Friday 18 May 2012

101 Reasons to Publish My Book!


I have enjoyed switching gears to the book proposal writing phase. It's familiar territory (how many proposals have we written in our careers?) and doing research again is fun. I even went to a public library and signed out two books on winning proposals! 

Writing a proposal is like making a cake: each ingredient must be added in the right amount and in the right order for it to create something special. Experimentation is risky. 



Most advice contains the same sections and a lot of the same tips:




  • Overview - What is your premise and how does it satisfy a need?
  • Markets - Who will buy your book?
  • Competition - What books are similar to yours and why is yours different?
  • Author - Why are you the best author for this book?
  • Promotion -  What can you do to help sell your book?
  • Table of Contents
  • Sample Chapters

In the past, I would create a proposal framework and then fill it the sections sequentially, building the narrative. This time,  I dove into writing a draft as I was researching. This was a mistake because it missed the big picture and was less organized. After a day of "free-wheeling" I went back to a more structured and effective approach.


One hundred and one reasons for becoming my publisher is a stretch, especially since my goal is to convince one that my book will sell enough copies to make a profit. All other reasons are icing on the cake. 

Phil

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