Book Proposal Insights, Nuances, and Summer Camp
TOC of this month’s newsletter
Differences between academic and trade proposals, an example and resources
Exclusive info on my (Free) Book Proposal Summer Camp this June
Greetings from Dubrovnik!
As some of you may know, I still “play” historian a few months a year, sailing around the world with Viking cruises. I’m spending May onboard Viking Jupiter, a ship I had the pleasure of sailing on her maiden voyage a few years back. She is one of my favorites.
It’s been a busy Spring, with personal and professional travels, and with a steady group of amazing women working on taking their incredible, professional and academic knowledge and sharing it with the wider world. I got a bit quiet on the newsletter and socials end of things.
I don’t do a “word of the year” but I told friends and colleagues in January that I wanted this year to be steady, and I’m pleased to say it has been.1 I’ve been working almost exclusively with writers on their book proposals, and that really is my happy place. Seeing writers wrangle their genius and their research and their passion into a form that will wow agents and publishers is truly the best.
I’ve also had a chance to dev. edit a manuscript or two, and coach some new writers from concept to action. But I’ve spent most of this year honed in on proposals.
And I’m going to keep the theme going through the Summer. I’m really excited for the Book Proposal Summer Camp I’m offering in June (no cost - no sales pitch - just Summer Camp). You have to walk before you can run, as they say, and in the world of nonfiction books, that means you have to tackle the proposal before the manuscript.
And, if I may say so myself, it’s worth it.
I was talking to a writer just yesterday about how the whole experience of writing her trade nonfiction book some days feels overwhelming because it’s so different from how she wrote her academic books. The growth and development of the idea take place in different ways. And I reminded her that all the work we’d done on her proposal meant she wasn’t jumping into the chapters blind this Summer.
For her academic books, a conference paper became a chapter, became a book. She expanded the layers as she wrote. Think of it like an artichoke, starting at the heart and adding on to build up the many layers.
But for this new book - the one she knows way more people will want and need to read, so she’s aiming for an agent and trade press - she doesn’t have that conference-paper anchor. It feels unsteady.
Instead, after our work together, she now has a table of contents already annotated and hammered out; she has an overview with thematic keys; she has a clear view of her audience and what she’s doing for them through the whole process. In other words, this time, she has the leaves and layers of the artichoke already - peel them back, and the heart is there waiting.2
Tackling the proposal before the book can feel unsteady. But there are great rewards of both effort and time when you aren’t afraid to try something new.
A Book Proposal Hack
If you don’t follow me on LinkedIn or Instagram, head over and please do. I share a lot of in-the-moment tips and ideas over there.
But today, inspired by this week’s newsletter from the incredible guru of academic book proposals, Laura Portwood-Stacer (Are you on her list? You should be on her list!), I wanted to share some thoughts on the differences between academic and trade proposals.
This advice is not just for academic writers hoping to make the jump to a trade publisher for their next book. It’s also for nonfiction and memoir writers who look for alternative paths to publication and find their work might be a good fit for a university press imprint. Like my friend Suzette Mullen, whose amazing memoir, The Only Way Through is Out, found such a warm welcome at the University of Wisconsin Press that I hear they’re already onto their second printing!
While generally both types of nonfiction proposals are looking for the same ideas, the way you present them to the different audiences (i.e. university press vs. agent/trade press) reflects the different audiences who will eventually read the book.
I say to academic writers all the time that you need to speak in a different language to read the general nonfiction audience. As academics we’re trained to frontload dependent clauses, to lay out and wrap up arguments at the start and end of nearly every paragraph, to summarize, and underscore, and reiterate.
In other words, we’re writing every. single. sentence bracing for a critique. (cynical, maybe, but true!)
In trade nonfiction, the idea is totally different. You get to write every single sentence in anticipation of expanding what the reader knows. They want to learn, grow, and expand from your knowledge. They don’t want to tear it (i.e., you) down.
This goes for the book, and also the proposal.
So, coming back around to Laura, she was awesome in her newsletter this week. She offered a template for the annotated chapters in your academic book proposal. Basically, a mad-libs to mock out the basics of the chapter summary (obviously, as a writer, you’d smooth the edges and make it your own).
Both academic and trade proposals need an annotated TOC. How else will your publisher know what will eventually land in their hands?
But I want to use her excellent example for academics as a way to show how profoundly different these chapter summaries should be if you are writing for a university press versus an agent or trade press.
