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The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » book proposals » Page 2

book proposals

5 Questions a NonFiction Proposal Must Answer

By Steve Laubeon July 25, 2022
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All novelists will have to wait until next week’s blog which will address fiction proposals. Today’s topic is nonfiction.

What is the Big Idea?

Trying to find something unique and never before addressed in book form is nearly impossible. But each proposal needs to be clear what the book is about. You’d be amazed how many proposals I’ve seen where they try to hide the “pay-off.”

If the book is about dealing with difficult people, lead with that. If it is about potty training, lead with that. If it is about church planting, lead with that.

What is Your Platform?

This is another way of asking “Who are you and why do you have the right to write this book?” Do you have the credentials to be an expert on the topic? Are you out speaking regularly to sizeable audiences on the topic? Do you have a blog or a newsletter that speaks to this topic?

I ache for the writers who have worked on a book for twenty years, on a theological topic, while they have had a career as a car salesman or some other unrelated occupation. It doesn’t mean the writer isn’t any good, but credibility factors in when the buying public looks at the book before buying it.

Platform, in essence, is presenting to the agent, the publisher, and the marketing department the size of the audience you can bring with you to the book, which usually translates into measurable sales.

One caveat…some books do not need a platform to be published. Often there are books where the concept or the title is bigger than the writer. But even then a publisher is going to want to know what you, the writer, can do to sell copies of the book.

What Makes Your Book Unique?

If you’ve defined the big idea and have a platform on which you are standing to tell the world of your book…then why your book and not Mr. Famous Author and his book on the same topic?

I remember once seeing a great proposal on grief and suffering. But when we looked at the comparable titles, there was nothing in the proposal that could make it stand out against the 50 well-known titles already available. Doesn’t mean the book idea wasn’t worthy, only that it would struggle to get a foothold without something extra.

Is Your Book Commercially Viable?

For example, I might write a book on all 150 Psalms…and it is brilliant (at least I think so)… But who cares what I have to say about the Psalms? I suspect I could sell a few to fellow church members and carry it with me to places where I speak. And a few blog readers might be curious. But that does not translate to “commercial viability.”

Even if I know I could personally sell 1,000 copies, that is not going to attract a major publisher, despite the fact that it is the best commentary ever written on the Psalms. I simply do not have the caché that would make someone who does not know me gasp and say “I have to buy this book!”

Does it mean the book is unworthy of publication? Of course not. It only means that from an economic perspective it would be highly unusual for a major publisher to invest in it.

That is the beauty of today’s technology that would allow me to publish the book myself and sell those 1,000 copies without having to print a truckload of books and store them in my garage.

Have You Written the Best Book Ever?

Okay, maybe that question is a little unfair. But here’s the reality. A majority of the proposals that agents receive are not very well written. I’m sorry to be the one to say it. That is why an extremely well-written book makes me sit up and take notice. They stand out simply by the quality of writing.

Put your book through its paces. Consider hiring a top-level freelance editor (like those found in the Christian Writers Market Guide). It will not be cheap, but do you want it to be cheap? (The old adage is that you get what you pay for.) Even then don’t expect the freelance editor to be a magician and convert your turnip into gold. It may still be a turnip.

You’re Next

Our agency has had first-time authors, never before published, receive a contract because they answered all these questions perfectly. A great idea, with a good platform, positioned strategically for the market, and delivered fantastic sample chapters.

Now it is your turn.

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Category: Book Proposals, Get PublishedTag: book proposals, Get Published, Non-Fiction

Hints for a Great Cover Letter

By Steve Laubeon June 13, 2022
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[I originally posted this piece over 12 years ago. The information still holds true, but I suspect many have not found the necessary information elsewhere, so I dare post it again. I’ve left all the comments intact since they add to the ongoing conversation. Feel free to add your thoughts.]] _________________________ Here are a few suggestions for you to consider when approaching an agent or …

Read moreHints for a Great Cover Letter
Category: Book Proposals, Get Published, Publishing A-Z, Writing CraftTag: book proposals, Cover Letter, Pitching

Two Mistakes Made in Some Book Proposals

By Steve Laubeon May 2, 2022
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by Steve Laube

Putting together a great book proposal takes a lot of work. I suggest writers look at them as if they were a job application, and they are. You are trying to get someone to pay you to write your book via a stellar "job application" or book proposal.

