Book proposals
Many helpful books exist to aid in developing book proposals but their formulaic character limits their usefulness greatly. They usually present a helpful general outline for proposals but miss what actually inspires real editorial interest at a publishing house.  Editors as well as agents are flooded with proposals. To have any chance at all, yours must be distinguished in ways that will compel an editor’s active attention.

A good way to think of a book proposal is as an advertisement.  We all know how the biggest businesses spend fortunes creating their ads.  And if you’ve tried it, advertising writing is the hardest. Much like a lyric poem, the effective ad requires both inspiration and compression.  The task—and this is true of proposals as well as complete books—requires patient labor to get it right. It’s a significant writing challenge and a distinctive genre itself, one worth taking seriously and doing well to give you a chance.

Ask yourself: Will the first page impress the editor as very well written?  (“This person can write!”)

Then ask: Will the writing in the proposal, both form and content, impress the editor as interesting? 

Put yourself in the editor’s place.  She’s going to be asking her own questions, perhaps unconsciously: “Because I spend a lot of time on each book project, do I want to spend it on this one.  Does this author sound like an interesting person?  Do his subject and what he says about it interest me—not just me as a businessperson but as another human being? Do I want to “live” with this author and his project for the two years it may take to get the book finished and out in the marketplace?”

Such questions—in addition to or often instead of commercial considerations—will play through the mind of an editor. Few can be unfavorable or tepid if you are to win.

Keeping Your Costs Down
I keep your costs down by being your coach. My approach is that of a personal teacher. I try to enable you, by showing you how to do your own work. In addition, once we get going and I know you, your writing, and your stage of completing your book, you can call me with a specific question at any time, and I can work with you for as little as a quarter of an hour.

I work very intensely for every client, whether consulting, editing, or writing, and bill at rates that are equivalent to those of experts, consultants, and technical professionals whom you use all the time. I’ve worked with the occasional client for a single hour and with others for hundreds. Generally, there’s no way to know in advance the total cost of helping you finish an entire book: so much depends on how much of your own time and work you can devote. On the other hand, each time we work together, I’ll help you to your next step, and you’ll know how much it will cost. In this way, you have complete control of what you spend.