Favorite book about nonfiction proposals

[VictoriaE]

Hi :)

I've got a pretty basic question for my fellow writers: what is your favorite book about non-fiction proposals? I've finally settled on my topic for my first book and I am gung ho about starting a proposal, but there are oodles of choices in terms of guides for writing a professional proposal.

Any advice or recommendations?

[K1P1]

I'd follow Jenna's example in this forum, modifying it as needed based on the submissions guidelines of the publisher: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22176

I haven't looked at any books on the subject, but her recommendations are pretty consistent (with small variations) with the submission guidellines of the publishers I've submitted to.

[PatriciaL]

I like Herman and Adams' "Write the Perfect Book Proposal." Of course, I also recommend my own books--"How to Write a Successful Book Proposal in 8 Days or Less," (based on an 8-week book proposal course I teach) and "The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book," which includes 4 chapters on writing a book proposal--complete with examples.

Patricia Fry
Matilija Press
www.matilijapress.com

[OneTeam OneDream]

I'd follow Jenna's example in this forum, modifying it as needed based on the submissions guidelines of the publisher: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22176

I haven't looked at any books on the subject, but her recommendations are pretty consistent (with small variations) with the submission guidellines of the publishers I've submitted to.



I agree with this. I've written and sold two non-fic books by using Jenna's example as a guideline. I don't really see the need for buying an entire book to teach you how to write a few pages.

[Jaws]

There's a huge range of "non-fiction book proposals," and no one guide is appropriate for all of them. For example, Susan Rabiner's otherwise-excellent Thinking Like Your Editor, which focuses on serious nonfiction, won't be much help to someone trying to put together a proposal for a collection of "true" inspirational vignettes; neither would it be all that useful for Jenna.

I've found the best middle-of-the-road general nonfiction proposal guide to be Elizabeth Lyons's, closely followed by Michael Larsen's. At the more-serious end of things, Rabiner's seems best; at the less-serious end of things, worry about having a platform rather than about the proposal. And, of course, YMMV; for example, Lyons does have a regrettable tendency to make absolute statements when she shouldn't, but that doesn't bother me because I can spot them.

And, of course, if you're dealing with a true specialty area, you must tailor your proposal to the small range of appropriate publishers. For example, there are "appearance standards" differences between publishers of works on political theory and publishers of literary criticism that will make a big difference to that book proposal on George Orwell. (Trust me, I have personal experience with that one!) The key in a specialty area is to make the proposal look as much as possible like the typical book from that publisher, including citation form, footnote usage, illustration usage, etc.

In short, there is no one true way. But you knew that already, right?