How to Write a Winning Book Proposal

©1998, MICHAEL S. HYATT February 23, 1998 The Write Stuff 1

WRITING AWINNING BOOK

PROPOSAL

Even if you have previouslyhad a book published,

you’ll find tremendousvalue in preparing a formalbook proposal. It will go a

long way toward helpingyou to clarify your own

thinking about the subjectbefore you begin the actual

writing process.

If there’s one thing a publisherhates to see, it’s a manuscript.Surprised? Most authors are.The fact is that publishersreturn most manuscripts to the

author without ever having read them.Publishers simply do not have the timeor staff to wade through the enormousnumber of manuscripts they receivefrom hopeful authors.

What a publisher really wants is abook proposal. Although you shouldinclude at least two sample chapters inyour proposal, you should not finishwriting the entire manuscript until theacquiring editor has approved thebook’s basic premise and structure, andthe publisher has accepted the projectfor publication.

At Thomas Nelson Publishers westrongly believe in the creative inter-action between author and editor. Outof this process come the best manu-scripts. You’ll find that most otherpublishers feel this way, too.Consequently, we want to give theauthor as much input as early in thewriting process as possible. A bookproposal gives us that opportunity.

So then, how do you prepare a goodbook proposal? From our experience,

in addition to a captivating cover let-ter, it needs to include four distinctelements (see fig. 1 on p. 2 for a com-plete outline):

1. Title Page

2. Proposal Overview

3. Chapter-by-Chapter Synopsis

4. Two Sample Chapters

This kind of proposal will accom-plish two things. First of all, it will helpus better evaluate your book idea anddecide whether or not we want to pur-sue the project further. Second, even ifyou have previously had a book pub-lished, you’ll find tremendous value inpreparing a formal book proposal. Itwill go a long way toward helping youto clarify your own thinking about thesubject before you get too involved inthe actual writing process.

In order to illustrate these princi-ples, let’s create a book proposal. Besure to keep in mind, though, that thisis only a hypothetical bookproposal–an example. It is not an abso-lute formula to be followed blindly.(Also, if you want to write a fictionbook proposal, the format will be

WRITING AWINNING BOOK

PROPOSAL

T H E T H O M A S N E L S O N G U I D E T O

BY MICHAEL S. HYATT

slightly different.) Though all goodproposals mirror its basic content,each bears its own distinctive flavor aswell. Now with that in mind, let’s getto work.

For the sake of illustration, let’s as-sume that you are a Christian financialplanner. Through the years, you’veobserved that many of your clients’financial problems are the result ofnever having received adequate train-ing in money management duringchildhood. You’re convinced that ifChristian parents would do a better jobof training in this area, it would sparethem–and their children–a tremen-dous amount of grief later in life.

Because of your conviction, you’veworked hard to train your own chil-dren. You’ve even developed a seminararound this theme and taught it in afew churches. The response has beenoverwhelmingly enthusiastic.

Before long, several of your friendsencourage you to write a book on thesubject. Initially, you’re flattered, andsoon you begin to give the idea seriousconsideration. But where do you start?A book is such an enormous project!And how do you go about getting itpublished? The answer to both ques-tions is a written book proposal.

Before you actually begin writing abook, you have to decide two things:what you want to say, and to whomyou want to say it. In other words, youmust determine the book’s content andidentify the book’s audience. Onceyou’ve determined these things, it’stime to go to work on the book’s title.

Create the Title Page

We can’t overemphasize the impor-tance of developing a strong, catchytitle. If the editor isn’t “hooked” by the

title, he will never open your proposalto see what is inside.

The purpose of the working title isto focus your thinking as you developthe book idea. The working titleshould clearly encapsulate the book’spremise. It might state the promise tothe reader if he reads the book. Itmight even state the consequences ifhe doesn’t. Sometimes the title willalso include a subtitle.

Let’s consider the hypotheticalbook we introduced. After a littlework, you come up with the followingworking title:

Helping Your Children Become Finan-cially Responsible

After a little more thought, you addthe following subtitle:

What Every Parent Should Know

This title clearly encapsulates thebook’s premise and communicates thepromise to the reader.

Once you’ve come up with a titleyou need to remember that a workingtitle is just that: a working title. It’stentative. You may decide to revise itlater. Sometimes, the publisher willwant to revise it. In any event, itspurpose now is simply to focus thedevelopment of your book idea and toclearly–and quickly–communicateyour book’s basic idea.

