Most authors shudder at the thought of writing a book proposal. I did when I was just starting out in this business. As soon as I realized that publishing IS a business, however, I understood the importance of writing a book proposal. A book is a product, after all, and a book proposal is a business plan for that book.
But what if you’ve written a book proposal and, still, you’ve been rejected by eighty-five publishers? Maybe you need to take a second look at that proposal. Perhaps you’ve committed one or more author’s deadly sins.
Following are some of the most common mistakes perpetuated by hopeful authors today. Avoid these six mistakes and you have a greater chance of landing a publisher for your perfect project.

• 1: Do not tell the publisher his business. In other words, don’t say, “You really must add this book to your list if you hope to be successful.” Or “This book will make you rich.” Rather than putting the hard sell on the publisher, demonstrate your manuscript’s worth through a well-organized book proposal.
• 2: Avoid saying that everyone will buy your book. Statements such as this serve to demonstrate your amateur status. You may hope that everyone will buy your book, but this is an unrealistic expectation. A publisher will be more impressed by an author who has done his homework and is quite clear as to the segment of the population who is likely to purchase a book of this sort.
• 3: Don’t claim that this is the only book of its kind. This, too, implies that you’re an amateur. A well-organized book proposal includes a competitive analysis of books similar to the one you propose. The purpose of this section is to demonstrate a need for your book. If there is nothing to compare it with, how will you convince the publisher of it’s worth? If you can’t find other books just like it, dig deeper, my friend. Evaluate popular books from the same category and point out the similarities and the differences. Publishers want facts and figures not wishful thinking.
• 4: Do not state that this is the only book you’ll ever write. Publishers prefer working with authors who are likely to produce more than one good book. If your book is successful and you are a pleasure to work with, the publisher would just as soon accept another book from you than someone unknown to him.
• 5: Don’t reveal that you’ve been working on the book for the last 25 years. There is nothing impressive in the fact that you have not been able to complete a 12-month project in over two decades.
• 6: Never try to write a book without first writing a book proposal. I tell people that the first step to writing a book is to write a book proposal. Without a book proposal, you are at risk of using the wrong slant for your book and/or writing for the wrong audience. Of course, there are two types of authors—those who have something to say and who are going to say it regardless of whether anyone ever reads the book and those who want to be widely read. Let your expectations be your guide. If you are the former, do it your way. If you are the latter, you’ll have a greater chance for success if you’ll follow industry protocol. And this means, write a book proposal as a first step to writing a nonfiction or fiction book.

Your excellent, honest, thoroughly researched book proposal is your key to success. Publishers today are more interested in the marketability of your project than your writing skill. They need you to identify your target audience and explain how to reach them. They want to know about your competition. A well-organized, complete book proposal will help to sell a publisher on your project.

Writing a book proposal is not a walk in the park. But once you’ve completed it, you can go take that walk in the park. If you avoid the ten mistakes listed above, you may not have time to take a walk because you’ll be too busy showing off copies of your new book.

Patricia Fry is the president of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) www.spawn.org, and the author of 24 books including, “The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book” (Matilija Press, 2006) and “How to Write a Successful Book Proposal in 8 Days or Less.” (Matilija Press, 2005).Order at www.matilijapress.com

Last 5 posts by Patrica Fry

• Who Should Write Your Back Cover Copy? - May 29th, 2008
• Tap Into the Lucrative Library Market - April 17th, 2008
• Publishing Success How to Eliminate the Roadblocks - March 24th, 2008
• Are You Writing a Bulldozer Book? - February 11th, 2008
• What’s in Your Subject Line? - December 5th, 2007