Is there a thread somewhere that explains exactly what all goes into a book proposal?
Putting "writing book proposal" in the search engine is too vague.
Putting "writing book proposal" in the search engine is too vague.
What goes into a book proposal?
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I put "proposal" into the search engine. There were several pages of results, but I couldn't see one that was the definitive answer to your question. These links seemed to contain some useful info:
A sample book proposal by Jenna Glatzer.
One thread asking for proposal resources suggested this link, and this recent thread on proposals contains some general info.
You might get more specific help in the non-fiction and freelance writing boards.
A sample book proposal by Jenna Glatzer.
One thread asking for proposal resources suggested this link, and this recent thread on proposals contains some general info.
You might get more specific help in the non-fiction and freelance writing boards.
Mmmm, in that case I got nothing. I've written non fiction book proposals before and there are some excellent reference books on the subject, but I don't remember ever seeing anything on fiction book proposals.
Oh, and even though this is a writing message board I still thought at first that this thread was about marriage proposals. Yikes! Scared me for a second! LOL
Oh, and even though this is a writing message board I still thought at first that this thread was about marriage proposals. Yikes! Scared me for a second! LOL
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I've done a fiction proposal. I don't think there's one set way to do this, but if it's helpful, here is what I submitted:
* Sample chapters (four in one case, six in another)
* A full outline for the next book in the series
* A two-page rough synopsis of where the story arc of the series was headed
* A one-page "vampire mythology" rundown, where I explained the particulars of my fictional universe. Obviously that was pretty specific to my situation, but if you have some element of your series/worldbuilding that might require meaningful explanation outside of a synopsis, I think you might be able to throw that in.
Good luck!
* Sample chapters (four in one case, six in another)
* A full outline for the next book in the series
* A two-page rough synopsis of where the story arc of the series was headed
* A one-page "vampire mythology" rundown, where I explained the particulars of my fictional universe. Obviously that was pretty specific to my situation, but if you have some element of your series/worldbuilding that might require meaningful explanation outside of a synopsis, I think you might be able to throw that in.
Good luck!
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Proposals are usually for nonfiction but I've seen one asked for fiction. One agent actually outlined what should go into the proposal:
- Synopsis or outline
- Sample chapters (usually 3)
- Author bio
- Background information (for series, etc.)
- Marketing (what's your target audience, how you're going to promote it, etc.)
- Synopsis or outline
- Sample chapters (usually 3)
- Author bio
- Background information (for series, etc.)
- Marketing (what's your target audience, how you're going to promote it, etc.)
Although I write only nonfiction, for fiction the above from maestrowork sounds reall good to me.
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