entire manuscript. If you want a professional look to your proposal I also recomend The new 2000 Writer's Market. The CD version is invaluable and is one of your best resources for publishers, etc. It was also refreshing to read about a topic so essential to a writer's success in a book by an author with a sense of humor. You will find some great tips - like how to get a response back by using reply postcards. Buy this book and see your career take off.

~The Rebecca Review