A Great Book Proposal Boosts Self-Publishing

Why consider a book proposal?

Book publishing has seen diverse forms, self-publishing being a hot trend among first time authors. So, once you decide to self-publish your book, do you cater to strengthening it with a good book proposal. Why should a publisher choose your work among hundreds and thousands of other submissions? What is the USP of your book?

You may be thinking, I have gone crazy. When you wish to self-publish the book, what assistance would a book proposal offer to you? As an author, your role is to convince the publisher that your idea is great and will attract a good reader base and target audience. The publisher is always searching for the sales potential behind each manuscript. A good book proposal does the trick for you.

You might have to wait for some time to receive the publisher’s response. Oh yes. It’s a situation when you’ll have butterflies in your stomach and have weird doubts about your book during this period. But, keep the negative thoughts at bay and wait patiently. Some publishers may reject your submission, or some may charge fees for book publishing. But, don’t feel discouraged. If your content is good, one of the publishers will invest in your journey of becoming a published author.

Elements of a Book Proposal

  • Overview: It includes the book’ primary attributes and how would the readers benefit from it.
  • Outline: A table of contents or an index lists all chapters describing the content of each chapter briefly.
  • Audience: It refers to the demographics and statistics related to your target audience.
  • Competition: Specify in brief how your book stands among the competition by comparing other similar titles in the specific genre.
  • Marketing: An author should give a summary of marketing activities that will be conducted to support the book.
  • Author: A short biography of the author highlighting his/her expertise in writing the book.
  • Details: Specify other details such as the length of the manuscript i.e. how many words and pages, inclusion of images or illustrations, and the estimated delivery date of the of the complete manuscript.
  • Sample Chapters: A writer should send one or two sample chapters from the manuscript for initial screening of his/her writing style.

Every publisher has varied requirements, however those mentioned above are somewhat common. A book proposal increases the chances of success, whether you choose to self-publish or approach traditional publishers.

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Every successful business begins a well-defined business plan. Similarly, to become a successful author you must be supported with an equally great book proposal. These are the basic rules of the game of book publishing. Happy Writing 🙂

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