Scholarship Resources > Preparing a Book Proposal

Preparing a book proposal is like preparing a grant proposal. Both require learning what components are expected by the publisher/grant institution and then writing up those components in a way that works for that place. As in the case of other types of publishing, seek advice or tips from accomplished authors in your own department and discipline. The following advice is suitable for academic, rather than trade, publishing. For trade publishing, find and hire an agent and do what she or he says!

Determine who would be the best publisher for this manuscript:

Which publisher’s mission do you find most congenial and best meet?
Who publishes similar books (in terms of theme and quality)?
Which publishers have credibility in your discipline or in the type of book you wish to publish?
Which publisher can market your book best?
Look in the Literary Marketplace (in the library) to find out who publishes what types of books and who the acquisitions editor is.
Look on publishers’ websites—most publish in a niche of some sort, so look for similar books to yours.

Make contact with the acquisitions editor of the house(s) you’ve chosen:

Discuss your idea to see if the editor is interested.
Ask for guidance on how the prospectus should be constructed.

Compose your proposal:

It’s the job of the acquisitions editor to do the first screen.
She or he will read every proposal.
You will have about 20 seconds of attention to hook the editor.
Make it easy to understand.
Make it interesting in terms of the niche.
Make her or him believe it would be worthwhile to invest $25,000-30,000 in your book.
Acquisitions editors look for lucid prose, clarity, and fit—they want to be convinced that you can communicate.
Academic presses would like to see the following: a synopsis of the book, a Table of Contents, and several key chapters—the introduction (so they can see where you’re going and why), your best chapters (not the set up chapters) and your conclusion (if you have it) (according to Martha Bates, acquisitions editor at Michigan State University Press).

General tips:

Martha Bates said she checks what sources are cited, to see who you’re reading and what conversations you are in—also to see if you are using primary sources as well as secondary.
Put your full contact information both on your cover letter and on a sheet preceding the manuscript: name, address, all your phone numbers, email address.
You may include your vitae with the proposal, but it will come into use later in the process—to help editors decide who might review your book or suggest reviewers.
Keep your cover letter brief: