Every writer needs to know how to write a good book proposal that will stand out and capture the attention of potential agents and publishers.
Consequently, when I appear at writers conferences and seminars, book proposals are often on the agenda. I frequently offer my critiques of selected book proposals submitted in advance — in remarks I make to the whole group as a way to provide information that’s relevant to all writers.
This has proved to be a popular and helpful exercise, so we thought we’d try something similar here on The Book Deal.
We’re calling this new feature My Proposal Critiques, and it will appear periodically, depending on demand.
You’re invited to submit a proposal
You’re all invited to send in an abbreviated 15-page proposal, fiction or non-fiction, which should include the following elements:
1. “Hook” or overview (one page)
2. Chapter outline (three pages)
3. Platform (one page)
4. Writing sample consisting of the first ten pages of the book
Please take a look at an earlier post, The book proposal: Here’s what publishers want for more detail on each of these elements. Again, please keep in mind that for the purpose of this evaluation, you’ll be submitting an abbreviated version — no more than 15 pages total.
When you’re ready, send the 15 pages as a single Word document email attachment to me at: In the email’s subject line please write: My Proposal Critique.
Grab me by the throat
For each segment of My Proposal Critiques, I’ll select a couple of representative proposals that I think will be most instructive to discuss, in terms of their strengths and weaknesses. I’ll draw certain generalities about what gets an agent’s or publisher’s attention when they receive a proposal, and will include my own recommendations for improvement.
For example, when I read the overview, do the first sentences grab me by the throat? Does it strike me as compelling, and original? Is there passion and confidence? Am I persuaded that the author is the best person to write this book? Why? Or, why not?
Then I’ll take a look at the chapter outline and how it describes each scene in each chapter. Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, I’ll be looking for the narrative arc, with a beginning, middle and end.
I’ll offer my take on how I think agents or editors might respond to the author’s platform and ability to market the book online, direct to readers.
And what about the writing sample itself? Does it live up to the expectations and promises of the proposal? If not, what’s wrong with it and how can it be improved?
On some occasions I may include a critique of a proposal for a book I’ve actually signed up. We’ll take a look at what worked so well and what we can learn from it.
Listen in
My Proposal Critiques will appear here in the form of an audiocast, a new format for us. We hope it all works smoothly.
I’ll be basing my remarks on whatever you send, so if you feel the need to be anonymous about any details, for example the title or other identifying features, please make any changes before you submit. Once it reaches me, I’ll assume that you’ve given me permission to comment freely in my critique. I’ll be presenting each proposal without the author’s name, in any case, though I anticipate including details from the platform section.
The proposals will not be reprinted here, and I’ll be recording only my comments and evaluation of each selected proposal under review.
Will yours be selected?
I’ll be looking at everything that comes in, though I regret that time limitations will prevent me from responding to all submissions. So, not every proposal can be critiqued. But all selected for evaluation here on the blog will have relevance for how to improve your own proposal.
We’ll be looking for your feedback in comments to shape this feature according to what you’d find most useful. So let us know if you want to see more of this or that.
OK, send in that proposal, and stay tuned.
To listen to round one, go to Proposal critiques: A novel and a children’s book series
For round two, go to Proposal critiques: An adventure novel, a biography and a self-help book
For the third and final installment, go to Proposal critiques: 3 novels, a biography, a children’s book and an academic treatise
Update: Proposal Critiques over for now
I want to thank everyone who participated, and hope these critiques continue to be useful to readers.
Mr. Rinzler,
I understand why you would have stopped your offering. May I share with you how grateful I am for your guidance anyway? I studied your various ideas and put them into life experiences by preparing my proposal and my book. New to the writing industry, your advice and what their eyes (publisher’s) seek has been invaluable to me. Thanks for all your help and may God bless you.
Hi Nancy,
Sorry to say we stopped offering the free critique service more than a year ago. But regarding your problem, if you are writing either fiction or non-fiction about real people who are not celebrities, you either need to disguise them completely beyond any chance of recognition, or get a formal release that can be provided to you by any publishing attorney to portray them in your book. This goes for people who are no longer living, too, if there is an estate or descendants who might be concerned about the subject’s reputation or privacy, or involved on any level. Also, I wouldn’t assume that anyone would love to be in your book since what you write may displease them in some way down the road, or they may see a book succeed and wonder why they never had a share of its earnings.
