Unpublished or beginning writers might find it easier to simply write the book first, then prepare a proposal-which isn’t a bad idea in the case of memoir, since many editors and agents want assurance that an unknown writer has sufficient writing chops to pull off their project.īut having the manuscript complete does not get you off the hook when it comes to writing the proposal. While proposal length varies tremendously, most are somewhere around 10 to 25 pages double-spaced, not including sample chapters. It’s not out of the question for a proposal to reach 50 pages or more for complex projects once sample chapters are included. If properly developed and researched, a proposal can take weeks, or longer, to prepare. This applies to all types of nonfiction, although it can be very challenging for memoirists to sell a project on the basis of a proposal if they are unpublished or without a compelling platform. If a publisher is convinced by the proposal, it will contract you and pay you to write the book. Instead of writing the entire book, then trying to interest an editor or agent (which is how it works with novels), you can write the proposal first if you’re a nonfiction author. That’s right: nonfiction authors, if they’re smart and strategic, will sell a publisher on their book before they’ve written very much of it.

It essentially acts as a business case for why your book should exist, and-for many authors-persuades a publisher to make an investment in your work before you sit down to write it. Book proposals are used to sell nonfiction books to publishers.Ī book proposal argues why your book (idea) is salable and marketable in today’s market.

Book outline