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