Type the title neatly centered onone page. You should enter the subti-tle on a separate line, directly underthe title. Also, type the date you aresubmitting the proposal. Finally, typeyour name, address, and phone num-bers near the bottom of the page. Ifyou want, you can add an e-mailaddress (see fig. 2 on p. 3).

Write a Proposal Overview

The proposal overview consists ofthree distinct sections:

1. The Content (What is the bookabout?)

©1998, MICHAEL S. HYATT2 The Write Stuff February 23, 1998

Figure 1: Complete Book Proposal Outline

Title Page

Proposal Overview

I. The ContentA. PremiseB. Unique Selling Propositionc. OverviewD. Manuscript

1. Manuscript Status2. Special Features3. Anticipated Manuscript Length4. Anticipated Manuscript Completion Date

II. The MarketA. Demographic DescriptionB. Psychographic DescriptionC. Affinity GroupD. Competition

III. The AuthorA. BackgroundB. Previous WritingC. Personal Marketing

Chapter-by-Chapter Synopsis

Two Sample Chapters

2. The Market (Who will buy thisbook?)

3. The Author (Why are you thebest possible author for thisbook?)

It should be no more than three tofive single-spaced pages in length (seefig. 3-7, beginning on p. 4, for anexample).

1. The Content

Once an editor flips past the title page,he then wants to know what the bookis about. You can best communicatethis by stating the book’s premise, set-ting forth a few other details aboutyour book.

Premise. The premise is a two- or three-sentence statement of the book’s basicconcept or thesis. Usually, it identifiesthe need and then proposes a solution.

Let’s return to the hypotheticalbook. What’s the need you’re trying toaddress? Isn’t it the lack of training inmoney management that children arereceiving from their parents? Or, toturn it around a bit, isn’t it the failureof parents to teach their children howto become financially responsible thatconcerns you? After a little work, youcome up with the following premise:

Most children will leave their homesupon graduation from high schoolwith little–if any–training in moneymanagement. As a result, they arelikely to experience many years ofstruggle and frustration. The purposeof this book is to equip parents toteach their children the attitudes,principles and skills they need inorder to enjoy a life free of financialhassle and heartache.

Not Bad. You’ve identified theproblem, and you’ve said exactly whatthe book will do to solve it. Andyou’ve done it in three sentences!

Developing a good premise is one ofthe most difficult challenges of good

writing. It is, however, absolutely vital.Without it, your writing will lack clar-ity and focus. With it, your writing ismore likely to be strong and forceful. Itis well worth investing the time neces-sary to write a strong premise.

Unique Selling Proposition. Now thatyou have a premise, you need to focuson how the reader will benefit fromreading your book. This is what pub-lishers often refer to as the book’s “takeaway” value–what the reader canexpect to “take away” after reading the

book. It is sometimes referred to as thebook’s unique selling proposition, or USP.This proposition clearly identifieswhat the reader will gain by readingthe book (i.e., the book’s benefits) andhow the book will deliver it (i.e., thebook’s features).

The simplest way to arrive at a solidUSP is to complete this sentence (fillin the information between the brack-ets):

If consumers in the target marketpurchase and read [name of book],


Figure 2: Sample Title Page

A Book Proposal

HELPING YOUR CHILDRENBECOME FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE


May 3, 1999

Submitted by

Frank B. Salyer2021 Lancaster PikeNashville, TN 37012

Office: (615) 242-1901Home: (615) 791-2231

E-mail: [email protected]

then they will [list the book’s bene-fits], because the book will [list thebook’s features].

Now let’s turn to our hypotheticalbook project, and create a compellingUSP:

If consumers in the target marketpurchase and read Helping Your Chil-dren Become Financially Responsible,

Then they will:

• Understand what’s at stake in thefinancial training of their chil-dren.

• Be able to pass on the mostimportant attitudes, principles,and skills children must acquirebefore they can gain mastery overthe money.

• Learn effective ways of communi-cating to children aboutmoney–with examples and meta-phors children can understand.

Because the book will:

• Provide specific examples of par-ents who have succeeded.

• Outline a simple technique formoney management.

• Build parents’ confidence in theirability to teach their own chil-dren.

This kind of unique selling proposi-tion clearly communicates to the edi-tor reviewing your proposal that youknow what you want the reader to getout of the book.