But every once in a while we get something that is not going to work, for obvious reason. Here are two mistakes:

1. Divine …

Read moreTwo Mistakes Made in Some Book Proposals
Category: Book Proposals, Get Published, PlatformTag: book proposals, Get Published, Platform

When Your Proposal Doesn’t Sell

By Steve Laubeon May 10, 2021
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by Steve Laube

It happens. Despite all efforts and good intentions not every proposal we shop will end up being contracted by a major publisher. Of course our agency tries our best to keep that from happening. We carefully choose which projects and authors we represent. And our success rate is extremely high.

But that success rate is not 100%.

Here are a few examples of projects that …

Read moreWhen Your Proposal Doesn’t Sell
Category: Agency, Book Business, Book Proposals, Get Published, Self-Publishing, The Writing LifeTag: book proposals, Get Published

Is It Okay for Me to Resubmit?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 28, 2018
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When approaching agents and editors, sometimes even veteran authors are unsure if there is some unwritten rule they may unwittingly violate. I assure you, all of us in the industry appreciate your thoughtfulness. But we don’t want fear to cause you to miss an opportunity! Over the past few conferences, one statement I heard often is: “I was already turned down by someone else at your agency. I …

Read moreIs It Okay for Me to Resubmit?
Category: Book Proposals, Pitch, PitchingTag: Agents, book proposals, pitch

How an Agent Reads

By Bob Hostetleron June 20, 2018
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I’m seldom at a loss for words (though often at a loss for something of value to say), but the question took me aback for a moment. I was on an agents-and-editors panel at a writers’ conference within a few months of becoming an agent. I’d done this sort of panel before, both as a magazine editor and author, but this was the first time I’d been asked this particular question: “How do you read a …

Read moreHow an Agent Reads
Category: Agents, Book Proposals, Get Published, Marketing, PlatformTag: Agents, book proposals, Get Published

What Does Your Reader Need?

By Bob Hostetleron June 13, 2018
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I attend many writers’ conferences, as an author, speaker, and agent. As a result, I meet and become friends with many fine people and outstanding writers. At a recent gathering, I enjoyed a spirited and stimulating conversation with an aspiring author who has a passion for reaching readers with the good news of Jesus Christ. I identify with that. But I’m not sure we ever got onto the same page, …

Read moreWhat Does Your Reader Need?
Category: Book Proposals, Conferences, Pitch, Pitching, The Writing LifeTag: Audience, book proposals, pitch, Pitching, readers

Author Says / Agent Hears

By Dan Balowon June 12, 2018
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Many aspiring authors communicate things they think are positive, or at least in the spirit of honesty and transparency, but end up being understood entirely different than the intended message. In an attempt to show commitment, an aspiring author says, “I’ve been working on this book for ten years.” An agent hears, “I am an extremely slow writer and once finished, enter a protracted spiral of …

Read moreAuthor Says / Agent Hears
Category: Book Proposals, Get Published, Pitch, Pitching, The Writing LifeTag: Agents, book proposals, Get Published, pitch, Pitching

Book Proposals: The Nonfiction Annotated Outline

By Steve Laubeon June 4, 2018
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Since we recently discussed the role of a synopsis in a fiction proposal I thought it important that we address what the nonfiction author needs to provide. This is one of the main differences between the fiction and the nonfiction book proposal. I’ve seen many authors confuse the two and create extra work for themselves. Not a Synopsis but an Outline I intentionally did not use the word …

Read moreBook Proposals: The Nonfiction Annotated Outline
Category: Book Proposals, Get PublishedTag: Annotated Outline, book proposals, Get Published, Nonfiction

Four Ways a Proposal Gives You Focus

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 31, 2018
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Sometimes I receive queries from writers wondering where their focus should be. They are unsure where they fit in with publishing. Here is where writing a proposal can help: 1.) Who am I? Your author biography, written in third person, (as is your entire proposal) forces you to decide how to present yourself to the world. 2.) What am I writing? Look at your work. Where does it fit? If you are …

Read moreFour Ways a Proposal Gives You Focus
Category: Book Proposals, Get PublishedTag: book proposals, Get Published
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