For those who have been following along as Gary Neal Hansen and I work through a book proposal together, I wanted to give you an update.
For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s a brief setup: In December 2012 I started a series of posts on how to create a book proposal. I wrote two posts before realizing the series would be far more helpful to folks if I actually coached a writer through the process of crafting a book proposal.
After a brief contest of sorts I decided to work with Gary Neal Hansen. My strong hope is that others will be working on their book proposals as I coach Gary through this process.
So far I’ve posted about motivation, concept, bio, platform, working title, brief description, table of contents, chapter synopsis, and marketing section.
Gary is working on the final piece, the writing sample. This will take some time, of course. But when he submits it I’ll do a post on this important element of any book proposal. And we’ll call the series a wrap at that point.
Gary will also report on how his platform building is going and perhaps offer a few more closing thoughts for us.
Stay tuned. I’ll keep posting at least twice a week.
By the way, if you haven’t already be sure to check out the excellent discussion in the comments that followed Natasha Crain’s post: 8 Ways to Market Your Book on Facebook. Some great info there.
Oh, and what would a coaching update be without a pep talk? Enjoy.
21 responses to “Book Proposal Coaching Update”
[…] Earlier this year I coached author and professor Gary Neal Hansen through the process of writing a book proposal. We covered every element of a typical nonfiction book proposal except the writing sample. This post will cover the writing sample. (To read the rest of the series, visit here.) […]
[…] ← Previous […]
Very helpful series, Chad! I’ve been using your advice all along the way!
[…] In fact, I met Dr. Hansen by way of Chad’s blog about a month ago. (You should check out Chad’s past blog posts for more great info.!) […]
Finally watched the video.
“I want to be on the road to AWESOME!”
Thanks for passing on the pep talk Chad.
Most welcome. For something entirely different, Google “Scary clown walmart.”
Chad, thanks for the pep talk! Love it!
Obviously, the world of fiction (and proposal writing) is a different ball of wax from non-fiction, and yet, there are similarities, too.
Thank you so much for your teaching spirit and the way you minister to others. Your passion for Christ and your willingness to serve inspires me to reach higher for Him!
This series has been tremendous, and I appreciate the time and effort you and Gary have both put into it. Wow! (Linking to your blog on Monday.)
~Blessings
Hi Chad, I am loving this series. Thanks so much for the time you’re putting into it, and thanks, Gary for sharing! I actually have a different book proposal-related question. I’m putting the finishing touches on a narrative nonfiction proposal about a ballet dancer. I would like to include a photo of the dancer on the proposal title page. Is this a good idea? Why or why not? Would love to hear your advice.
Elizabeth,
Yes, i don’t think it would hurt, and it would give the reviewers a visual frame of reference. Not a bad idea at all. Thanks for commenting!
[…] cyber home, you’ll learn some further background information on Gary and the project he’s been working on with Chad. And if you’re a writer, especially of […]
I love “unless your dream is stupid.” 🙂
I was wondering if you were thinking of doing a post on the competitive section. Every proposal outline I’ve seen has a section for that. Is it not necessary, or is it just not something you wanted to cover here?
Good point, Natasha. I think it’s one of the least important sections, but it does help a publisher get a sense of the trajectory or family that your proposed book is in. I may save this one for the book I plan to write on this. 😉
Chad that is a great teaser of good things to come! We’ll all be watching…
I hope that book is coming soon! 🙂
Natasha, loved your Facebook post! Thank you so much!
Thank you, Cynthia! I’m glad it was helpful!
That is exciting! I’ll love to read that.
Can’t wait!
Hey, Natasha, I just came across a great post on how to write the competitive section. Here it is: http://www.writetosellyourbook.com/book-proposals/how-to-do-competition
“Not cool, Robert Frost!”
I noticed you can buy a T-shirt with that phrase. Ha!