Why Should You Write It? Why Not Someone Else?
This is the most personal question of all.
Writers often hesitate here, unsure how to present themselves without sounding self-promotional. But this is not about self-aggrandizement. If you cannot explain why you are best suited to write this book, a publisher cannot explain it to a sales team. Then the sales team cannot express it to a vendor. Then the vendor cannot describe it to a potential reader.
A strong idea is not enough. A viable market is not enough. A publisher must also be convinced that you are the right person to write this book.
Credible authorship can take many forms. Expertise based on years of study, professional experience, or recognized leadership in a field is notable. It may come from an immediacy of having lived what you are writing about. Or it may be that hard-to-define author platform where an established audience already looks to you for insight.
Think of answering the question “What compelled you to create this project?” Passion, when properly expressed, reveals sincerity. It signals that the book is not merely an idea, but a burden you felt called to write. (Avoid saying “God gave me this book” since it can suggest that editors or agents must agree, or else they are in disobedience to God.)
At the same time, publishers are going to ask, “Why not someone else?” If another author with a larger platform or deeper credentials could write the same book more effectively, your proposal suffers from the comparison. Your job is to show that your book idea is not interchangeable, as if anyone else could write it just as well. Yours is tied, in some essential way, to your voice, your experience, and your relationship with the potential.
All of this is especially hard for a follower of Christ who is trying to model humility. I suggest that no one else can sell your idea as well as you can. Therefore, be bold!
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5 Questions Your Proposal Must Answer Series:
Question 1. Is Your Audience/Platform Big Enough?
Question 2. Is Your Idea a Book or a Magazine Article?
Question 3. How Is Your Book Different (And Is It Different Enough)?
Question 4. Will Enough People Pay for Your Book?
Question 5. Why Should You Write It? Why Not Someone Else?