Good luck and keep writing.
Wow, I can’t believe it was over a year, May 1st, 2009, when I asked you my last question. I still can’t make up my mind to use people’s real names or not. As a fiction, you suggest I shouldn’t. Now I have heard there is a category called unauthorized biographies, if my father’s stories have been stretched or embellished can I use the real names under a category like that or? I’m researching to find a form that will ask for permission from these people if they are still alive. If they have passed, do I need to get permission from the family? Is there a template out there that can be used as that legal authorization? This group of people just might enjoy having their names printed in a book (Native American. I see it as a marketing tool, the more people you list, the more sales. Am I just naive? I’m at the point of sending you my proposal for a critique. Sure hope you pick mine. Thanks!
So if I’m reading correctly, if we submit our proposal (I’ve been agonizing over it for months now.) It may or may not be critiqued due to time constraints, but if it is critiqued it will be posted for everyone to see (Gulp!) so that everyone can learn from it? The entire book proposal or just chunks?
I’m ready to stand up for my work…I’m just terrified simultaneously of posting it out there for everyone to just hack at…but naturally, I understand that art is always up for slaughter…
Hi Alan,
Thank you for your ideas about agents, and the additional info on “platform-building”, all great information. I have been listening to your podcast critiques as well, and realized I need to better define my proposal. So I am going to be working on that. Once I get that completed I’ll probably send off a proposal for evaluation consideration :-)
Thanks again,
Ritama
Hi Ritama-
I recommend to authors that they approach publishers only through a literary agent, who can best represent and protect their interests. How do you get an agent? The first step is to write an original and compelling book proposal.
The next step is to take that proposal and seek representation. A solid platform will help your case. Check this link for some helpful suggestions: https://alanrinzler.com/2008/06/07/build-your-author-platform-10-tips-from-a-pro/
The bigger your platform, the more likely you are to attract an agent and publisher — as well as to achieve your broader goals. In general, book publishers don’t get involved with merchandising (except as licensers,) or creating websites and affiliate networks.
If you’d like to submit an abbreviated 15-page book proposal here, we’ll consider it for a free evaluation under “My Proposal Critiques.” Be sure to look at the guidelines as laid out in this post.
-Alan
Dear Alan,
Wow! Jackpot offer! Would love to submit, but want to mention some things to you first.
I have a proposal ready for a non-fiction book and my idea is to create a multi-merchandising/community platform – let’s call it an “omniverse” – around the book and to launch other aspects of this omniverse in tandem with the publishing of the book.
I am envisioning:
• The book
• A branded product line based on the subject matter of the book.
• A website to sell the products and also to offer free resources, videos, forums, etc. It will be a “go-to” destination site where people can get everything they need in one place to create the experiences the book talks about.
• A community base of affiliates with people having parties at their homes to sell products and share their experiences with the concepts offered in the book.
I am a having trouble figuring out whom to target to review the proposal and omniverse concepts. A couple of weeks ago I send out a proposal to a large publishing house – to their General Submissions department. After I sent it I got the feeling I might as well have stuck a message in a bottle and tossed it in the ocean – really having no idea if this approach is a constructive use of my time when I should perhaps be looking into other options to make this happen.
Basically, I am looking for (hoping for) ONE entity to work with that will be able to guide me in this process and work with me to get everything accomplished. Is this possible? Should I be looking at publishing houses? Do they do this kind of thing, or just strictly books? Or do I need an agent / agency skilled in multiple-merchandising-platforms?
I’ve perused your site, and it’s obvious you know an incredible amount about this business. So, I am hoping you can offer some guidance about where to direct my energy in this process.
I know I haven’t mentioned what the book is about. Let me know if you’d like to know more, I would be happy to tell you about it. I would also be thrilled to send the proposal to you for a critique.
Thank you for this generous offer of your time and expertise,
Ritama
Dear Nancy
You have license to embellish and restructure and do whatever else is necessary to write a fictional story, but you should not use the real names, since it’s no longer a memoir but a novel. People have been known to get upset about being placed in a situation which is fictionalized and therefore not completely true in their eyes.
