Book Proposal

A book proposal is usually used as a pitch to sell your book to a publisher before it is written. However, it can also serve other purposes:

  • It provides the overall vision for your project.
  • It is a great tool to reference while you are writing.
  • It helps you to narrow your focus – this is specifically achieved by choosing your audience and then narrowing that audience down to one person (ie: middle aged believer who is faltering in their faith – or – 25 yo believer who is a babe in Christ). By writing to one person, you are able to make it more relatable to your reader (no matter who they are).
  • It will helps your editors understand the foundation of your book and your style of writing.
  • It helps me, as your publisher, ensure your book stays on the right track.
  • It provides information that you will later need for getting your book up for sale. For instance, the reader benefits can be used on the back cover in the blurb. Other items include an author biography, book topic categories, and description

The following is a book proposal template that is provided courtesy of Destiny Writers.
You can copy and paste it into a new Word document and fill it in. This is required of all Red Door Sentinel authors.

Book Proposal Template

Working Title (and Subtitle):

Author:

One Sentence Description: What is your book about in one sentence? This is your elevator speech. (one sentence)

Mission: What do you seek to accomplish with the writing of this book?                           (one sentence)

Overview: What is the background to this book? Where did the idea come from? What do you plan to write about? (about 250 words)

Premise: What is the purpose in writing this book? Why is this book necessary? What need will it meet? (about 250 words)

Audience: To whom are you writing this book? Describe this person in great detail.  Why did you choose this person? (one paragraph)

Category: Where would someone find this book by doing a topical search on Amazon? (e.g. Christian Living/Spiritual Growth). Do an Amazon search. What other titles are out there that are similar to your book?

Reader Benefits: What benefit can the reader expect from reading this book?  (3-5 bullet points)

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Author Information: Why are you the best person to write this book? What are your qualifications? (3-5 bullet points)

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Author Bio.: Write a brief description introducing yourself to the reader. Be sure to establish your credibility as an authority on the material presented in the book.

Structure of the book: How will the material in the book be presented?

            Front matter: (examples – Table of Contents, Preface, Foreword, Introduction)

            Back matter: (examples – Appendices, Indexes, Study Guide, Answer Key)

Graphic Artist/Cover Designer

After signing a contract with RDS, we will get to work right away on the items listed below:

  • Complete a book proposal
  • Come up with a title & subtitle
  • General ideas of the cover design (overall mood, feminine/masculine, light/dark, type of image, etc)
  • Choose a few commercially available fonts that you like
    • The font you choose for your author name is important. Think of it as your signature that you will use on all the rest of the books you produce.
  • Write a back blurb
  • Obtain a professional picture of yourself
  • Compose a short biography
  • Determine needed interior artwork (chapter title pages, etc.)
  • Rough idea of page count (finalized page count will be given when formatting is done)

Once these are gathered, RDS will send them to the Graphic Artist (GA). We will receive back a quote and either engage in a contract or find a different GA.

Once a contract is signed, the GA will work with the author on the cover, back matter, and interior artwork. All correspondence needs to include RDS. A few things to keep in mind when reviewing your cover:

  • Spelling is correct
  • All lines that are centered line up with each other
  • Horizon is level/straight

There will be an interim time after all the graphics are completed and before the page count is finalized (while editing and formatting is completed). The GA will not complete the project until given a final page count.

The following files are needed from the GA:

File containing Type File size   Used for
Front cover, spine, back (with blank space for barcode) .pdf   color paperback
Front cover
(white background needs thin black border)
.jpg < 50MB
2,560 x 1,600 pixels
300 PPI
color eBook
** .jpg thumbnail color eBook
Full title page (same as front cover with RDS logo at bottom) .jpg large b&w paperback
** .jpg small color (rgb) eBook
Title & subtitle page .jpg large b&w paperback
** .jpg small color (rgb) eBook
Title only page .jpg large b&w paperback
** .jpg small color (rgb) eBook
Chapter title artwork .jpg large b&w paperback
** .jpg small color (rgb) eBook

** = same as above

Items in the table above are for Kindle Direct Publishing. More of their paperback cover requirements can be found here.

eBook cover requirements are here.

We will not finalize work with the GA until the proof copy paperback is reviewed. Seeing it as an actual book is different than what you see on a computer screen.

Marketing Overview

Whether you self publish or not, you are going to have to do your own marketing.

Web page – Have a web site that is the same exact name as your author name.  You can buy a domain name that is the same name as your book and tie it to your author site. You can set up a web site through Google Sites for

Facebook –  If you already have a Facebook account, simply add an Author page. Do not try to create a new account unless you have two phone numbers. Each account in Facebook is tied to a phone number. Facebook is more for the older crowd

Instagram &Twitter – This is where a lot of people hang out, including the younger crowd.

GoodReads – Most certainly get set up in GoodReads. Reviews from here are shared on other sites.

Excellent Product

The #1 marketing advice I can give you is to have an excellent product!

Think about the old Christian movies (without wrinkling your nose!). Although the messages were really good, the products often were not. Compare those to movies of today like The Passion that grossed over a half a billion dollars! That movie did well because it was an excellent product.

The same applies to books. Especially YOUR book. Do you want it to be an old B rated film, or The Passion? Even with a small budget, the latter is possible.

When I was a girl learning to sew, my Mom told me to look at the mark at the other end of my fabric while cutting. Every time, this resulted in cutting a straight line! I encourage you to look ahead to the mark of excellence. By keeping your eye on excellence, no matter what part of the book creation process you are in, you will make an outstanding quality book.

Some pointers:

  • Don’t rely on your friends to give you honest advice. Your friendship probably means more to them than telling you the truth about your baby. Join Facebook author groups to get strangers’ advice on everything from your cover design, back blurb, bio, or character development.
  • Communicate your desires clearly with the people you hire (editor, cover designer, etc.). It’s OK to insist on good quality.
  • Hire a cover designer that has experience doing book covers. Your cover is the very first impression of your book.
  • Don’t do all of your own editing – even if you’re an English school teacher! You will become blind to grammar mistakes, confusing wording, and much else. Hire a professional.
  • Research and mimick what big-name authors are doing. Go to a book store, Amazon, or their websites. Research their cover designs, book formatting, style, web site design, events, social media posts, etc.

Self Promotion

Don’t get all humble when it comes to self promotion – you’ll only hurt yourself by not getting your book out there.

Here are some ideas:

  • Talk about your book! It’s your passion – when you talk about what it’s about, that passion will get others excited about it.
  • When people ask what you do, you can now say, “I’m an author!”
  • Publish in all forms possible – paperback, eBook, and audio.
  • Take paperback copies every where you go. I have a box in my car and I take copies on all my trips.
  • Give away your book – paperbacks and eBooks. I keep Kindle, iBook, and .pdf versions in my Dropbox account so I can share it quickly through someone’s email address.
  • Ask people to write you a review. Keep asking! Your reviews help sell your book to people you don’t know.
  • Promote other authors – setup organized events for local authors, promote their books online, talk to people about their books. Be generous!
  • Give a copy of your book to local libraries and see if local book stores will carry it.
  • Get it into the hands of influential people.
  • Give out business cards or bookmarks that advertise your book.