The Place For My Writers Notes

Writer's Digest, July 1991, pages 33-37, has an article by Robert W. Bly about your book proposal. Now, it's aimed at nonfiction books and traditional publishing, but it's still kind of interesting to consider. Basically, he suggests that publishers have five key questions that you need to answer. How do you convince them that your idea for a book is a great idea that they want to pursue. So, what are the five questions?

1. Is there a large enough audience interested in this topic to justify publishing the book?

This is probably one of the places where indie publishing and traditional publishing may diverge. Traditional publishing wants a large enough audience. Indie publishing can be more targeted. Still, you need to think about your audience no matter which route you are taking. Who do you think will be reading this? How many of them are there?

2. Is this a book – or a magazine article?

Bly has an example of an idea that he had that didn't quite work as a book. The time to write and publish a book, and the amount of material, just didn't match. But, it made a good booklet. So take a look at your idea, and think about what the right avenue is for it. Book, article, booklet, nowadays we need to add blog posting, podcast, even YouTube video as possible outlets.

So how can you figure it out? Well, first, see if there are other books like it. Check out the library to see what else has been written about it. If there's lots of stuff, then the topic is pretty meaty, there's a good chance that you have enough material. Third, take a look at your topic, and try organizing the information into chapters. How would you explain the topic and present the information? What are the major categories? Go ahead and make up an outline. This can help you figure out whether you've got a book or just an article.

Incidentally, this same approach can help you decide if you have a novel or short story! After all, if you start to sketch out the ideas, and it's just one short notion, maybe you don't have a novel there. 

3. What's different – or better – about your book?

Go ahead and put together an overview of your idea. What is the book about, who is it written for, and what's going to be in it. And then make sure to tell yourself and the editor why your book is unique, different, better. You need a hook, something that makes your book stand out. You might want to list some competing books, and consider how yours is different.

4. Will people pay the price for this book?

Bly includes some price figures for hardcover nonfiction, trade paperback, and so forth. Again, this is more important for traditional publishing, but even indie publishing needs to consider are people going to put down their money or not. What will people get, will they decide that this was a good investment? I know some people have pointed out that you're competing for their beer money. Or maybe it's their relaxation time.

5. Why should the publisher hire you to write it?

Why are you uniquely qualified to write this book? Consider your writing credentials, and your expert credentials. If you're submitting a proposal for traditional publishing, tell the publisher about your expertise as an author. Also, point out to them why you are an authority, your experience makes you the right person to write this book. Admittedly, you can do research, and you don't have to know everything. But you do need some knowledge to write the book.

So, how big is the audience, how big is the idea, what's special about it, will people be willing to spend their time and money on it, and why are you the right person to write this book. Five big questions, and thinking through your answers to them can help you decide whether this idea is something you want to do right now, or maybe put away for later.

By the way, there's a sidebar on page 35 that lists several sections for your book proposal. It starts with the title page, just a cover sheet with the title, name of the author, and contact information. Next is the overview, what is your book about, who's going to read it, why is it important to them, and what is different about your book. Third is specifications, how big you think it's going to be, how many chapters, graphics, anything else about the book you expect to write. Fourth is the market, who's going to buy it, how many of them are there, and why are they going to buy it. Fifth is promotion, how do you think it should be promoted. These are suggestions for the publisher, not necessarily things you're going to do yourself. Six is competition. What other books are like this, and how is yours better? Seven is your bio, writing credentials, and your qualifications for this book. Finally, the eighth part is an outline or table of contents.

It's interesting to think about your fiction novel idea in terms of these questions. And just think, if you're doing indie publishing, you know the publisher, so you might have an easier job convincing him that you know how to answer all these questions. Still, you probably need to make sure you have the answers for him.

Exercise? The obvious one is to take your work in progress or an idea you've had, and try working your way through these five questions, putting together the answers. When you get done, you may want to go ahead and write the article, book, or whatever!