Your Proposal Should Sell YOU As the Author

This is the 3rd in my 8-part series with my best advice about writing a nonfiction book proposal that gets the attention of an editor or agent. My goal through this series is to give proposal writing advice that’s above and beyond the normal advice that when done right, can make all the difference.

In my 2nd post, I wrote about the importance of using language that sells in your proposal, instead of simply describing what your book is about.

In this 3rd post, I want to put the focus on you, the author.

Yes, the book idea is important.

Publishing houses want ideas that are fresh, compelling, and commercially appealing.

But just as equally important is your platform and how you engage with your audience.

Emphasis on the word “equal.”

So many proposals that I’ve seen over my 20+ years working in publishing don’t give enough information about the author in every section of the proposal.  There might be an incredible author bio and an amazing marketing plan, but then there’s little information about the author in the book overview or comps section.

What I often see is a paragraph (maybe two) about the author’s expertise with one or two platform highlights mentioned at the bottom of the overview section, but then that’s it.

Why bury the lead?

If you are the expert and have an engaged audience, you are one of your book’s biggest selling points. 

You should be front and center. 

You may feel that you are repeating information from the about the author or marketing platform sections, but remember that agents and editors are busy—if they don’t see the opportunity the book presents right away, they may not make it past the first few pages.

Instead, make sure that your expertise and your audience are highlighted throughout the overview.

The best proposals integrate the topic of the book and the author’s experience so seamlessly that it’s almost impossible to have one without the other.

It doesn’t have to be everything—the full list definitely belongs in your marketing plan, but you should include the big stuff and you should put this close to the top. If you haven’t mentioned who you are and why you are THE person to write the book in the first three paragraphs, you’ve lost an opportunity to excite the editor or agent reading your proposal. 

This also applies to the competitive analysis section. Compare your platforms to those of the authors who wrote those books, if appropriate.  Are you speaking on the same stages? Then say so! Do you reach a broader or slightly different audience? Then tell your reader that. 

As I said in my 2nd post in this series, the proposal should sell the project and it should sell you.  And this is a section where many authors don’t take advantage of selling themselves against their competition. 

Take advantage of this strategy and your proposal will definitely stand out.