WRITE A PROPOSAL—EVEN IF YOU DON’T NEED ONE

by Alison Pearce Stevens

You probably know you need to write a proposal for long-form nonfiction, but I recommend doing it even if you’re writing a picture book. Sure, it seems like unnecessary work, but it can help fine-tune your story before you spend time writing and help you home in on that gap in the market you had a hunch about but hadn’t fully identified. 

What goes into a proposal anyway? 

This varies. My early proposals were different from—and longer than—the ones I write now. But in general, you need to have a few main sections:

A hook/overview/premise. Why do we need this book? This is how you’ll start your proposal, and it doesn’t hurt to write it a bit like jacket flap copy. 

Age category and format. Will this be a picture book? Chapter book? Middle grade? Young adult? Important to know—and not always obvious when you first start a project.

The market. How will this book fit into the children’s book market, as a whole? What are the competing and comparable (comp) titles out there? What sets your book apart from the pack?

Research. This is a nonfiction book, so you should include some info about what research you’ve done and how you plan to tackle any that remains.

Sample pages. Gives a sense of how you plan to approach the book and the style of writing you plan to use.

About the author. Who are you and why are you the one to write this book?

Do you have to write an entire proposal if you won’t use it?

Nope! You can only work on the sections that help you focus your ideas. For me, that’s the market and the hook, both of which inform age category and format.

Why write a proposal—especially if you don’t have to?

I’ve sold most of my books on proposal, and I’ve found that writing a proposal really helps me figure out what I want my book to say and how to make it stand out from other books in the market. For middle grade or young adult, there’s the obvious benefit that you’re not investing months of time researching and writing before you know if the book will eventually be published (although you’ll need to do plenty of research to write a proposal).

I’ve also written proposals for picture books—and that’s where my advice differs from your basic how-to-write-a-proposal overview.

As a writer, the last thing I want to do is settle on an angle for my story only to find out after I’ve started writing that someone else just published something similar. Sure, all writing is good practice, but it doesn’t hurt to have a solid path forward before you even begin. Then your writing and rewriting will be more focused, getting you closer to where you want to be that much quicker.

That’s where the proposal comes in. Focus on the market first. Know what’s out there—identify every comp title you can. Read as many of them as you can get your hands on (this is, admittedly, a tricky step, but Amazon’s preview feature can give you a sense of style and content for many books). Take detailed notes and write down exactly how each book addresses the topic. Spreadsheets are handy here. 

When you’re done, look over the list and see if any of those titles or their approaches are in direct competition with what you want to write. Avoid those angles for your book. Now consider the titles as a whole—what’s missing? What angle or approach hasn’t been done? How can you focus your book to fill that hole? Part of answering this may lie in the age category. Would your book be better as a picture book or chapter book? Have any age groups been left out of books currently on the market? How can you fill that hole?

Now that you have your angle and age category, write your hook! This step always gets me enthused about writing my story, and that enthusiasm should shine through to grab potential readers as well. You’ll use this in your cover letter if you don’t need the full proposal.

And research: What will it take for you to get the information you need to write this book?  How feasible is it for you to connect with primary sources? If you were to write up the research plans section of the proposal, what would you include? This is worth thinking about, because some topics are easier to research than others. 

Happy proposal writing—even if you’ll never send it to an editor!

 

About the Author: 

Alison Pearce Stevens is a former scientist who writes award-winning nonfiction books for the world's most curious people to inspire them to protect the world outside their doorstep. She is the author of Junior Library Guild Gold Standard books Rhinos in Nebraska: The Amazing Discovery of the Ashfall Fossil Beds (which won the Nebraska Book Award in three categories), Animal Climate Heroes, and Detective Dogs (May 5, 2025). She co-authored National Geographic Kids Books’ 5,000 Awesome Facts 3 and three books in their Weird But True series and has published hundreds of STEM-based magazine and online articles for kids.

 

 

 

BUILDING BRILLIANT BOOK PROPOSALS

By Stephanie Gibeault

You would only submit a novel to an editor after completing the entire manuscript, right? But when it comes to nonfiction for middle grade or YA (and adults too), that’s not necessary. In fact, three of my upcoming books were only written after the contracts were signed. Instead, I sold them using book proposals. In case you want to tackle longer forms of nonfiction, here are four tips for building a brilliant book proposal.

