How to Write a Book Proposal

The Source for Book Proposals Success!

How to Write a Book Proposal is THE resource for getting your work published. This newly revised edition of the Writer's Digest Books classic outlines how to create an effective, nonfiction book proposal in a clear, step-by-step manner. You'll learn the keys to a successful book proposal and how to:

Test-market the potential of a book idea and effectively communicate that potential in a proposal
Choose the best agents and editors for a particular proposal
Create a professional-looking proposal package
Predispose publishers to make their best offer

Notes agent and author Michael Larsen also provides insider insights into the publishing industry as well as a plethora of newly updated information including:

Recent changes in the publishing industry
Updated trend information
New sample proposals
Expanded instructions for creating outlines

You'll also find complete guidelines to becoming an effective self-promoter. How to Write a Book Proposal is a must-have for every writer!

Customer Reviews:

A must-have book for writing book proposals

By Petula Renee Wright "PetulaW.com" - January 17, 2013

I've read my share of book proposals and books about writing book proposals. A good number of them are intimidating, difficult to understand and cause a new and unpublished author of nonfiction to rethink their approach to this "book thing." That isn't the case with the 4th edition of How to Write a Book Proposal by literary agent Michael Larsen.

Larsen's book is definitely the one you'll want to add to your personal library and refer back to when you're writing a book proposal. The 100,000 copies sold and its 25 years in print is probably a hint to its popularity and success, and it doesn't hurt that it's written as a precise and clear step-by-step roadmap to the ideal book proposal.

The book highlights information about changes in the publishing industry and includes updated trends, sample proposals and resources as well as a new chapter on online promotion. That's just like a Writer's Digest classic to make sure its new edition stays on top of what's... read more

Helpful!

By M. Brinson - October 11, 2011

Being an unpublished writer, I was looking forward to reviewing the 4th edition of How to Write a Book Proposal by Michael Larsen. This book is easy to read, filled with relevant examples. This Writer's Digest classic outlines in a clear step-by-step manner how to create an effective nonfiction book proposal. This edition of the book features information about recent changes in the publishing industry, updated trend information, new sample proposals, a completely updated resources section, and a new chapter on online promotion. This book is a comprehensive how-to guide filled with lists, bullet points, dos and don'ts, hot tips, and sample proposals that will help writers create a winning proposal. The information in this book is well organized and presented in a way that the layperson can easily understand and apply. Larsen covers subjects such as Your Subject Hook, Your Title, Your Promotion Plan, Your Bio, and Your Competition. He also provides tips on marketing and research, as... read more

THE END. Now what?

By Ramboette "Anythingspossible" - August 19, 2012

If you're like me you love to write. But when it comes to writing something to promote me, I'm stuck. I've written resumes, biographies and the like for other people and they are amazed at themselves after I get done describing them and their talents, but "tooting my own horn" is very difficult for me. This book showed me how to tell the world that I can write and my writing is worth reading. I couldn't have wiggled my way through this part of the process without this book.