Overview. Once you have a solidpremise and a clearly stated USP, youneed to amplify them through thedevelopment of a general outline. Atthis point, you don’t need a detailed,chapter-by-chapter synopsis (this willcome later). You just need to be able tocommunicate the book’s overall flow.Your goal is to give the editor review-ing your proposal the “big picture.”

As a general rule, a nonfiction bookshould include at least three sections:(1) description of the problem or need,(2) presentation of the solution, and(3) amplification of the solutionthrough concrete applications.

As you develop the proposal forHelping Your Children become Finan-cially Responsible, you need to identifythe major sections. After looking backthrough your seminar notes, you comeup with five:

Part I: The Road to Frustrationand Misery

Part II: Five Attitudes YourChildren Must Acquire

Part III: Five Principles YourChildren Must Learn

Part IV: Three Skills YourChildren Must Master

Part V: The Envelope System ofCash Management

Of course you will also need anintroduction and a conclusion. But


Figure 3: Sample Proposal Overview

PROPOSAL OVERVIEW



Frank B. Salyer

I. THE CONTENT

A. Premise

Most children will leave their home upon graduationfrom high school with littleÑif anyÑtraining in moneymanagement. As a result, they are likely to experiencemany years of struggle and frustration. The purpose ofthis book is to equip parents to teach their childrenthe attitudes, principles, and skills they need inorder to enjoy a life free of financial hassle andheartache.

B. Unique Selling Proposition

If consumers in the target market purchase and readHelping Your Children Become Financially Responsible ,

Then they will:

¥ Understand whatÕs at stake in the financial train-ing of their children.

¥ Be able to pass on the most important attitudes,principles, and skills children must acquire beforethey can gain mastery over money.

¥ Learn Effective ways of communicating to childrenabout money--with examples and metaphors childrencan understand

Because the book will:

¥ Provide specific examples of parents who have suc-ceeded.

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the three basic parts are there: Part Iwill describe the problem or need,Parts II–IV will present the solution,and Part V will amplify the solutionthrough a concrete application. Nowthat you have the major sections, youneed to add a brief annotation to each,explaining in general terms what youintend to cover (again, see Figures 4and 5).

Manuscript. Under this section, youneed to cover the other details relatedto the manuscript. These wouldinclude the following:

1. Manuscript status: Where doesthe manuscript stand? Have you begunwriting? How many chapters are fin-ished?

2. Special features: Are therecharts, graphs, tables, illustrations,photographs, etc.?

3. Anticipated number of manu-script pages or words: Generally speak-ing, each chapter should run betweeneighteen and twenty-two double-spaced manuscript pages and should betyped in a pica (10-pitch) font. Inorder to arrive at the approximatelength of the manuscript, simply multi-ply the number of chapters by whatyou think will be you average numberof pages per chapter. If you prefer, youcan also state the length of the manu-script in number of words. Dependingon the font you use, the typical double-spaced manuscript page will containapproximately 500 to 600 words. Mostmodern “word processors” have a wordcount feature that will automaticallygive you a total.

4. Anticipated manuscript com-pletion date: When do you anticipatecompleting the manuscript? in otherwords, when will it be ready to submitto your editor? You might want to set agoal of so many pages or words per day,week, or month. Make sure you set arealistic date.

2. The Market

Once you’ve determined the book’scontent, it’s time to identify the book’s

audience. To a large degree, you’vealready done this, especially in devel-oping the premise. However, in thispart of the proposal, you need to bemore specific. A good definition of theaudience includes both its characteris-tics and its motivation. Let’s look atthese one at a time.

Characteristics. This is sometimescalled the demographic description.The term demographics refers to theexternal, objective characteristics ofyour audience. It includes such things

as gender, age, education-level, socio-economic status, geographic location(if any), religious affiliations, and soforth. In other words, you must deter-mine if the book is for men, women, orboth. Is it for Christians or a more gen-eral audience (Christians and non-Christians)? What is the reader’s aver-age age, income, political affiliation,theological orientation, and educa-tional background? Try to describe thecharacteristics of the typical prospect.

Let’s take another look at our hypo-thetical book, Helping Your Children


Figure 4: Sample Proposal Overview (continued)

Proposal Overview Frank B. Salyer

¥ Outline a simple but effective technique for moneymanagement.