Tip 1) Include Every Section an Editor or Agent Expects

Unless a publisher’s or agent’s submission guidelines say otherwise, include the following sections in your book proposal.  

1. Overview: Summary of the entire book proposal. The what, how, and who.

2. Target Audience: Who will this book appeal to? Are there curriculum connections?

3. Competitive Titles: What books will share shelf space with your proposed book?

4. Outline: Chapter-by-chapter summary of the book’s intended contents.

5. Sample Chapters: Two or three polished chapters from the book.

6. Biography: All about you.

7. Selected Bibliography: List some of your research sources.

You can also include a format section to share your vision for the final physical product such as the page count and whether it will have illustrations or photographs. And if you have the ability to do marketing or research beyond what is expected, such as speaking at an international conference or spending time in the field with a scientist, you can include sections about those plans as well.

Tip 2) Start Your Overview with a Hook

Just as the first lines of a book need to grab a reader, the opening of your book proposal needs to grab an agent or editor. Yes, your sample chapters should be dazzling, but you want to make sure they get that far. I suggest you open with a hook. Consider using a surprising statistic, fascinating fact, or engaging anecdote.

In the book proposal for my upcoming STEM middle grade CALCULATING CHIMPANZEES, BRAINY BEES, AND OTHER ANIMALS WITH MIND-BLOWING MATHEMATICAL ABILITIES  (MIT Kids Press, April 2024, illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett), I chose to ask a question – “What if your pet fish could help you with your math homework?” I hoped editors looking at the proposal would want to read on to discover the answer.

Tip 3) Choose Comp Titles with Care

Your competitive titles (aka comparative titles) serve multiple purposes. They help define your vision, demonstrate you understand the publishing business, show where your proposed book would sit on the library or bookstore shelf, and prove there is a market for your proposed book. Therefore, choose them with care. Stick to books published in the last three to five years that share something in common with your book.

For my upcoming middle grade MAKING SENSE OF DOG SENSES: HOW OUR FURRY FRIENDS EXPERIENCE THE WORLD (Owlkids Books, April 2024, illustrated by Raz Latif), there were plenty of comp titles to choose from. Dogs are a popular subject! I concentrated on books that touched on at least one of a dog’s senses. However, for CALCULATING CHIMPANZEES, BRAINY BEES, AND OTHER ANIMALS WITH MIND-BLOWING MATHEMATICAL ABILITIES, I couldn’t find any other books with an intersection between math and animals. So, I used comp titles about animal cognition then discussed how my proposed topic had a unique angle.

Tip 4) Target Your Biography

Your biography isn’t just about your writing experience; it also allows you to prove why you’re the right person to write this book. You don’t have to be an expert but try to target the biography to your subject matter so an agent or editor can see that you have a valuable connection. Maybe you have always had an interest in this topic, or you already wrote a newspaper article about it.

CALCULATING CHIMPANZEES, BRAINY BEES, AND OTHER ANIMALS WITH MIND-BLOWING MATHEMATICAL ABILITIES is about animal cognition, so I was sure to mention my Master of Science degree in animal behavior in my book proposal’s biography section. And for MAKING SENSE OF DOG SENSES: HOW OUR FURRY FRIENDS EXPERIENCE THE WORLD, I emphasized my experience as a certified professional dog trainer. I wanted to prove to editors that I had what it took to write about those topics.

Give It a Try:

Consider what you’ve learned about your topic and identify possible hooks for your book proposal’s overview. Is there a weird fact or mystery you could share? How can you hook an editor in the first line or two? Then consider possible comp titles. What does your book do differently from those comps that will set it apart in the market?

 

Meet the Author: Stephanie Gibeault is an award-winning freelance writer and children’s book author. She’s written the funny picture book Toby Tootles (Sleeping Bear Press, illustrated by Mary Sullivan), the middle grade Can’t Get Enough Dog Stuff (National Geographic Kids, co-authored by Moira Donohue), and has four more nonfiction books on the way. She teaches research and book proposals for the Highlights Foundation and loves doing math puzzles to relax. Learn more at www.stephaniegibeault.com. 

 

What Makes a Winning Nonfiction Proposal?

By Stacey Graham

You have the idea, you’ve got the chops, and you’re ready to write a nonfiction book that blows their socks off—but where do you start on a proposal for an agent or editor that will make your idea stand out? Like all good adventures, we begin with a plan.

