16 Things Every Book Proposal Needs

Dear writers, 

If you want to put together a non-fiction book proposal, here are the 16 pieces I always include in mine: 

1. Title page.

Name of the book, subtitle, your name and the name of your literary agent if you have one. The title and subtitle don’t have to be final yet. 

2. Graphic quote pages with "tweetable ideas" sprinkled throughout.

Think of these like little billboards for some of your best ideas. For my book “Finish” I could have used the line, “Starting is fun, but the future belongs to finishers.”

3. Author letter

This is a short letter describing how excited you are about the book. It can be anywhere from 250-1,000 words long. 

4. One-page book description

In 250-ish words, describe the heart of the book. (This is difficult for me to write and I usually save it toward the end of the project.)

5. Unique selling proposition

How is your book different from other similar books that are already available? One of my USPs is always my sense of humor. 

6. Audience analysis

Who will buy your book? For this section, I tend to create personas like, “Corporate Carol, an event planner who will be excited about how this content can be taught in her company.”

7. Platform numbers

Who are your current fans/followers? I list out every social media platform and every email list I have. 

8. Chapter summaries

One paragraph per chapter. This is a quick description of each chapter that shows the overall flow of your book. Think of it as a type of outline. It helps the publisher know that you know where the book is going. 

9. State of the manuscript

How far along are you? Are you close to done? Are you finished already? Do you have two chapters complete or ten? 

10. Comparable titles

Who else is in the marketplace? I find five or six books that are similar to mine and discuss the overlap and the differences. This is another way to show the publisher that you’ve done your homework.

11. Author bio

A one-page description of who you are and why you are qualified to write this book. Doing this makes me a little uncomfortable, like I’m bragging, so I have to force myself to go over the top and then pull it back. “Jon Acuff shoots lasers with his eyes, not really, but he has done some cool stuff in his 20-year career.” 

12. Speaking page

If you’re a public speaker, this is a page to showcase how often you speak and your biggest clients. If you don’t speak publicly, you can probably skip this page. 

13. Previous sales history

How many copies have your other books sold? 

14. Second book idea

A publisher wants to invest in you, which means they want to make sure you have more than just one book in you. This is a two or three page description of the next book you might write after the first one. 

15. Sample chapters

Include two or three fairly well-shaped chapters from your manuscript. This goes without saying, but pick your best. 

16. Marketing plan

I put together a 10-12 page marketing plan that shares the ideas I think will work best to sell the book. Lazy authors expect publishers to do all the marketing. Don’t be lazy. Show the publisher that you’re excited and engaged in the marketing, not just the writing. 

Everyone approaches proposals a little differently, but that's what I do. (And don't be discouraged if you don't have items 7 & 13 yet!)

Proposals are hard, but the more work you put in, the more likely you’ll get your book published. 

Don’t cut corners. 

Write an awesome proposal to showcase your awesome book. 

P.S. I used this calendar to plan my last proposal. You should give it a try, too.

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