¥ Build parentsÕ confidence in their ability to teachtheir own children.

C. Overview

The manuscript is divided into five distinct parts:

1. Part I: The Road to Frustration and Misery . Manyadults suffer significant financial problems andheartache. Much of the pain is the direct result ofnever having been taught the simple principles ofmoney management. Parents have within their powerthe ability to alleviate this pain. To do so, theymust teach their children the right attitudes, prin-cipals, and skills.

2. Part II: Five Attitudes Your Children Must Acquire .If children are to experience success in money man-agement later in life, they must first acquire theproper attitudes. Five of these provide a solidfoundation for lasting financial peace: diligence,thrift, faithfulness, patience, and generosity. Achapter will be devoted to each attitude.

3. Part III: Five Principles Your Children Must Learn .The principles of money management are quite simple.There are five.

¥ God owns it all.

¥ You are His steward, responsible to Him.

¥ Spend less than you make.

¥ Pay God first, yourself second, and everyone elselast.

¥ Debt is dumb.

A chapter will be devoted to each principle.

4. Part IV: Three Skills Your Children Must Master . Inaddition to nurturing the proper attitudes andteaching the correct principles, a parent must alsotrain children in three essential skills:

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Become Financially Responsible. Thefirst thing you’ll want to consider isthe kind of people who have alreadyshown an interest in your message. (Ifyou haven’t delivered the messageorally, you’ll have to describe the kindof people you think would be interest-ed.) After jotting a few ideas down onpaper, you come up with the followingdemographic description:

The audience for this book will bemiddle- to upper-middle-class Chris-tian parents with at least a high

school education who have childrenages five through fifteen.

All you need now is a psycho-graphic description to put “meat onthe bones.” In other words, you needto make your description three-dimensional.

Motivations. This is sometimes calledthe psychographic description. The termpsychographics refers to the study ofthe motivations that lead people toconsider your product and ultimately

purchase it. While demographicsinvolve the external, objective charac-teristics of your audience, psycho-graphics involve the internal, subjec-tive characteristics of your audience.Demographics tells you who and psy-chographics tells you why. For exam-ple, why would the reader want to buyyour book? What are his frustrations?What motivates him? What does heexpect to get out of the book?

Again, let’s look at our hypotheticalbook. What needs and frustrations arecharacteristic of the target audience?You’ve already said that the child hasa need to learn money management.But the child is not going to be theone buying the book; his parents are.What are their needs? After a littlethought you come up with this:

The audience for this book is made upof parents who have experienced frus-tration in their own lives as it relates tomoney management and, because theylove their children, would like to sparethem the same grief.

Now by combining these two defi-nitions–the demographic and the psy-chographic–you will give the publish-er a concrete idea of the audience youhave in mind. But just as important, itwill be an immense help to you as youbegin writing the book. Specifically, itwill guide you in your selection of ap-propriate vocabulary and illustrations.

Affinity Groups. The term affinity refersto “a natural attraction or feeling ofkinship.” An affinity group is a body ofpeople who will likely have someattraction to your book based on theirbehavioral history. Generally, you willthink of and list several affinity groups.For example, if you were writing abook on marriage, a natural affinitygroup would be Focus on the Familyradio listeners. If you were writing abook on starting a new business, a pos-sible affinity group would be subscrib-ers to Income Opportunities magazine.

Now consider our hypotheticalbook. What groups of people will




¥ Developing a budget

¥ Managing a checkbook

¥ Making wise financial decisions

Again, a chapter will be devoted to each skill

5. Part V: The Envelope System of Cash Management . One ofthe most simple, easy-to-administer financial toolsis the envelope system of cash management. Parentswill be encouraged to adopt this system in managingtheir own finances and they will then be given ascaled-down version of it for their own children.

A complete chapter-by-chapter synopsis is attached, giv-ing a more detailed overview of the manuscript.

D. Manuscript

1. Manuscript status: Two chapters are completed (bothare attached to this proposal as sample chapters).

2. Special Features: The manuscript will include varioustables and charts, designed to graphically communi-cate important information in an easy-to-understandformat. It will also include questions for discussionat the end of each chapter so the book can be used insmall group study.

