Writing a good non-fiction book proposal can make or break your book. Are you ready to work on your non-fiction book idea? Or maybe you’re halfway through your book, but still not sure how to write a non-fiction book proposal? We’re here to help you. 

In this article, we are going to discuss how to write a non-fiction book proposal and what to do to make that proposal super effective.

But first, what is a Book Proposal?

A non-fiction book proposal used to be a sales pitch for your book idea. It still is, but now it is starting to look more like a comprehensive business plan that you use to pitch to literary agents and book publishers. A book proposal’s job is to convince publishers why they should invest in your book idea and why you are the right person to write it.

The average length of a book proposal is somewhere around 10 to 15 pages. 

Publishers are open to commissioning a non-fiction book i.e. they may sign a contract based on a non-fiction book idea before it is actually written. However, it will depend on the niche of your book idea plus it might be different for, say, a memoir which is non-fiction, but may be treated more like fiction (unless you’re famous). 

The best way to start working on a book proposal is to check out the submission guidelines of the literary agents or publishers you want to target. If any particular publisher has specific requirements, then take note of them and prep accordingly.

However, despite having all of this, a book proposal must always include a hook that will not only capture the interests of the publishers but also the reader. For example, if you are a food writer and you want to write a book of unique recipes then it might not sound like a very interesting or new idea. You have to convince your publisher/Agent that your book offers something new and special that no other recipe book has, for which there is sufficient market interest (that It’ll sell). Ultimately that means writing something that readers will pick up, enjoy and recommend to each other. 

{Finished your first draft? Here’s a guide to Manuscript Editing 101: A Checklist to See if you are Ready.}

Why is it mandatory for non-fiction authors to have a book proposal?

Let’s face it, writing a book is a long and time-consuming process. It might take you months or even years to flesh out your ideas into a full-blown manuscript. Plus, what if you write the entire book but then you find many books in the market with similar ideas and in the same niche? What if no publisher is interested in buying your book after you write it?

All that time and so much effort will go to waste, and you’ll probably self/vanity publish as a last resort. So, before you set out on the lengthy process of writing your non-fiction book, isn’t it better to secure a contract for it? Also get a nice advance? Will you not be motivated much more if a publisher has already agreed to publish your fascinating non-fiction title?

A great non-fiction book proposal is how you secure that deal.

Additionally, if you’re writing a non-fiction book, you must be clear about the following things quite early on:
– What exactly is the topic, theme, concept, etc. of your book?
– Why do you want to write it?
– Why do you think you are the perfect person to write this book?
– Who are the ideal readers for your book? In other words, your target audience.
– How are you going to break down your topics and make them interesting and fruitful for your readers?
– Which publishers are the best fit for your book?

The good thing about working on a book proposal before you actually write a non-fiction book is that your proposal will help you answer most of these questions. Writing your non-fiction book proposal will help you chisel out your idea and force you to sort through things in your own head.

Moreover, publishers don’t always expect full manuscripts for non-fiction books. An incredible book proposal will let them know that you’re already deep into the process of working on this idea and you’re charged to take on this challenge. A non-fiction book proposal should convince the publishers that you are the only one who can write this book in a specific way and why it is so needed in the market right now.

{Here’s The Seven Steps of Self Editing Fiction guide for you to get started on polishing your first draft.}

Book Proposal: A Basic Outline

What most publishers seek from a book proposal is:

1. Query Letter, 
2. Synopsis
3. An excerpt

Optional to include:

1. Author Bio
2. Marketing Plan

Let’s get into the details of these.

1. Query Letter

A query letter is where you sell your book idea, and yourself. It usually contains: 

• Book Overview – Mention your book’s title, genre, word count, and target audience.
  Relevant author information – Briefly explain why you are the perfect person to write this book and how your experience at work and personally helps in making the book the best.
• Market opportunity – this is the most critical, because this is where you convince the publisher of why your book will sell, who will read it etc. You can talk about other successful books in that Genre, or throw some light on a current trend or an unmet need.
• Closing – A polite sign-off, mentioning all things attached to your query letter, and thanking them for their time and attention. It also doesn’t hurt to mention why would you want to work with that particular agent/publisher (not mandatory at all).

2. Synopsis

The synopsis of a book should highlight all the important aspects of the book. Based on how your book is structured, you can include a crisp overview touching upon the content, the tone, and the rough outline of the book. Non-fiction book Synopsis will normally have a list of chapters and a short summary of each chapter.

3. An Excerpt or Sample Chapters

Based on how many chapters or pages the publishers or literary agents ask for, select your strongest chapters to include in the book proposal. Usually starting with the initial chapters works best. Often, an agent/publisher may say a certain number of chapters e.g. three chapters, but sometimes the ask may be a word count (say 8000 words). This is the section where you get to show what exactly you have got to give to the readers if they pick up your book. So, put your best words forward and cross your fingers. For memoirs, the introductory chapters may not be the most compelling.

