The Weekend Book Proposal: How to Write a Winning Proposal in 48 Hours and Sell Your Book

by Ryan G. Van Cleave

Overview

Write Better Proposals Faster to Accelerate Your Writing Career!

Whether you are a true beginner or a seasoned writer looking to secure more book contracts, The Weekend Book Proposal shows you how to take your best ideas and create powerful proposals—quickly and professionally. No need to spend months laboring over a proposal when in just a few days you can write one that will ignite the interest of agents and editors.

Ryan G. Van Cleave presents the tools you need to craft an eye-grabbing proposal for your nonfiction, memoir, anthology, textbook, novel, and more. Jam-packed with proven strategies, nuts-and-bolts advice, sample queries and proposals, interviews with publishing experts, and "Hit the Gas" tips for speeding up the proposal process, The Weekend Book Proposal will show you how to succeed and prosper as a writer—and sell your books before you've even written them!

The Weekend Book Proposal explains how to:

 • Write a catchy title and book description.
 • Create a compelling author bio and chapter outline.
 • Develop a targeted, engaging concept statement.
 • Build a strong marketing plan and endorsements list.
 • Structure your proposals based on those crafted by successful authors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781599637570
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/13/2014
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 5.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Ryan G. Van Cleave is the author of more than twenty books, including Memoir Writing for Dummies and the award-winning YA novel Unlocked. He is the Coordinator of Creative Writing at the Ringling College of Art + Design in Sarasota, Florida, where he lives with his wife, two daughters, and a feisty Shih Tzu named Ladybug. Find out more about his work at www.ryangvancleave.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part 1 The Proposal 5

Chapter 1 Book Proposals: Some Basics and Background 6

Chapter 2 Consider the Audience: Creating Elevator Pitches, Timely Topics, and Well-Structured Books 16

Chapter 3 Snappy Titles: How to Create Interest from the Start 31

Chapter 4 Market Analysis: Which Readers-and How Many of Them-Need This Book? 44

Chapter 5 Taking on the Competition: What Makes This Book Special? 55

Chapter 6 Publicity Campaigns: What Can I Do to Help Sell Copies? 69

Chapter 7 Author Background: Who Am I to Write This Book? 87

Chapter 8 Manuscript Samples: The Lowdown on Size, Strategy, and Sizzle 97

Chapter 9 Endorsements: Which Big-Name People Will Endorse Your Book? 103

Chapter 10 The Pitch: Getting a Foot in the Door with a Dynamite Query Letter 113

Chapter 11 Nuts and Bolts: Front and Back Matter, Formatting, and More 133

Part 2 Sample Proposals 144

Chapter 12 The Nonfiction Book Proposal: Two Annotated Examples 145

Chapter 13 The Novel Proposal: Two Annotated Examples 170

Chapter 14 The Anthology Proposal: Two Annotated Examples 183

Chapter 15 The Memoir Proposal: An Annotated Example 195

Chapter 16 The Textbook Proposal: An Annotated Example 207

Part 3 Insider Advice 211

Chapter 17 Interviews with Two Editors 212

Chapter 18 Interviews With Two Literary Agents 218

Chapter 19 Ten Insider Tips That Might Mean the Difference Between Success and Disaster 224

Appendix A Suggested Reading 235

Appendix B Web Resources 244

Index 246