3. Anticipated manuscript length: 75,000 words (240double-spaced, manuscript pages).

4. Anticipated manuscript completion date: Approximatelythree months after receiving a commitment from a pub-lisher.

II. THE MARKET

A. Characteristics

The audience for this book will be middle- to upper-middle class Christian parents with at least a highschool education who have children ages five throughfifteen.

B. Motivations

The audience for this book is made up of parents who

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likely be attracted to your message?After a little thought, you come upwith the following:

1. Listeners of Larry Burkett’sMoney Management radio show.

2. Listeners of Dave Ramsey’sFinancial Peace radio show.

3. Listeners of James Dobson’s Focuson the Family radio show.

4. Subscribers of Money magazine.

5. Subscribers of Parenting maga-zine.

6. Readers of financial books.

7. People who have a professionalrelationship with a stockbroker.

8. People who have a professionalrelationship with a financialplanner.

9. Financial counselors.

Notice that each group listed is iden-tified by objective behavior. These aregroups that (a) will be most likely torespond positively to your book’s mes-sage and (b) the publisher can get tovia one marketing vehicle or another.

Competition. Before you commit a greatdeal of time and energy to writing abook, you need to know what else isavailable. Why waste your time writinga book that has already been written?As Dawson Trotman, the founder ofthe Navigators, used to say, “Don’t doanything that others can do or will dowhen there is so much of importanceto be done that others cannot or willnot do.”

You may need to go to a bookstoreand simpy browse the shelves forbooks that address your subject or arein some way similar to the one you areproposing. Or you may want to flipthrough several current catalogs of themajor publishers. It might even be agood idea to scan the subject and titlelistings in Books in Print.

The issue here is twofold:

1. Is there a proven market for thiskind of book, and if so,

2. How does this book differ fromother books like it? Differentiat-ing your book from others iscritically important.

Now that you’ve described the bookand it audience, you need to take a lit-tle time and help the publisher getacquainted with you, the author.

3. The Author

Assuming the editor is interested inthe content and believes that theremight, in fact, be a market, the nextthing he wants to know is why you arequalified to write it and what you arewilling to do to help promote it.

Background. Describe your back-ground, particularly as it relates to thesubject of your book. Tell the publish-er why you feel you are qualified towrite the book. You may want to




have experienced frustration in their own lives as itrelates to money management and, because they love theirchildren, would like to spare them the same grief.

C. Affinity Groups

1. Listeners of Larry BurkettÕs Money Management radioshow.

2. Listeners of Dave RamseyÕs Financial Peace radioshow.

3. Listeners of James DobsonÕs Focus on the Family radioshow.

4. Subscribers of Money magazine.

5. Subscribers of Parenting magazine.

6. Readers of financial books.

7. People who have a professional relationship with astockbroker.

8. People who have a professional relationship with afinancial planner.

9. Financial counselors.

D. Competition

I have not found a single book on this topic fromeither a secular or Christian perspective.

III. The Author

A. Background

I have a B.A. in accounting from Michigan State Univer-sity (1978) and an M.B.A. from Vanderbilt in Nashville.When I graduated from Vanderbilt in 1980, I went to workfor Arthur Anderson where I worked for ten years. In1990 I started my own financial planning business. Ipresently have thirty-five employees and 250 clients.

B. Previous Writing

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include a brief resume. Your academiccredentials may be important, but youmay have other qualifications that arejust as relevant. If so, be sure to men-tion them.

Previous Writing. Tell the publisherabout your previous writing. Have youwritten a book or magazine article be-fore? If so, what was it, who publishedit, and how did it do? Let the publish-er know that samples of your writtenwork are available upon request.

If you’ve never written before, that’sfine, too; there’s a first time for every-one. Just make sure you give specificreasons why you are the person towrite the book.

Personal Marketing. A publisher cannotpossible do everything necessary tomake your book successful. And mostwon’t even try. Increasingly, publisherswant to know what you can do to helppromote the book. Consider the fol-lowing:

What important contacts do youhave that might be willing toendorse the book?

Are you presently speaking on thesubject matter contained in thebook? Are you willing to speakmore? How many times per year?In what types of venues (e.g.,churches, conferences, corporateseminars, etc.)?

Are you planning to write articlesbased on the book?

Would you be willing to create aWeb site?

Do you have any regular mediaopportunities? Television or radioappearances? Even a regular show?

