Kelly Thomas

Fiction: We’ve made the  process for submitting your work easy.  Please complete the form.   By completing this form we will have all the pertinent information we need to evaluate your submission.  You’ll see that we request all the salient elements typically found in a query letter: the title, premise, and length of the manuscript, your writing background, and your long-term writing plans.  We also request a one page synopsis of the work that details the plot and theme of the story and the first fifty pages or first three chapters of your manuscript.

Nonfiction:
Non-fiction submissions are unique. If a fiction query is an attempt to market a completed manuscript, a non-fiction query is usually an attempt to sell a well developed concept. The success of such a query depends on the quality of the idea, the specific subjects to be covered, the demonstrated need for new entries in the field, and the relevance of the author’s credentials and experience. Such proposals are usually submitted before the book is completely written.   Even if you have completed  your non-fiction book in its entirety you will still need to complete a proposal.  Please review our non-fiction proposal guidelines prior to completing the form.Non-Fiction Proposal Guidelines:
A proposal is a type of business plan that’s attempting to sell a well developed concept. Your book should be filling a need that has otherwise been ignored or not expanded upon. The proposal needs to show where your book identifies a problem, makes a promise, offers hope, and is informative.Some of the main components that need to be clearly detailed within your proposal include, but are not limited to:

Market and Publishing Rationale: Why do you think this book is needed in the marketplace? Who will it benefit and why?  Why have you chosen to write it? This should describe the market opportunity (market, size, growth, etc.).

Audience: Who are you publishing to? Why would they be interested in purchasing your book?   A thorough description of your Primary and Secondary markets.

Brief Description: A one to three sentence summary of the book.  Think of this as potential back cover copy, which would describe the book in a nutshell.

Book Description/Chapter Outline: Should be a solid description of what the book is and what it’s trying to achieve. This should include the table of contents with chapter heads and a brief description of each chapter.

Key Features and Selling Points: Bulleted list of key reasons why this will be the best book on the market. Include “Special Editorial Features” and “Key Sales/Marketing Features”

Author Platform and Bio: A profile of the author which should include additional information that will help the publisher understand why you are the ideal person to write this book.  Include information that shows you have the ideal platform to write this book.

Market: Do you have any special relationship to the market? Are there any special conferences, trade shows, or magazines that your book would be an ideal candidate for?  Is the timing of publication crucial to the sales of the book?

Competition or Related Titles: What other titles might this book relate to? Are there other titles published that discuss the same topic?  How does your title offer a different approach? What information will the reader get from your title that isn’t already out there? What are you providing that the current competition is not? Please include the author, title, publisher, page count, and publication date of the competitors’ works.

Book Specifications: How many pages in the book? Are you interested in a special format?  Are there any special design features anticipated?

Understand that these components are staples throughout most proposals but are uniquely customized for every proposal. No two proposals are the same, and while the proposal is meant to “sell” the publisher it also gives a glimpse into the “personality” of the book and what makes your project come to life.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, no aspect of your proposal should be written in a question and answer format. Your book won’t be written that way and neither should your proposal. Your proposal should be written as a narrative and capture the individuality and necessity of this book in the marketplace. It should be engaging and informative.

After reading your proposal, we should: have a very clear idea of what your book is about; be able to visualize what it’ll look like; and have faith that you have the capability to write the book. Nothing within your proposal is throw-away and each section is equally important. {/slide}