Congratulations, the agent, and publisher liked what they read in your Cover Letter, and opened the door to the rest of your proposal. Now, you want to make their experience easy and rewarding.
The top three pages most busy agents and publishers look at are the Biographical Sketch, Marketing Plan, and Story Synopsis. Your Table of Contents is the map to get them there fast. A happy agent is a signing agent and publishers like an author who is thorough.
(Always follow the submission guidelines for agents and publishers. You can find them at their website.)
Below is an example of a fiction proposal:
Table of Contents
One Page Sell Sheet…………………………………………………………………………………3
Biographical Sketch………………………………………………………………………………….4
Synopsis…………………………………………………………………………………………………..5
Marketing Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………..9
Competetive Analysis……………………………………………………………………………….10
Marketing Plan…………………………………………………………………………………………12
History of the Manuscript…………………………………………………………………………14
Sample Chapters………………………………………………………………………………………15
In a non-fiction proposal, the “Synopsis” pages will be replaced with, “Chapter Outline.”
Double check your page numbers against the proposal each time you edit.
Next month we look at the One Page Sell sheet and discover why it’s different than a One Sheet.
Meanwhile, if you have any questions about book proposals, email me at editor@thewriteproposal.com.
Cherrilynn Bisbano is an award-winning writer. Her goal is to assist authors on their writing journey.
She is the founder of The Write Proposal book proposal services.
She is managing editor of Stand Firm-Reasons column and co-hosts Fulfilled Prophecy Friday with prophecy speaker Jake McCandless.
She’s the host of Genre Chat where she’s privileged to interview expert writers.
Cherrilynn was Managing Editor at Almost an Author –Top 100 writing websites for 2018.
She loves to teach leadership, book proposals and the bible. Find her biblesSpeakers page at Women Speakers
Leadership Certified and studying Chaplaincy and Business at Christian Leaders Institute
She is a two-time winner of Flash Fiction Weekly. She’s published in many online magazines and contributes to Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers blog. She’s also published in Chicken Soup for the Soul- Miracles, Breaking the Chains and Heart Reno books.
Cherrilynn proudly served in the military for twenty years, earning the John Levitow Military leadership award. She lives with her sixteen-year-old son, Michael, Jr., and husband of 19 years, Michael, Sr. She loves Christ, chocolate, coffee, and cats
We love helping your growing in your writing career.
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