{Wondering how to write a blurb that would grab a reader’s attention? Here’s Top 10 Book Blurb Examples by Indian Authors.}

Optional to include:

1. Author Bio

For a non-fiction writer, this is one of the most important parts of pitching a book idea. Many readers have the habit of buying non-fiction books written by people they are aware of and if they know how accomplished or influential the writer is in their chosen subject. But even before that, you need to convince the publisher that you are the person who should be writing this book. That doesn’t mean you start explaining your background in the topic of choice in detail. But crafting a strong author bio is all about presenting yourself in a way that covers the required information one needs to know about the writer to make a choice (if they want to read the book written by you or should they pick someone else). Be sure to include your previous publication credits, relevant and important positions held, or any other credentials that might help convince them that you know what you are writing about.

2. Marketing Strategy + Promotion Plan

We hope this is not news to you but let it be known that a huge responsibility of marketing a book comes down to the authors themselves. Yes, the publishers will be there to enable everything needed for your book to be out there but the maximum effort in marketing unfortunately is required by the author. Especially if this is your debut book being traditionally published.

Hence, this section of your proposal should include a realistic marketing and promotion plan to sell your book. Not only should this include separate plans for separate author platforms, but you should also have plans for physical events such as speaking gigs or author interviews. Your plan should also include how you are going to achieve these goals and what are you going to do to achieve them.

This is where you can show off how you’ve been working at building a base of community where you can market your book can come useful. Remember that this is one important section of the book proposal that will inject confidence into the publishers so that they get ready to invest in your idea.

{Read about the journey of a debut author in Confessions of a first-time author.}

Common mistakes in a non-fiction book proposal

• Not being able to present the uniqueness of the idea properly. Your idea should not be so unique that it doesn’t fit anywhere in the marketing landscape. It should not be too common that your book idea is just another addition to hundreds of others already available out there. You must find the right hook and the right angle through which you can pitch your idea to the publishers.
• Adding irrelevant details in the book proposal that do not add any value to your business plan for the book. Ensure that whatever you add to the proposal must have some reason that pushes your idea to the top.
• Not having an established author profile can lead to rejections as it might not help the publishers understand your expertise or marketing plans for the book.
• Being vague about your plans for the book. The book proposal must be very clear on every aspect. Your plans on how you’re going to embark on completing the book and how you plan to market the book. All these details should not be vague.

Other things first time authors may consider… 

Well, if you’ve already decided to write a book on your topic of choice, then it is a given that you must be an expert to write about that subject. However, the world doesn’t know that. The publishers don’t know that and neither do your readers.

It may help to establish your expertise in the world before you start sending out your non-fiction book proposals.

It’s a good thing that we have the internet and that the age of social media has made it pretty easy to start building an online profile. All you need to do is pick out one of the myriad platforms and start putting yourself out there. It’s not an overnight activity. It takes a lot of time to build your profile online and at the same time, it helps build a base of target audience for the book that you are so keen on writing.

A must-have platform for a non-fiction writer is our good old website. Especially, if you claim to be an expert in your field, having a website to showcase all your work, credentials, and past and current projects will help people get interested in knowing you and your work. It’s all about attracting the right audience (in your case, readers), isn’t it?

Once you have your website ready, it is time to pick a social media platform and do the hard work of showing the world what’s up your sleeve. Picking a platform can be tricky. It can depend on the type of topic you’re working on but with a pinch of imagination and creativity, any platform can be used according to your advantage. It is recommended that you start with one platform that suits your skills the best and then start spreading your content over other platforms as well. For a non-fiction author, starting with building a page on LinkedIn will be highly valuable.

Now that you have a website and a social media platform, you’ll most definitely need a newsletter which helps filter your audience to find out who is super-duper interested in reading what you write. They’ll follow you on whatever platform you are on and will wait for your words with patience. Quite a number of the readers of your future book are from this pool of loyal readers who signed up for your newsletters to get immediate access to your words in their inbox.

Not only that, this can also help you understand who your target audience is and what exactly they are looking for. So, when you work on your book proposal, you’ll be able to tailor the proposal by having a deeper understanding of the psychology and requirements of your target audience.

Moreover, your ability to build an online platform that takes strategic planning and patience will prove your ability to pull through your book idea and produce a full-length manuscript. Your ability to gather a mass audience will also help build a digital marketing strategy in order to convince the potential publisher of how important your book is to the market at the current time.

Conclusion

If you are setting out to write a non-fiction book proposal, you must do your research well. Not only regarding your topic but also how that information is in demand and how it can be presented in a way that is from a refreshing perspective. Take your time with a book proposal and tailor it according to the specific requirements of the literary agents and publishers.