A nonfiction proposal is essentially a business roadmap. It details what the book is about, why you’re the best person to write it, shows that you’re cognizant of what goes into marketing and promotion, and can discuss comparative titles. By giving this information to an agent, and later an editor, you’re helping your book to advance to the next round in what I like to call Thunderdome—the acquisitions board meetings. The more information an editor has, the better prepared they are to fight for your book to become one of their titles that year.

So, let’s break down the format.

• First page: Title: 20 pt Arial | Your name: 16 pt Arial
• Font: Arial, 12 pt in body of proposal/sample chapters
• Heading 3 for sections: Overview, About the Author, Marketing, Promotion, Competition, and Chapter Summaries

1. Overview: Write a 1-2-page overview of your book and how it is needed in the marketplace. Why is this book needed now, who will read it, and why is it relevant? Write tight. This area is where you convince the agent or editor to keep reading and we have very short attention spans. 

2. Author bio: A 1-page bio of why you're the best person to write this book. Include publishing credentials and sales figures, your involvement in this subject, and what organizations you are involved in that are relevant to your book.  

• Include a recent headshot.
• Keep it professional. Family may be mentioned but it can’t be a focal point.
• Flaunt your platform. How many people come to your website a month? Twitter followers? School visits? Guest posts? Podcast guest? Academic papers? Is your work related to this topic? Professional organizations you’ve been involved with surrounding that subject?
• If you do not have extensive professional experience in this subject, what made this project perfect for you? What research have you done that makes you the right person at the right time for this book? 

3. Marketing: Include ideas on how you plan to reach them, then list how you plan to do it by using your established platform. Mention website hits, speaking engagements, appearances on radio or television, social media followers if substantial—give them solid numbers to back up why you're the best person for this project. If writing for children, include why your book is important for them to read. If targeting an adult market, how do you reach those readers? 
  

• Include gift-giving, specialty groups, etc. Think outside of the norm for whom your book will reach.
• Who will buy this book? Break it down into groups. Get specific.
• How will they get it? Gifts? Park bench? Impulse buy?
• Once your target market has bought the book, think of who they will recommend it to or give as a gift.

4. Format of the book for nonfiction: How long (word count) will it be? When is the estimated completion date after signing the contract? (Usually 3-6 months.)

5. Promotion: Include website, trailers (I'd love to see more trailers for nonfiction), upcoming conferences or conventions, plus other ways you'll promote your work. Make it conversational, not a list of things you’re planning to do.

• Add conferences that you have been to/will be planning to attend. National conferences add heft to your proposal so if you’re going, be sure to include which ones, especially if you’ll be presenting or having a table.
• Contests, social media (add links), how your website (add link) will promote the book.
• Which podcasters/media contacts/ television/radio/bloggers will you reach out to for promotional opportunities? Have you been on their programs before?
• What bookstores will you be approaching for signings? Include national and regional chains as well as indie stores. Don’t restrict yourself to a 100-mile radius. Local stores are a fantastic resource but publishers would like to see that you’re willing to do the footwork often needed in promotion as well.
• Are you able to be a part of local author events or festivals? There are festivals for everything out there, get involved and be a part of their community!
• Don’t forget to look at conferences or conventions that don’t immediately spring to mind. Go outside your comfort zone when looking for locales to promote your work.
• Dig a little. Get creative!

6. Competition: Include 3-4 recently published (within five years) books that compare with your project. List the title, author, year it was published, and publisher. Write a brief summary of the book and how yours would be different. Include a book cover with each comp title.

7. Chapter outline: List the chapters with titles and a short description of each.

8. Sample chapters: Introduction plus two chapters. Present as a separate document, formatted with title page and then chapters to follow.

Tips

• Please edit thoroughly for grammar, links, flow, and substance.
• Add page numbers (not first page).
• Use page breaks between sections to prevent overflow.
• Agents and editors often read on e-readers or their phone so test your proposal in those formats to make sure they are easy to read.

A nonfiction proposal is an excellent tool to help writers focus on the bigger picture for their book as well as broadening a readership you may not have thought of at first glance. Get creative, think out of the box for your marketing and promotional ideas, and have fun!

About the Author

Stacey Graham is an agent with Red Sofa Literary, specializing in middle grade, romance, and nonfiction (though usually not all at the same time). She loves to read about weird kids and even weirder nonfiction. Please visit her website at www.agenstaceygraham.com or on Twitter: @staceyigraham. 

