book proposal

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Is Your Big Idea Big Enough For a Book?

Posted by george on September 1, 2009
Posted in: Writing. Tagged: , , . 18 comments

amazon linkHow many times have you been perusing the latest non-fiction at a bookstore or at Amazon and thought, “Man, I could have written that one!”?  I know I sure have.  A title catches my eye and it is soon followed by a Homer Simpson “Doh!” and a slap to the forehead.  Lessons learned.  Now I write down ideas, even if what I have is no more than an idea.  What you really want to know when you have an idea for a non-fiction book is, “Okay, who has done this already (if anyone) and is there room for mine?”  What you need is a competitive market analysis.  Hey!  Wait!  Come back here right now.  There’s no reason to be scared.  I’ll show you what to do.

The steps

  • First, go to Amazon.com . It’s important that you go through the link in the previous sentence so’s I can make some money if you happen to buy anything.  (How’s THAT for full disclosure?)  :-}
  • Go to the search bar and search the subject of your idea.  For my example, I chose “library”.  Okay, 1,183,140 results.  Dang, somebody already wrote a book about libraries…
  • Don’t be discouraged about the number of results.  Trust me, you can cull the herd.
  • If possible, narrow your search a bit by using two to three keywords under the “Advanced Search” tab.  I narrowed by selecting “Library Design”.  Brought my results down to 26,605, it did.
  • Finally, I selected only new, hardcover books published after Jan, 2000.  Now I’m looking at just over 7,000.
  • Here is where the work begins.  You can eliminate academic works, books with titles that are obviously different from your big idea, and books that are exceedingly long or short.

By now, you should have a short list.  These are the books that might have the information you are considering as your big idea.  If you find any that are pretty much identical to your idea, don’t sweat it too much at this stage.  Maybe you’ve got a unique hook or spin.  Your next stop:  The local bookstore.

Field Trip!

Oh, goody.  Any excuse for a trip to the bookstore or library.

Try the bookstore first, since they are more apt to have the best selling books on their shelves.  Find your competitors.  Pick up the book and look at it.  Make note of the cover design, the jacket notes and the format and size of the book.  This should give you ideas for what you would or would not want to do with your book.  Consider purchasing the top two or three competitive titles.  Oh, and remember to use the Amazon link above.  Hehe.

Take copius notes during this process.  Why?  Because an integral part of your book proposal to agents or editors will be a competitive market analysis.  Remember that you are going to have to sell the idea of your book and a solid competitive title analysis shows that you have done your homework.  That can go MILES towards landing you an agent or publisher.

Again, do not be discouraged if you run across competitive titles.  These should inspire you.  They let you know that the idea has merit and marketability.  Your job now is to shine and blow the others out of the water with outstanding content that is freshly unique.

This little piggy went to market

Posted by george on January 30, 2009
Posted in: Writing. Tagged: , , , . 6 comments

The last in a series of how to put together a killer book proposal

In part 2 of this series I discussed which components were important to include as part of your nonfiction book proposal.  Two of the key components I mentioned were Competitive Title Analysis and the all important Market Analysis.

Competitive title analysis

Try not to be too intimidated by the terminology.  A competitive title analysis is simply a review of what other books are out there that are similar to yours in terms of title, subheading or content.  An editor or agent is going to want to see that you have done your homework here, so don’t gloss over this step.

This is also an important step for you as well.  If done correctly, putting together this analysis should help you to laser focus in on your topic.  In this section you need to demonstrate what other books are out there peddling the same thing, what the strengths and weaknesses of those books are, and why yours is so much better.  Usually this involves a different angle or spin on the topic.  Your angle is like a loaf of bread at the deli – fresh sells, day old is half off.

Have some fun with this.  Go to some local booksellers.  Spend some time looking at the books in stock that are similar in topic to your nonfiction title.  What aspects or components do you like or dislike?  Ask the proprietor which titles are really selling right now.

Remember that you are going to have to pitch this sale to an editor or publisher in the future so really come up with an outstanding reason why your nonfiction book would be a welcome addition to the genre.

Oh, and one more thing.  Don’t you dare put in your competitive title analysis anything that resembles, “There are no books like this in today’s market”.  That’s hog wash.  You know it, the editor will know it and it is a sure sign of an amateur hack.

Market Analysis

The publisher or agent is going to want to know who on earth is going to plop down $20 for your book.  It’s a reasonable request.  If a publisher is going to advance you ten grand on an idea, they deserve to know who will be buying it once it gets printed.  So, how are you going to figure this out?  It’s not necessarily very easy, but it can be done.

Your competitive title analysis should have helped bring your idea into a sharp focus.  You need to have an audience in mind.  When you wrote the first chapter, who did you visualize would be reading it?

The most succinct advice is to go where your potential readers are.  Once you have the audience in mind, who are they?  What do they read?  What magazines do they buy?  What associations do they belong to?  What kind of stores do they patronize?

Once you’ve got these questions developed, then the real research can begin.  Determine the number of subscribers to magazines in the genre.  Find the amount of memberships that the organizations have.  Find out what kind of conferences are applicable to your audience and determine their attendance records for the past two years.

