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Welcome back to the How to Get Published Series.
In traditional publishing, fiction and non-fiction are sold in two very different ways. To get an agent or sell a piece of fiction, you need to have a completed manuscript.
So if you want to write fiction, go do it and we'll meet back here for the next part, which is getting an agent (and why you want to have one).
Nonfiction is different: To get an agent or sell a work of nonfiction, you usually write what is called a book proposal and sample chapters, which is what we're going to talk about today.
The reason is pretty simple -- agents (and then publishers) are going to want to tweak and focus nonfiction projects before they're written. It's much harder to guide a project when the author has finished the book (and is holding firm to the idea that her way is the best way to relay the material to the reader). But editors will want to guide the process, because they can see a bigger picture that you can't -- namely, how readers like to receive information based on numerous past projects and past reader reactions.
Remember back when I did the roll call in Part One? It's time for you to go back there and hook up with someone else who wants to write nonfiction on a topic very unlike your own (since she'll be seeing your ideas). Feel free to form online groups of more than two and set up an Google Group to house your exchanges. Or grab someone from your face-to-face world who will read this post and then give you feedback on how well you're hitting the goals.
A book proposal is a formal piece of writing with a format that allows agents (and later, publishers) to scan the document quickly and find what they are looking for. This is not a time to get creative with format and make your proposal into a three-dimensional shoebox diorama. Give the agents exactly what they want. Consider this as important as wearing the proper attire to a meeting.
You will be judged on the look of your proposal. If it's put together in a sloppy manner, if you're recycling an old copy that was sent back to you from an agent who rejected it (but covered it first with coffee stains), or if it doesn't contain the necessary information, it doesn't matter how brilliant your idea is -- no one will want to work with you. Agents are looking for an easy reason to reject your work. Don't give it to them.
All proposals contain these parts (and this is the order I give them):
- Overview: 5 pages or so on what the book is about (definitely could be shorter, but not longer).
Spend a lot of time writing this part, because it's the first thing the agent reads and you want to pull them in. Do you have a shocking statistic? Put it at the front of the overview to point out how important it is that people read your book. You can start it with an anecdote. The point is to give the agent a taste of your writing style while also telling them about the book. Think of it this way: If you only had three minutes to sit down with and convince an agent to represent your book, what would you say?
Keep the writing formal -- in other words, third person. And make sure you say how many words you predict will be in the book to give a sense of size and how long you'll need to write the book from the time you sign the contract. Use this space to get the agent excited about the project.
- Markets for the Book: In other words, who the hell would want to buy your book? Give statistics and get creative.
For my nonfiction infertility book, I pointed out that the book would be helpful for those experiencing infertility, but it was also a book that doctors, nurses, adoption agency directors, therapists, and family members might want to read, too. Is there a specific place/conference where your book could be sold (a biography of Dolly Parton? Might be good to sell that at Dollywood)?
- Competitive Books: What books currently on the market would be competition for your
