Join The New York Times Senior News Assistant Kenneth R. Rosen for this practical nuts-and-bolts course on writing the book proposal that will get your book in the door to publication.
The idea you have feels bigger than a magazine or newspaper article. It feels like a book.
But do you write the book first? Or do you find a publisher to back you?
Writing is a business for which everyone should be paid. Handsomely. Period. The amount of physical and emotional anguish that writers endure — pitching, writing, editing, revising, and promoting — can feel devastating. No writer should be paid pennies on the dollar for blog posts no one will ever see, nor should the emotional burden be saddled for free. However, there are times the prospective return on investment–on your time spent writing an unsold piece—can be both emotionally and professionally rewarding. And one type of preemptive writing could very well lead to a financial windfall…
I’m talking about the book proposal. A book proposal is a one-stop-shop summary and promotional guide for your book, containing everything from chapter outlines to excerpts and marketing strategies. The length can be anywhere from a few pages to a few dozen pages. This proposal is often used to sell nonfiction books, including memoirs. Some agents or publishers may even ask a novel to be presented with a quasi-book proposal, outlining comparative titles and the author’s publishing history.
Writing a book proposal is no easy task, however. In fact, it may feel more daunting than the actual writing of the book! If you follow these four steps, writing that first book proposal will come easier, and you’ll be one step closer to selling your book for (hopefully) a large advance! How about that for time well spent?
Nonfiction manuscripts that are not memoirs begin as proposals before growing into book projects. Moving from how to structure your proposal, to the meaty chapter outline and excerpts, and to best-practice techniques for submitting to agents and publishers, this workshop will tackle the beastly (and often prosperous) animal that is the first steps to publishing your nonfiction book.
We will take a broad look at publishing and book proposal writing:
Some of the Topics We’ll Cover
Final product
At the end of our eight weeks, you will have a solid book proposal outline and introductory section of that proposal.
Class Delivery Format
The online class is a blend of instruction, writing and workshopping. The class has a weekly format involving learning, discussions and conversation/participation deadlines and writing.
You should come prepared to discuss your idea for a book and three books that are similar to the one you would like to write.
Who Should Take this Class?
The class is ideal for all levels of creative nonfiction and memoir writers. Fiction writers may find the drafting and chapter outline specifics helpful. While novels have been sold on single-chapter proposals, it is often an exception and not the rule.
[ezcol_1quarter]Dates:[/ezcol_1quarter] [ezcol_3quarter_end]TBA[/ezcol_3quarter_end]
[ezcol_1quarter]Length:[/ezcol_1quarter] [ezcol_3quarter_end]8 weeks[/ezcol_3quarter_end]
[ezcol_1quarter]Where:[/ezcol_1quarter] [ezcol_3quarter_end]Online in a secure One Lit Place classroom[/ezcol_3quarter_end]
[ezcol_1quarter]Format:[/ezcol_1quarter] [ezcol_3quarter_end]Weekly lecture & readings with 24/7 classroom engagement and access[/ezcol_3quarter_end]
[ezcol_1quarter]Instructor:[/ezcol_1quarter] [ezcol_3quarter_end]Kenneth R. Rosen [/ezcol_3quarter_end]
Our 4-month Mentored Book Programs, Online Courses, & Writing Coaching and Editing Hours. From November 21-27, 2023