Trust me when I say a lot of “potential” authors will not go through the trouble of doing this work.  That’s great news for you.  If you can make this section the strongest part of your proposal, your chances for an enthusiastic YES increase dramatically.

The lesson here is to do your homework.  Do whatever it takes to get that all important affirmative response.  A solid competitive title and market analysis will put you way out in front of the competition.

Wrap up

There is nothing particularly difficult to putting together a killer book proposal.  You are selling an idea.  Keep that concept in mind.  Be professional in your approach and correspondence, do your research and your homework, and you will succeed in your goal.

How to write the killer book proposal

Posted by george on January 27, 2009
Posted in: Writing. Tagged: , , , . 6 comments

Part 2 in a series on how to build a perfect book proposal Head on back to see part 1 here.

In the first part of this series I made the point that the strategy for publication of a nonfiction book is pretty different from your standard Great American Novel strategy. This really should not be any big revelation, after all we are talking about two different products.  I also talked about how selling your book idea on the front end can save you months of frustration through receiving the feedback from the editors and book publishers.  if your idea is whacked out and has no audience, trust me they are all too happy to point this out.

In consideration of your killer nonfiction book proposal, you want to keep a few things in mind:

  • This is a sales pitch.  Treat it that way.  Your idea is for the mostest awesomest baddest nonfiction book ever.  People around the country will be slapping their heads as they slap down their dollars going, “Why didn’t I think of that?”.
  • If you’re too lazy to do the requisite market research, you should not even consider writing the book.  Sorry, but writers read – and do their research.
  • Write, write and re-write.  You did not get in perfect right out of the chute.  Read it again.  Get trusted colleagues who will give you an honest opinion to go over it specifically to look for errors.

What to include:

You want to put together a packet that is professional, complete and as unique as you are.  Be certain all of the following items are included:

  • A cover letter – Think of this like a query letter or the cover letter that you attach to a resume when seeking employment.  Succinctly make the pitch immediately, and then introduce a little information about who you are and briefly state why you are the best person to write the book.
  • An outline – Some editors or agents may want this, others are happy with the first chapter or two.  Make certain you understand the submission guidelines.  If you already have the majority of your book written then an outline may be fairly simple to draft.
  • Sample chapters – Again, review the submission guidelines.  The editor may want something other than the first chapter.
  • Market analysis – Here is where most of us writer types are prone to saying, “Hey, this is my stop!  Let me off the bus!”  The mere mention of the word market may cause fits because we are writers, not Mad Men! (this is a huge topic and will be the subject of part 3, so just hang in there.)
  • A table of contents – Especially important if you do not include an outline.
  • A competitive title analysis – Who else is out there?  Why is your book better?  What are the strengths and weaknesses of the other books?  How does yours take a unique, fresh, new perspective on the topic?

You need to take the time to put these items together in a professional manner.  Leave off your © marks for they are a sign of a true amateur.  The editor KNOWS the work is copyrighted.

Take charge of your career as a writer and learn about  publishing your own book with professional, book-store quality.

Part three of this series will focus on the market analysis and specific submission tips.

Sell your book, then go ahead and write it

Posted by george on January 12, 2009
Posted in: Writing. Tagged: , , , . 13 comments
This is the first post in a series of How to build a perfect book proposal

Uh-oh.   What is that crazy Tumblemoose guy up to now?  He’s puttin’ stuff backwards again.

I guess I can’t blame you for being a bit gun-shy.  I know I’ve got a habit of turning things upside down in order to fit into my own warped little world.

Let me clarify a couple of things.  First, the title is accurate.  Second, I’m referring primarily to your nonfiction book here, but some of the gems may apply to the Great American Novel you are currently penning.

Nonfiction is different

Getting a nonfiction book published requires a little different mindset than getting your novel published.  If you have a great idea for a nonfiction book, you can actually sell it before it is written.  Now, that does not mean that you can sell it without having to write down a single word.  It means that you can put together a chapter or two along with some other basic material and shop it to agents or publishers.

It’s important to realize that you still have a great deal of work to do.  This is not a short cut to easy riches.  What it will do is perhaps save you months of labor writing a book that you think is awesome, but the rest of the world thinks is stinky.  Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Why you should sell first

  1. It really forces you to examine the market for your book and the prospects for success.  The proposal you send to publishers should contain the results of all the marketing research you collect.  You are going to look at who may buy the book and why, what other similar titles are available, and why your book is going to spank any competition that is out there.
  2. The feedback that you receive from editors, agents or publishers is going to be crucial in shaping the actual book.  If the book is accepted, chances are the publisher will have very specific suggestions as to what the book should be in order to best serve the intended market.  If it is rejected by every publisher then there may be a critical flaw in the concept or in your writing ability in the eyes of the publishing community.  With that said, do not give up after a few rejections!
  3. If your proposal is rejected at every turn, it is easier to head a different direction.  It’s a lot better than having to revise the entire book!
  4. One of your responsibilities as an author is to help market your work.  By doing this process on the front end, you will be able to come up with a solid marketing plan based on your research.
  5. The act of putting together a solid proposal builds your confidence in the project and allows you to better identify the best venue for your work.

Part II of the series

Part II of this series will include a look at the components of a smart book proposal.