by @RamonaRichards

I’ve yet to meet a writer who loves turning 85,000 words into one page. Or asking their friends to help sell their book. Or digging through pages of online retailers or catalogs to figure out who has a book “just like mine but not exactly.” I know there are a few out there who like doing all this, but they don’t usually introduce themselves to me.

In other words, most writers hate writing proposals for their beloved and carefully crafted work. “Can’t you just read the book?” they sometimes ask. 

Well … no. And I know most writers think few people see the proposal outside the acquisitions group. So I thought I’d explain a little bit about how publishers use that proposal and why it’s one of the most valuable tools in your repertoire. 

What It Tells Us About You

The proposal is primarily a sales tool, a document that will help your champion (the editor) get you beyond their desk and into that committee. A well-prepared proposal is a lot more than a brief description of the book. It tells us who you are (your bio), what your approach is to selling your book (your platform), how professional you are (a serious point if you want to get acquired), your understanding of the market and of publishing in general, and your ability to follow instructions. It gives us a sense of your grip on reality.

What It Tells Us About Your Book

There’s the description, of course, that dreaded synopsis or annotated table of contents (for nonfiction). But there’s also length, writing style, and approach to the topic (or theme, in a novel). It helps us decided exactly how unique your voice is, and what—if anything—new that you bring to the table. 

How It’s Used

Nope, once the committee is ready to offer you a contract, the proposal doesn’t get filed away. In a digital world, it goes into a series of folders oriented around the book. Depending on when you can deliver the full manuscript, it features in how your book is scheduled for publication. What is the best season/sales cycle for it. Is it the type of book sold best in summer or late fall? What promotions might work for it (New Year, Easter, Mother’s Day, Grads, Beach Reads, Back-to-School)? Is it a study to be sold when churches are making curriculum decisions or when folks are headed on vacation? 

Once those decisions are made, the marketing team scarfs it up to look for information for the book’s metadata (for sales sites); key words for online retailers; possible cover, catalog, and online descriptions. How are those comparable books shaping up? Do we need to add to that? Is there anything in the bio that can be utilized for special marketing directions? (If I wrote a novel featuring a character in a wheelchair, for instance, my experience with a special needs child could be an interview question.) A list of potential endorsers tells us what your network is like and how a launch team could be used.

And all of this happens early in the process, sometimes before the complete manuscript arrives on the editor’s desk. 

So please understand that while we know what a burden it is to put together a thorough and professional proposal, you’re doing a lot of work that will be utilized throughout the process. By providing it upfront, you save everyone a lot of headaches later … because you WILL be asked for all this. By developing a good, sound proposal, you save everyone a lot of time and teeth gnashing in the long run. 

And you demonstrate exactly how comfortable you are being involved in the overall publishing process. We want a partner, so show us that’s what you intend to be. 

Ramona Richards has been a writer and editor for 39 years. She’s the author of 13 books, including Tracking Changes: One Editor’s Advice to Inspirational Fiction Authors (New Hope) and Burying Daisy Doe (Kregel), which will be out in November 2020. She loves encouraging other writers and speaking at conferences, to which she brings her own teabags.