Keep in mind, several people with various agendas will read your proposal. Some will want to get a quick idea of what your book is about, while others will read every word.

Although it's very important to be complete, you should start your proposal with a document no longer than a page that tells the whole story. It will set the context of your proposal for the editor, and it will provide more than enough information for the sales and marketing people.

If you have an extremely long Table of Contents, you should consider including a brief Table of Contents. This will allow readers to ease into the idea of the book without overwhelming them with detail.

The following section outlines the key questions book publishers ask before they make a publishing decision. Regardless of how you organize your proposal, it should include answers to all the following relevant questions.

Remember, your goal as an author is to maximize the time you spend writing books. If after asking yourself these questions you find there isn't a very compelling reason to write the book, then this exercise was extremely valuable. It's hard coming up with a best-selling book idea, but very worthwhile. The questions are divided into the following sections:

Content

• State the title, sub-title, number of pages, suggested price point, whether your book includes a disk, and any other special characteristics of the book.
• What is the topic of your book, and why have you chosen to write about this topic?
• Describe the purpose of the book (is it to replace poorly-written documentation - reference, address an unmet need in the marketplace, provide real-world experience, etc.). Why should this book be published?
• Explain the concept underlying the work, and the major topics you plan to cover. Describe why you arranged your book as you did (as shown in your outline). Why is this arrangement better than any other?
• Will you use figures, illustrations, graphs, charts, and drawings?
• Will you provide instructions, summaries, exercises, hints, and programming examples?
• What skills and experience will the reader need to bring to the book? What is the minimal skill set to adequately use the book?
• What skills will the reader take away from the book? What will the reader be able to do that he wasn't able to do before reading the book?
• What current or forthcoming software (commercial or shareware) will be required to adequately use the book? (Include relevant minimum version/release numbers).
• If the book covers new/forthcoming software, how do you intend to cover/emphasize new features and how much emphasis should be placed on these new features?
• Which chapter listed in the attached Table of Contents would you like to use for your sample chapter? Why?
• If a diskette/CD-ROM will be included with the book, what value-added materials do you believe should be included? Why?

Audience

• Who is the audience? Aside from the skills and software needed to properly use the book, describe the audience. Are they power users? Business professionals? Programmers? Hobbyists?
• Why would someone purchase this book? For saving time? Saving money? Finding information that isn't available anywhere else? Please list three reasons.
• Why does your intended audience need this book? To learn? To develop? For entertainment or personal interest?
• Are there any special hardware/software needs because of the book's content or included software? What is it?

Market Analysis

Author

• What unique, value-added benefits can you afford to a reader of the book? What can you, the author, provide to set yourself apart from competing authors?
• Why do your academic, personal, or business experiences qualify you to write this book?
• Have you published books with other publishers? If so, please provide for each book, the full title, publication date, and publisher. What else have you had published -- magazine articles, documentation, etc.
• Are you committed and available to complete your book on an aggressive schedule?
• What can you do as an author to help market the book?

Marketing

• List and describe four specific benefits inherent to the book that will help marketing sell this book.
• Write a few paragraphs that you think could serve as the back cover copy for the book.

Checklist

A Book Proposal Checklist

• Did you answer all of the questions?
• Did you include professional writing samples?
• Is your outline complete and well-thought out?
• Did you include your resume?
• Is your address, telephone number (day and night) and Email address included?

Good Luck!