Kelly Thomas

Currently Looking For

Market and Publishing Rationale: Why do you think this book is needed in the marketplace? Who will it benefit and why?  Why have you chosen to write it? This should describe the market opportunity (market, size, growth, etc.). Audience: Who are you publishing to? Why would they be interested in purchasing your book?   A thorough description of your Primary and Secondary markets. Brief Description: A one to three sentence summary of the book.  Think of this as potential back cover copy, which would describe the book in a nutshell. Book Description/Chapter Outline: Should be a solid description of what the book is and what it’s trying to achieve. This should include the table of contents with chapter heads and a brief description of each chapter. Key Features and Selling Points: Bulleted list of key reasons why this will be the best book on the market. Include “Special Editorial Features” and “Key Sales/Marketing Features” Author Platform and Bio: A profile of the author which should include additional information that will help the publisher understand why you are the ideal person to write this book.  Include information that shows you have the ideal platform to write this book. Market: Do you have any special relationship to the market? Are there any special conferences, trade shows, or magazines that your book would be an ideal candidate for?  Is the timing of publication crucial to the sales of the book? Competition or Related Titles: What other titles might this book relate to? Are there other titles published that discuss the same topic?  How does your title offer a different approach? What information will the reader get from your title that isn’t already out there? What are you providing that the current competition is not? Please include the author, title, publisher, page count, and publication date of the competitors’ works. Book Specifications: How many pages in the book? Are you interested in a special format?  Are there any special design features anticipated? Understand that these components are staples throughout most proposals but are uniquely customized for every proposal. No two proposals are the same, and while the proposal is meant to “sell” the publisher it also gives a glimpse into the “personality” of the book and what makes your project come to life. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, no aspect of your proposal should be written in a question and answer format. Your book won’t be written that way and neither should your proposal. Your proposal should be written as a narrative and capture the individuality and necessity of this book in the marketplace. It should be engaging and informative. After reading your proposal, we should: have a very clear idea of what your book is about; be able to visualize what it’ll look like; and have faith that you have the capability to write the book. Nothing within your proposal is throw-away and each section is equally important. {/slide}