Writing a Killer Book Proposal Seminar

A strong novel proposal is your key to the world of publishing. Whether you are looking for an agent or marketing your latest completed work, a solid proposal is necessary to open the doors to those who can propel your writing career to a reality. But what, exactly, goes into a proposal? And how do you know if it is compelling enough to capture the reader’s attention? What makes one proposal better than another? How do I separate myself from the midst of the pack?

This 8 week online class combines written instruction with hands-on coaching to help you craft a proposal worthy of the book it represents. By the end of the class you will have drafted a complete proposal – from cover letter to sample chapters – and will understand how best to research just who should receive it.

The individual lessons in this seminar include:

Lesson One: Elements of a Proposal

By looking at actual proposals used to sell several different novels to major US publishers, we’ll determine the elements of a successful proposal and what those elements are designed to do on your behalf.

Lesson Two: Understanding How a Book is Acquired

Getting an editor to like your proposal is just the beginning of the acquisition process and understanding what goes on at an editorial meeting is vital to crafting a solid proposal. Using real world examples from the sales of several of my novels, as well as the failure of a major project that I thought was a sure-fire win and wasn’t, we’ll examine the acquisition process in detail.

Lesson Three: Defining What Your Book is Really About

First and foremost, you must have a solid understanding of what your book is about. Not what happens to whom, which is simply plot, but what you are actually trying to say and why you want to say it. Knowing what your book is really about is the first step to writing a killer proposal.

Lesson Four: Writing the Summary Sheet

A summary sheet is a one page summarization that forms the skeleton of your proposal and contains basic information about the work on offer – size, genre, intended audience, completion date, summary logline, etc. We’ll write and edit a summary sheet to serve as the skeleton of your proposal.

Lesson Five: Writing the Synopsis

If the summary sheet is the skeleton, then the synopsis is the life blood running through its veins. A present tense summation of the key events in your story, the synopsis is vital to convincing the editor/agent that your work is worth pursuing. If your novel is well structured, writing the synopsis is a relatively easy task. If it’s not, this exercise will point out the weaknesses you need to correct in order to make it so.

Lesson Six: Writing the Market Evaluation and About the Author Sections

Having a strong synopsis and compelling story is just the start – you also have to show the marketing and sales teams why it makes financial sense to invest in your project. Understanding the current market and identifying successful books in that market is important, but you must also go one step further and show why your work is different enough to create a unique opportunity for success.

If you have previous credits, writing the “about the author” section of your proposal is a relatively easy exercise. But what if you are unpublished? What can you possibly say about yourself to interest an editor? Should you include that story published on the net or in that royalty-only anthology? Find the answer to these questions and more as we draft an author’s bio for your proposal.

Lesson Seven: Sample Chapters and the Chapter Outline

Once you’ve interested the editor with your synopsis you’ve got to grab them with your sample chapters. This lesson will examine the first three chapters of your book and determine whether they are strong enough to hook the editor into wanting more.

Lesson Eight: Now What?

Now that you have a completed proposal, you need to determine who to send it to. This lesson will cover various research techniques used to uncover those agents and editors who would be interested in looking at your proposal and the best ways to contact them

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

New Writers – a completed novel-length work (60,000 – 120,000 words)

Experienced writers (those with at least one book length project published through an advance paying publisher) – a solid understanding of what your book is about and the first several chapters of the work in progress.

Space is limited so sign up now!

The cost of the workshop is $150.00.  (HWA members are eligible for a discounted rate.)