Writing a book proposal can be a daunting undertaking, but it’s necessary to get your nonfiction pitch into the hands of an agent or editor. I recently presented a webinar on crafting your nonfiction book proposal (at the time of posting, you can still purchase the recording through Garden Communicators International), and the audience asked some insightful questions. Here’s an exploration of those and others I’ve encountered.
Do you really need to already have a platform before a publisher will consider your nonfiction book?
Sort of. But “platform” has a broader definition than most people think. If you’re writing about a subject, it’s bound to be something you engage with in your daily life. Are you a member of any organizations related to it? Do you ever give talks about it, or provide other kinds of education? Are you an active member of any communities that centre around it? Do you have contacts who are professionals in the field? Are you one yourself? All of these things are as much a platform as managing a successful blog, podcast, or social media platform. When your subject is niche, they can be even more powerful.
What a nonfiction publisher wants you to demonstrate in your book proposal is that you have some kind of foundation already established that will allow you to appear before your audience as someone they trust. When you write your Marketing & Promotion section, you’ll be telling them two things:
- These are the relationships I already have established.
- This is how I’m going to use them to promote my book.
If you don’t engage with your subject at all outside of your writing, you might need to ask yourself whether this is the book for you to write.
Should you send a query letter before you send your book proposal?
Before you send anything, check the submission guidelines of the agent or publisher you’re approaching. If you don’t see “Submissions” in their website’s menu, check under “Contact.” Different companies and agencies have different preferences.
How do you find the right publishers to approach?
Check who published the comp titles you’ve selected and any other books that are in the same vein as yours. Head over to Edelweiss+ (you can browse without an account or make one for free) and search those publishers’ most recent catalogues. Make sure your chosen publishers or imprints tick the following boxes:
- They publish books for the right segment of the market, whether that’s trade (bookstores), educational, scholarly, etc.
- They have recently published books on subjects related to yours, in similar formats, that target the same audience.
- They have not just published or announced a book that covers the exact same ground as yours.
Once you have a list of publishers, visit their websites to read the submission guidelines and make sure they are accepting proposals.
If you have specific ideas about graphics and photos, should those be included in the book proposal?
Yes. You can include a “Publication Details” section where you describe the types of graphics, images, sidebars, and other elements you want to include. Just be sure that you’re focusing on details that affect the transmission of information rather than aesthetic choices. Since publishers are the ones making a financial investment in the project, and since they have an intimate knowledge of the market it’s going to be sold in, they reserve the right to have the final word on a lot of design decisions. You can negotiate for the right to be consulted on these in your contract, but be aware that getting too nit-picky about how things should look in your proposal may be a red flag for acquisitions editors.
You can choose to format your book proposal with colours, typefaces, and images that reflect what you imagine for the book. This isn’t essential—a plain word-processor document will do, and some companies might require it—but if you have the freedom, this is a non-pushy way to put your vision before an editor.
What if you want to provide your own photos or illustrations?
Do include that information, along with a few samples. Unless the publisher wishes to execute the book differently, they will usually appreciate the simplicity of having these elements provided by the author rather than dealing with photo research and licensing. Compensation for this isn’t always what it should be, but remember to note it as a factor in your favour when you negotiate your contract.
As mentioned above, you might choose to add formatting and images to your book proposal, showing off how you intend to use your illustrations or photographs.
What should your chapter annotations cover?
You will likely include an annotated table of contents in your book proposal. Here, you’ll list every chapter and section in your book along with a paragraph or so that describes each one’s content. You’ll want to summarize the chapter’s key elements without delving too far into the details, and explain what the audience will take away from it. If this chapter provides scaffolding for their understanding of a later one, make sure the summary does the same. Remember that the person reading your book proposal is likely not an expert in your niche subject, so briefly give them everything they need to appreciate the importance of what you’re writing.
If your book will have a distinct voice, do your best to inject some of that into these summaries as well. It can be a tricky thing to pull off, and you don’t want to be kitschy at the expense of content or clarity, but it’s far more effective to describe your book in a funny way than to tell someone that your book will be funny.
Do you have a free nonfiction book proposal template?
Sure thing! I created a PDF outline for the webinar and I’m making it available to my newsletter subscribers. You can sign up to receive yours here.
Do I have to stick to the order of the template?
No. There are many ways to present the information needed for a book proposal, and unless a company’s submission guidelines are very specific (sometimes they are, especially if you’re pitching to be included in an established series), they won’t be concerned about whether your comp titles came before or after your chapter list. In fact, some agents and book coaches merge certain sections together. For example, it can be awkward to separate the author bio from the marketing section, so Anna Sproul-Latimer combines them.
Where can I see an example of a book proposal?
That’s an excellent question! Reviewing some samples is a great way to wrap your head around what you need to do, but they’re confidential documents and it can be tricky to find them. Here are some places to look:
- If you’re part of a writing community, ask if anyone would be willing to let you look at a past proposal.
- If you have an agent, ask if they will share one with you.
- Check out this one shared by Michael Hingston on Medium.
- UBC Press shares a scholarly example by Laura Ishiguro that fits their specific guidelines.
If You’re Working on a Book Proposal…
…you might benefit from these blog posts.
Erin Alladin 
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