Got a Bite- Now I'm Scared to Death!

theengle,

There's a long helpful section on nonfiction proposals in Jenna's thread on the non-fiction book publishing process. It's the "sticky" at the top of the non-fiction forurm, but you can get to it from here: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22176

In my experience, differenct publishers will have somewhat varying guidelines. My experience is limited to knitting books, and to the three publishers whose guidelines I've actually seen. But, they were very similar to what Jenna describes, so if you follow her format and suggestions you can't go wrong. You should be able to put this together fairly quickly. I found that the hardest parts were trying to characterize the market for my books, the marketing for my books, the competition, and why my book would be better. If I'd had the advantage of Jenna's advice before I wrote my proposals, they would have been much, much better.

Best of luck with your proposal - it sounds like a truly useful book.

theengel said:

I really want to sell this as a dummies book. Should I write the proposal specifically for them?

Also, is it permissable to write it in first person?

Click to expand...

That seems like the most efficient way to begin.

I think you could write in first person in some sections (like platform), but that in other areas third person would be more appropriate (like describing the contents and the competition). You're a writer - you decide what works best.