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What an Editor Looks for in a Nonfiction Book Proposal

By Nancy Tuminelly

Many say (think) writing nonfiction is an easier task than writing fiction. Being a NF author who has produced hundreds of NF titles in the educational children’s market over the last 20 years, there are specific passions, skills and talents that set the two genres apart. Our company has been tasked by our clients to propose new NF series as well as produce given title lists.

For a single title or a series, it is critical to have a good understanding of the depth and scope of the topic/s. Doing accurate and appropriate research with credible sources helps set the tone, depth, and overall organization. Much of children’s NF must adhere to reading levels, age/grade educational, content standards, and appeal to adults who buy the books and kids who want to read the books.

I look for, and develop, concepts that propose a different slant or focus than the usual standard curriculum-based content yet adheres to the standards. My goal is to set the bar higher with a differentiating feature or activity or content structure that attracts and stimulates young readers’ minds. An outline is useful to get a glimpse of the entire book. A writing sample or chapter shows the ability, strength, and writing style of the content. NF writing need not be mundane if you consider what young readers these days have at their fingertips to access. Ask yourself, as a young person, what would entice or inspire you to read this book?

 

Sometimes, going too far by submitting full manuscripts of proposed books is less helpful than you might imagine. Most publishers have in-house editorial guidelines that are not divulged until a contract is signed. It makes working together more efficient and effective to understand and follow the guidelines versus total/substantial rewriting to hit the mark.

Having a content expert on board is a plus for many publishers, dependent upon the content. Citing correct primary sources also provides reassurance and professionalism to potential publishers that your work and process can be trusted.

What is your objective in proposing NF to perspective publishers? Be clear and upfront about your goals. If it’s a one-time effort, then pitch it as that. Is it a getting to know one another to build a working relationship? Show brief samples (cover and spread or two only) of other similar work. 

When you contract with a publisher, the best products come from collaboration, in my opinion. Some publishers silo tasks and don’t include the author as much as others. Working with the publishing team helps you understand their goals and creates an environment of cooperation, coordination, and innovation that best uses everyone’s talents. 

The ultimate mission is to create and produce successful products as evidenced by marketing and sales. The more you work with specific publishers, the more you learn about their business, structure, and market. Feeling like everyone is marching to the same drum makes for less stress and positive problem solving as a team.

 A word of caution—follow the submission guidelines. Many publishers throw out submissions immediately without reading a word when they don’t follow the posted submission rules. Many great submissions are never looked at based upon this first impression of not following the rules. Try to mimic or rephrase submission information to show you read and respect the process.    

I understand the need for submission adherence because so many are involved in the decision making and it provides an analytical path for all to reference. That being said, I may be a bit different than most who review proposals for publication.

What do I look for? A pitch that shows the author explicitly knows the content, market, the need, and the differentiation in a sea of competition. I want to know what drives the author to write the content; something that makes the submission memorable and leaves me wanting to know more. I want to see an outline that covers the bases but what creative slant or feature can be incorporated to push it further. I like to work as a team, not in a standard hierarchy that can pit author/editorial against design/production. Some of our best efforts have been a collaborative process where all work together. The ultimate win is high quality within budget and timeframe that marketing is excited for and sales meet/exceed expectations. 

My advice is not to compromise your work if the project does not fit your goals. Issues arise when authors try to retro fit concepts into the publisher’s parameters. It is good to take into consideration the feedback, but when you feel strongly about your concept and approach, and the suggested revisions take a whole different turn for you, be true to yourself and know when to decline. There are other options for you to pursue. Or, show your willingness to compromise. What changes can work for you and what you want to keep. 

In today’s world, the opportunity to write exciting, accurate and stimulating NF is vast. Some content may not have the longevity but providing readers with relevant, current, and inspiring content about people and events is a rewarding personal and professional experience.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

My creative journey began when I created a colorful design on big grid paper in kindergarten. I have been fortunate to stay that course my whole life thus far. When I took an art director job at a publishing company, I knew I found my spark. For over 30 years, my drive to operate my own company (with my husband/partner), design, write, establish long-term partnerships, mentor others, and make a difference in young people’s lives helps me live my passion every day.

ABOUT THE PRIZE

Nancy Tuminelly will be awarding a critique of a manuscript or series concept to assist creating a publishing project submission proposal.

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