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Book Proposal Form
BOOK CONTENT
1.)Titles. Please list 2-3 possible titles and subtitles for
your book.
2.) Content Summary -- In two to four paragraphs, please
describe your book, its purpose,
approach, and content. What prompted you to write the book now?
Describe any significant trends,
events or current news relating to the subject matter of your
book. What are the outstanding,
distinctive, or innovative features of the book?
3.) Brief Description. Please describe your book in one
sentence.
4.) Table of Contents -- Please provide a table of contents
here, with a brief description or 2-4
bullet points for each chapter. Think of the table of contents
as one of the key marketing documents
for your book, and try to make each chapter title so interesting
to a potential reader that a reader
might buy your book just to get the information in that chapter.
Chapter titles may be "catchy" but
more importantly, they should be explanatory and promise to
solve a problem of acute concern to
the reader. Examples:
Is Strategy X Right For Your Organization? The Politics of
Strategy X: Preparing Leaders to Launch and Guide the Effort Ten
Steps to Implementing Strategy X in a Service Business
Seven Common Reasons Strategy X Fails
5.) Introduction Please attach, preferably in MS Word format,
the first draft of the Introduction to
the bookapproximately 5-10 pages. The Introduction should tell
the reader:
What problem this book will solve for the reader or what
significant benefit the reader will getfrom the book: why the
reader should spend their valuable time reading this book; why
the
message of the book is important;
the main ideas in the book Your background and experience that
qualify you to write this book. Convince the reader that
you understand their problems and have the experience and
expertise to solve them in this book
6.) Sample chapters. Please attach, preferably in MS Word
format, any additional chapters you
have already completed that will help give me a feel for the
book, even if they are not in final form.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
7.) Please provide a bio here.
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8.) List any other books you have published or are under
contract. What was the price, the
publisher, number of copies sold? Please send me a copy of your
most important book.
MARKETING
9.) Your Audience Who are you writing for? And most important,
why will they buy, keep, and talk
about your book? What benefits will your book offer -- and which
ones can't they get elsewhere? It's
important to describe your audience -- and their motivation to
buy -- as specifically as possible.
10.) Sales/Marketing Handles a) In one sentence, describe the
major selling point or benefit of
your book, as distinct from the content of the book. What will
make someone want to buy your
book?
11.) List 5-10 terse, hard-hitting, flashy benefits the reader
will gain from this book or reason a
reader might buy it. (Try to write in brief phrases that could
be used as bulleted exclamation points
on the jacket or in direct-marketing promotions.)
12.) Author Marketing and Sales Opportunities
One of the most powerful marketing tools for any book is the
public speaking and visibility of the
author. Do you give speeches, or hold seminars more than just a
few times annually? (If so, how
often, to what groups and what are the audience sizes? How many
people might you typically
address over the course of a year?) If possible, please provide
a schedule of your speaking
appearances (past or present). Do you make regular appearances
in print, on radio or television
that might help promote you and the book? Do you have an active
blog? Newsletter? If so, what is
the size and frequency of distribution? What other
initiatives/relationships will you be able to
leverage to promote and create buzz for the book?
13.) Supporting Materials
Please mention any press clippings mentioning you or your work,
newsletters you publish,
brochures of conferences where you are a featured speaker--or
any other material that would help
support the importance and visibility of your work in the
content area of your book.
14.) Comparison with Key Competition List 3-4 competing books
(preferably books which have
been bestsellers or have been highly visible/influential in your
content area) and positively
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distinguish your book. How is your book outstanding and unique,
from both an editorial and a
marketing perspective? If there are no direct competitors, cite
the books that come closest.
4 hour workweek
