I’d been aware of the enigmatic document for years. But whenever I’d start to research how to write an actual book proposal, I got overwhelmed.
Besides, I was writing a memoir. While some agents and publishers liked a book proposal, I’d heard that most preferred the memoir itself. Why spend my time writing an overwhelming, difficult document like a book proposal that no one might read, when I’m already wrestling with a vexing memoir?
For years, like the proverbial person opening a closet door to peek at the disorganized stash within, I’d slam the book proposal door shut, vowing to deal with it later.
But recently, I decided to pursue an anthology project that I’ve been contemplating for decades. While it’s hard to get a straight answer about whether memoirists need a book proposal, for the book I had in mind—a nonfiction anthology—I definitely needed one.
As a writer, I love the magic of words. The feeling of transcendence when a piece of writing hits me on a soul level. Gleaming imagery and alliteration and striking metaphors.
I’m less keen on the salesy stuff.
My colleague and friend, Lisa Cooper Ellison, describes a book proposal as a business document that builds a case for the salability of your book. I was fortunate enough to take a class Lisa recently offered on writing a book proposal. Being among a group of other writers who were tackling this document was incredibly helpful.
Overwhelming closet of doom
Image by Julia Joppen via Unsplash
Still, the process, at times, felt much like wading into a closet full of junk. Book proposals usually consist of several different sections, including an overview, a description of the target audience who’d buy the proposed book, a marketing plan, comparable titles, and sample chapters. When I started the class, I was particularly confused about the blurry borders between the target audience and the marketing plan. I also knew I’d made some mistakes as a writer— namely, I’d been inconsistent in building my author platform. Writing the proposal meant taking that out of the closet, staring at it, and deciding how to proceed.
With time, baby steps and Lisa’s fantastic teaching, I began to get a clearer understanding of the different sections of the proposal and which information needed to be included in each.
What I didn’t expect was for writing this beast of a book proposal to supercharge my enthusiasm about the project. I’d figured it would be a dull but necessary slog. But as I wrote and revised the document, blending my personal experience with statistics and research, and reviewed the sample chapters I’d compiled from contributing authors, that’s exactly what happened.
By the time I was ready to send the latest version of the proposal to my co-editor, I’d experienced a significant shift. The proposal became cohesive and convincing. It has an arc, and it clearly demonstrates that there’s an audience for this book. I even found a little room, in this starch-collared business document, for a little creativity, when I realized I could include social media screenshots that demonstrated high engagement on the anthology’s topic.
Writing a book proposal isn’t fun or easy, but I’ve grown to appreciate the value of the process. It wasn’t that different than creative writing—there were days when it all felt like a big mess that would never make sense, and there were other days when the words flowed, and I could see smidges of progress.
But perhaps more importantly, the process of writing a book proposal demands that we clarify what the book is about, why the world needs it now, who will buy it, and how we’ll reach that audience. It requires spending time with each item in the proverbial disaster closet and deciding what’s junk and what’s worth holding onto. And better yet, what’s worth fighting for.
— BACCA writer Lynn Shattuck grew up in a Southeast Alaskan rainforest and is now a Maine-based writer. She’s a columnist at Elephant Journal, where she writes about grief, parenting and wellness. Her essays have been featured in Human Parts, Al Jazeera, P.S. I Love You,The Fix, Vice, Fabric and Mind Body Green.
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