From Manuscript Works:
How to summarize each chapter of your book for your [ACADEMIC] book proposal
Paragraph 1
The topic of this chapter is __________.
My main argument in this chapter is __________ / the key point I want readers to understand after reading this chapter is __________.
That main argument / key point supports the larger thesis I am advancing in this book because __________.
I am starting with this chapter because __________ [or] this chapter builds on the previous chapter by __________
Paragraph 2
The key types of evidence / primary sources I draw on for this chapter are __________.
That evidence supports this chapter's argument because it shows __________.
The chapter starts with __________ in order to show __________ [point that supports the chapter's main argument]
(Repeat the last line until the chapter's structure is fully laid out)
Note the drumbeat here, the ceaseless emphasis on proof and evidence:
Summary-evidence-argument-evidence-argment-ad infinitum-summary.
This is what you absolutely need to focus on for an academic proposal.
But…
If you are pitching to an agent for a trade publication, this formula won’t work.
Instead, you need a story.
Even for a data-heavy, or advice-driven text.
You need a story!
Start with the setup:
Because of [something learned/revealed in the previous chapter], this chapter will…/this chapter argues…Stick to the story in clear, simple order:
It begins with [event/point/section]…Use the powerful “because,” the magic word that moves your story forward with tightly contained purpose:
Because of that event/point/section [the next thing happens]…And again, and again…
Until you wrap up and show how all these events lead to meaningful change:
By the end of this chapter, the reader/protagonist will…
You don’t need the evidence over and over again.
You need the momentum of a narrative that leads to change.
Because your book is dedicated to passion and information, not critique, the hinge is the change-point, not the evidence. That will come in the chapters. For the purpose of your proposal, story is way more important in these chapter summaries.
Your job in the annotated TOC is to convince the agent/publisher that something or someone changes. Each chapter begins with the change and ends with the change.
In many cases, the person who changes is, in fact, the reader.
If you’re writing a biography, maybe you have a protagonist.
But most often in nonfiction, you’re promising change for the reader, or enlightenment, or an new perspective. Something that makes it worth their time to keep reading.
2024 Book Proposal Summer Camp
Last Summer, I ran my first annual “Summer Camp for your Book.” It was a 1:1 opportunity for aspiring writers to hammer out the framework for their story. Several fabulous writers joined and worked out the beginnings of what will be amazing books in the years to come.3
This Summer, I’ve decided to mix it up and offer a month of live, free workshops geared towards hammering out the framework of your book proposal.
Throughout the month of June, join me on Instagram or LinkedIn twice a week LIVE for 20-minute bites of insight and inspiration that will empower you to map out your story and make a plan to get published!
The way I look at it, if kids get to go to Summer Camp, why can’t we?
We kickoff on June 4 at 1 pm CST with a dive into why you need a proposal and what goes into it.
On Thursday, June 6 at 1 pm CST, we jump right into the Overview and Bio.
Each week, you’ll have the opportunity to submit a draft of your work for live coaching on Tuesdays or personal video feedback on Thursdays. To get on the list, comment below or DM me. I’ll be giving personal feedback to the first 10 writers only.
Week 1: Kickoff on Tuesday, June 4
Week 2: Overview and Bio
Week 3: Audience and Marketing
Week 4: Comp titles and TOC
We wrap up on Thursday, June 28, with a final Q&A and goal-setting workshop.
By the end of June, you’ll know what goes into a proposal, where you’ll encounter your personal challenges and maximize your strengths, and have a plan to bring it all to life by the Fall.
If your goal is to start pitching your nonfiction book before the end of 2024, join us in June to get started!
The steps to join the Book Proposal Summer Camp are easy:
Follow me on LI or Instagram
Put the Live events to your calendar (Tuesdays and Thursdays in June, 1pm CST)
DM me asap to get on the list for personal feedback each week.
Are you ready?
Did you set a word or a goal for the year? How’s it going so far? Let me know in the comments.
I don’t even like artichokes, so there’s no good reason for that belabored metaphor ;-)
Yup, years. Publishing a book is rarely a quick process. There are exceptions, but usually any book is a multi-year process. If you want to know more, message me and I’ll send you a handy timeline/goal chart I’ve been working on.
Brilliant stuff. Even as a practitioner (in love with book proposals!), there's lots to learn from here.