10 Business Book Questions: Q7. What’s inside and how does it look?

As part of a new series of articles, I'm covering each of the 10 questions I ask authors about their new book ideas. If you want to try filling this out for your book, you can find the full document here , and a screenshot below:

These are the questions we ask about a new business book idea, and they're designed so you can do less work initially and get a quick decision from me on whether it's worth taking forward. It saves you the effort of writing a full proposal (which can be many pages) and is quicker for me to read. Plus, all the questions are invaluable in ensuring your book works for the market.

So onto the seventh question: What’s inside and how does it look??Proposed Table of Contents; no. of pages or word count; design ideas; artwork. Any videos, templates, or downloads? How long will it take to write???

What’s inside and how does it look? I suspect authors may fall into two camps with this question: those who have very clear ideas about what they want, and those who haven't given it much thought. Essentially, this question is to find out your expectations about the physical and visual look of the book, and how long it might take you to write the manuscript. This information is really useful to me as it helps better visualise the final product, how it might be marketed, and the potential cost implications. What's really useful is to treat these ideas as a starting point for discussion.?

Proposed Table of Contents -?A list of your planned chapters, with titles, and how the book is organised if in Parts of Sections is useful. Occasionally I receive proposals with no chapter titles, which I find odd as I really encourage authors to write for their reader, not me, and how you title the chapters gives me a real sense of the book's formality and tone of voice. Seeing how the book is organised is very helpful in better understanding the book idea, how you approach the content, its proportions, and how a potential buyer might consider the book.

No. of pages or word count -?This can be tricky if it's your first book but an estimate of how long you think it will be is incredibly useful. If you're not sure, I suggest writing a sample chapter and, assuming the other chapters will be of a similar length then extrapolating from that. And it doesn't have to be exact - a range is also enlightening. NB. Most books I commission are around 40,000 - 50,000 words so anything nearing 100,000 words (unless for very good reason) does ring alarm bells for me.

Design ideas -?Do you have any particular vision for how the book would look? Is it colour or black and white? Pull-out pages? Ribbon bookmarks? I feel a little cruel if I'm putting ideas into your head as we can't (economically) do a lot of these at Pearson but knowing this is part of the plan is helpful in my response to you. It would be awful to commission a book, get down the line, and realise you were expecting full colour when it's going to be black and white.

Artwork - ?It's good to know how visual (or not) your book would be. Are you including figures, cartoons, photographs, line drawings, infographics, etc? If so, how many of each type? Are you providing these or would Pearson need to design them? The majority of the time, we take the author's sketches and get them professionally drawn. But anything more 'designed' or conceptual would need to be provided by the authors.

Any videos/templates/downloads??An increasingly important question we ask of authors is, will there be any online content for readers to use alongside the book? This might be additional, extra content, or it might be templates of items from within the book. Perhaps you'll create videos to explain key concepts or create a forum for readers to discuss ideas. Is there a regular newsletter that readers could sign up for? I think this type of content is really useful in helping readers keep using the book, to make it an essential ongoing thing.

How long will it take to write???Again, this can be tricky but an estimate is helpful. A few weeks is likely unrealistic, and a few years is too long for many publishers to stay interested. But, given your commitments and schedule, what is likely? Most authors take around 6-8 months so again, try writing a sample chapter and extrapolate from that how long it might take to write the whole manuscript.

Even if you've not considered any of these questions, I hope these will be useful and might give you inspiration. At the same time, it's ok to not know and discuss these with your publisher to see what they think is best for the content. Flexibility is key though - don't set your heart on something like full colour as it is very expensive and might not be possible.

Next time it'll be Q8. What’s my competition and why would people buy this instead?

The Pearson Business Book Club

The Pearson Business Book Club is open to all who would like to learn more about our business books or learn something about a particular topic, and the webinars are completely free to attend. You can also view the on-demand videos of previous sessions on the Book Club website.

November's Business Book of the Month is Solvable by Arnaud Chevallier and Albrecht Enders , and their masterclass is "3 steps to solve any problem". To attend the webinar on Tuesday 22nd November 2022 at 2 pm (UK time) please register at https://www.pearson.com/en-gb/book-club.html, where you can also download a sample chapter of the book, and find the video on demand after the session.

Problem-solving skills are in high demand, yet we’re not taught how to develop and apply these skills appropriately. Solvable offers a simple solution with a 3 -step process―Frame, Explore, Decide―and concrete tools that you can use to become a better problem solver and successfully engage relevant people, whatever the challenge you face.?

Discover a three-step process for complex problem solving: Frame, Explore, Decide.

• Find practical, concrete tools that managers and executives can use to become better problem solvers in any situation?
• Build high-in-demand problem-solving skills that employers are looking for?
• Learn evidence-based skills built from management, psychology, medicine, engineering, and design research?

"Solvable builds the decision maker’s confidence and competence. I am singing its praises to my students and colleagues!" - Denise M. Rousseau H. J. Heinz II University Professor of Organizational Behavior and Public Policy, Director, Project on Evidence-based Organizational Practices, Heinz College and Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University

Just Published / Noteworthy books

The Really Good Idea Test by Julia Shalet

Got an idea???

• Want an easy way to test, refine and validate your idea???
• Wondering whether it’s worth investing your time, energy and money??
• Trying to work out your next step???

Put it to The Really Good Idea Test!?Whoever you are and whatever your idea is, this book gives you 7 practical steps to find out if it is worth pursuing. Spring into action as you read, using proven techniques, hands-on templates and lots of real examples. By the end of the test, you will be able to move forward with confidence, making decisions based on evidence of what people want and need, rather than incorrect assumptions.?

'Coming up with ideas isn't the hard part, knowing which to take forward is. This book is full of valuable insight and practical tips, testament to Julia's rich experience.' Marc Abraham, Head of Product Engagement at ASOS, formerly Notonthehighstreet and World First

Finally

Do you have any ideas or suggestions for future newsletters? Did I strike a chord with anything in this newsletter? Add a comment or email me at [email protected].