Comments on: The book proposal

By: Tom yannios

Tom yannios — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 15:52:54 +0000

It does, thanks.

By: jane dystel

jane dystel — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 15:11:14 +0000

Hi Tom,

So good to hear from you. The proposal rules for memoirs are the same as for all other non-fiction. Hope this helps.

By: Tom yannios

Tom yannios — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 15:06:27 +0000

Hi Jane, though long out of the writing loop, I\\’m always reading your website.What about proposals for memoirs?I see little info about this special breed of book that is structured like a novel but is technically non- fiction.

By: Jenna

Jenna — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 00:05:15 +0000

Couldn\\’t agree more, Jane. Your guidance helped my co-author and me to craft an excellent proposal (which, of course, you were then able to sell) but we learned SO much in the process. Thus, I would add that if you don\\’t have the wherewithal and/or material to create a thorough proposal, then that should also be a good indicator of the potential success of your book. It\\’s worth the work. It took 2 years from start to finish to research and finalize the 18th draft of our proposal, and then 6 months to write the book.

By: RVF

RVF — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 19:12:58 +0000

Thank you! Very helpful.

By: jane dystel

jane dystel — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 18:15:06 +0000

RVF–

No the comp titles do not have to include the sales of the books. Blurbs written by well known people can accompany the proposal but they aren’t necessary at all. When describing the audience you should say parents of children ages X – Y and then you need to define this group statistically. The more numbers, the better.

By: Kevin Grange

Kevin Grange — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 17:46:13 +0000

I couldn’t agree more with your thoughts here, Jane!

I found spending extra time on my latest book proposal made the process of writing the manuscript so much easier, more creative, quicker and fun. I never had a moment of writers block and, each day, I was excited to return to the page because I knew where I was going. The book proposal proved to be the engine behind the entire creative process–selling the book, writing the manuscript and bringing it into the marketplace. Thank you for your guidance!

By: RVF

RVF — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 16:02:51 +0000

Hi Jane,A few questions. I was wondering if, in the comp titles section, you should actually include how many copies the titles have sold. Also, do you recommend including a pre-blurb in a proposal? And, last but not least, when discussing demographics, how specific must you get? In other words, is it enough to just say, \\”This book\\’s audience reads parenting books like THE GIFT OF FAILURE…\\”Thanks!