How to Write a Compelling Book Proposal

You have decided to take the first step of writing your book, congratulations! While it might be tempting to get your book out into the world as soon as possible, it is very important that your journey as a writer starts with a great book proposal.  
 
To write an incredible book, you need an equally incredible book proposal. While you may have already written and completed your manuscript, a book proposal can help you focus on all the important details.  
 
Ultimately, this document is your business plan. These proposals are often submitted to traditional publishers. However, proposals are equally significant if you decide to self-publish. It is imperative to create a book proposal not only for the person who will read and review it, but also for yourself.  
 
Writing a book proposal allows you to deeply analyse your book, and may help you form decisions or changes for your manuscript as a result. You may also decide to sell your book to bookstores. By creating a compelling proposal, you are putting yourself ahead of the game when it comes to showing bookstores why they should include your amazing book within their stores!  A good proposal should ultimately summarise your book’s aims, goals and main features.  
 
Writing a compelling book proposal may seem daunting. When planning out what to include within a book proposal, many publishers such as Bloomsbury and Routledge offer tips and tricks to help writers narrow down exactly what they want to include. To write a compelling book proposal it’s worth including specific things and asking yourself the right questions. Here at Rowanvale, we have compiled our own list: 

Header:
Your book proposal should include the name of your working title. This alone can help to grab the reader’s attention. Your header should also include contact information such as your name, email and phone number.  
 
Book overview:
There are two different ways of approaching your overview: you can keep it sweet and simple with a one-sentence synopsis, or write up to five paragraphs with a description of the project. Whether you decide to keep it short and snappy or include a more in-depth overview, one thing that should be clear is that you make every word count. This should be your main pitch, and what makes the reader want to keep reading. Set time aside to edit and polish your overview.  
 
About the author:
This section will help to highlight who exactly you are as an author. This will not only be helpful to others reading your proposal, but also for yourself. This may prove useful in helping your development as a writer and will help you clarify exactly what you want to achieve with this project.
Some questions to get you started may be: 

• What makes you the best person to write this book?   
• Why is now the right time?  

Platform/Audience:  
This portion of your proposal will help you to really zoom in on what sets you and your book apart from others. Some questions you may ask yourself could include: 

• Does your book have a unique selling point?  
  
• Is your book something new and interesting?  
  
• What are other books catered towards your audience that either compliment or compete against your own?  
  
• What is your reach as an author? (Compile your stats on social media. For example, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Website. Get started in building your social media presence as an author with help from Rowanvale’s marketing services) 

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Practicalities: 
This is a section in which you can ensure you cover all questions that will interest those reading. Your book proposal should be something you think about thoroughly. This will allow you to question what you want out of your book. By completing this document, you are giving the reader (be it yourself or someone else) all the information necessary to give your book the consideration, guidance and feedback it truly deserves! Don’t just focus on the content of your book, also question yourself as an author and ask the simple questions. Sometimes these are the hardest to answer. To help you here are some you may want to ponder:  

• What is your timeline?  
• How much will you budget? 
• What is the word count going to be?  

 
To summarise, the more information you can provide in your book proposal, the better! However, keep in mind that to write a compelling book proposal you need to set time aside to write, draft and edit. Your book proposal is just as important as the book itself! You may find that you discover changes you would like to make to your writing, or develop questions that will help illuminate your overall goal of becoming a writer!  
 
To find out more about our self-publishing services, you can get in touch with a Publishing Advisor through clicking here. Alternatively, to contact us directly, e-mail us at info@rowanvalebooks.com or give us a call on 029 2128 0200 where we’ll be happy to answer any of your queries.   
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