Take care,
Alan
I am new to the field and have no formal education in writing. I hope it is okay to ask you a question outside the realm of this current blog. I am writing a book about the stories my father shared of his childhood. He had a tendancy to embellish his stories. Since he is no longer with us, I have had to do quite a bit of embellishing myself to complete areas of the stories that I can’t ask him about. Would I approach the book proposal as a fiction or non-fiction? I would rather do it as fiction because I know how stories get exaggerated, like the size of the fish you caught. However, I have used the real names of people that were involved. Will you advise me accordingly?
Sincerley,
Nancy Rodrigues
Dear Alan,
A fascinating and pleasurable blog, especially for a veteran editor and still largely unpublished writer like me, and I plan to submit a proposal for critique. Thank you!
I’m also looking forward to the third installment of your experience with Hunter Thompson. Aside from the insight you provide into his personality as a writer, it delighted me to know that editors who work at the top of the publishing world have the same experiences as those of us who work down below. I came to know an excellent writer, a historian, who loved me because I justifiably took such a light pencil to his copy. But my real work lay elsewhere. Once I had to sit down with him for twelve solid hours on the eve of a deadline, editing each page as it came out of the typewriter. He completed the last page at 2:30 in the morning, and I handed his manuscript to the typesetter five hours later.
I did, however, have the opportunity once to work with a well-known author–if “work” even applies to the situation. He was Louis L’Amour, and before I could even suggest a few small changes to his generally wandering essay, word came from his big-time agent that “no one is to touch Mr. L’Amour’s copy” if we wanted to use it at all. I didn’t work for a big-time publisher, so I obeyed. For all its aimlessness, though, his essay was notable in being one of the very few pieces of nonfiction he ever wrote, and it appeared years later in an anthology of western writing. It was not as taut as his fiction, but, hey, it was Louis L’Amour!
David
You are an amazing and generous man, Alan. I think you will be swamped. Good luck!
~jon
Oh, if only time allows!
bb –
For this exercise, please follow the directions laid out in the post — no more than 15 pages total, with all elements included.
– Alan
Thanks for that information. It’s very helpful.
One further question regarding this:
My current plot point outline is roughly 15 pages long.
Should I condense it for the purpose of showing a “chapter outline” (and make it 3-5 pages)
wherein I could outline the major sequence of events but not every sequence (which it details in its fuller
format)?
Again, thanks.
-bb
Hi bb –
If your plot point is a clear sequence of events and not a summary or synthesis it would be in fact a chapter outline, so that’s ok. What’s essential is a linear progression of each scene in the book.
– Alan
Thanks Alan,
Would a plot point outline be sufficient in that case?
-bb
Hi bb –
Agents or publishers will want to evaluate your ability to plan the book with some kind of coherent structure. If you don’t have formal chapters, perhaps you have some other way indicating the parts and pauses between sections of the book. This is essential and shouldn’t be omitted if you want professionals to consider your work.
– Alan
What a great thing to do, Alan. It’s always a pleasant surprise when agents/editors go above and beyond to help educate writers. Plus, it gives us excellent fodder to use against the anon bloggers who like to dis on agents and editors as being selfish and uncaring toward writers. Looking forward to the things you have to say with this endeavor.
Hi Alan,
VERY cool of you.
Question:
What if you don’t have formal chapters?
Would you suggest a three page synopsis in that case?
-bb
What a wonderful opportunity for writers, shall we dub this brave and noble quest “Gonzo-Editorialism”?
M.D. Fields
Hi Joel –
No deadline. Just submit when you’re ready. This was designed to be ongoing and we’ll see how it develops.
-Alan
Thank you for the opportunity.
What is the deadline for submissions?
Oh my…my instinct is to drop everything and submit a proposal for the book I want to finish and haven’t. Which would include polishing up the plot ending (for the chapter outline). But what a great opportunity and a generous offer. Thank you. If I can get to it, I will.
Dear, sweet man. How kind of you to truly put yourself out there, by being so open to receive what may come in the form of a proposal.
I’m currently involved in re-writes and hope that I’ll be able to take you up on your offer very soon.
Sincerely, thank you for your generousity. I am over thrilled, and find it amazing, a-mazing.