Develop a Chapter-by-Chapter Synopsis

The purpose of a chapter-by-chaptersynopsis or annotated outline is to giveyou (and the editor) an overview ofthe book’s structure. It should includesection titles, chapter titles, and a two-or three-sentence description undereach chapter title of what will be cov-ered in that particular chapter (seeFigure 8 on p. 9). In addition, this willconvince the editor that you knowwhere you are going–and how you aregoing to get there.

You should pay particular attentionto chapter titles. Like the book’s over-all title, each chapter title must beinteresting and intriguing. In today’senvironment, the mass media havenegatively affected the attention spanof the reading public. People rarelyread a book in one sitting. Every timethey pick the book back up, the nextchapter title has to convince them tokeep reading. Therefore, it is extreme-ly important that your chapter titles“pull” the reader back into the book.




I have begun publishing a monthly newsletter as a resultof interest expressed at my seminars (copies availableupon request). I have also had one article published inChristian Parenting magazine. IÕve never written a book,but I think I would work well with an editor.

C. Personal Marketing

I have developed a seminar with the same title as theproposed book. I have taught it in eleven churches andam willing to teach two seminars per month as a meansof promoting the book.

I will aggressively promote the book in my newsletter. Icurrently mail it to 4,500 people, and the list is grow-ing at the rate of about 500 per month.

In addition, the Morning Show on Channel 5 televisionhere in Nashville did an interview with me and a featureon my seminar. I received numerous positive commentsfollowing my appearance and also received seventy-fiveletters.

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Write TwoSample Chapters

If you've done your work well, the edi-tor is now genuinely interested in yourproposal. There is only one questionremaining: Can this author reallywrite? The only way to demonstratethis is to include two sample chapters(see fig. 9 on p. 10). These chaptersbook don’t have to be the first two inthe book; and they don’t even have tobe consecutive. But they must be good.This is your audition for the publish-ing company and everything must gowithout a hitch.

I don’t have space to tell you every-thing you need to know about writing,but here are a few quick pointers:

Each chapter should be at leasteighteen and no more thantwenty-two double-spaced pages(approximately 9,000 to 15,000words

Begin each chapter with anattention-getting anecdote. Rea-ders love stories, and there is nobetter way to pull the reader intothe content of your chapter thanwith one.

Break up the chapter using sub-heads. A good rule of thumb is touse at least one subhead every twopages.

If possible, also include an anec-dote or illustration somewhereunder each subhead.

Use active voice whenever possi-ble. If you don’t know the differ-ence between active and passivevoice, get a good grammar bookand spend some time studying it.

Carefully check the spelling andgrammar of each chapter. Yourword processor will likely give youa good start. But if these areasaren’t your strong suit, hire a copyeditor who can do it for you. Thiswill cost you a little money, but itwill be well worth the investment.

A Few Words of Caution

Remember, your proposal may be theonly opportunity you will have to sellyourself and your concept to the pub-lisher. Make every word count. Makecertain that you come across well.First impressions make for lastingimpressions. Therefore, take carefulnote of the following do’s and don’ts:

Do be polite, respectful, andfriendly; don’t make demands orlaunch into diatribes.

Do make your proposal stylistical-ly lucid, clear, and direct; don’twrite with lurid ornateness,showing off your voluminousvocabulary.

Do make certain that the propos-al is neatly typed and systemati-cally organized; don’t send thepublisher a faded printout from asecond-rate dot-matrix printer, ashoebox of scraps, or a collectionof random notes you’ve accumu-lated over the last ten years.


Figure 8: Chapter-by-Chapter Synopsis

CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER SYNOPSIS



Frank B. Salyer

PART ONE: THE ROAD TO FRUSTRATION AND MISERY

Chapter 1: A Rude Awakening

This chapter will open with the story of Bill, a youngChristian and recent college graduate who finds him-self in deep trouble because of his inability to man-age his own money. Bill is not alone. According to arecent USA Today poll, most Americans find themselvesin the same boat. The inability to manage money leadsto all kinds of suffering and frustration. In fact,most Americans are broke by age sixty-five and depend-ent on the generosity of their own families or theresources of the federal government.

Chapter 2: Dropping the Baton

This chapter will open with the true story of anOlympic relay race--the team would have won, but thebaton was dropped in the pass to the last runner. Godgives parents the responsibility to teach and traintheir children. This responsibility is comprehensive;parents are to equip their children for life (seeDeut. 6:4-9 and Prov. 22:6) and this includes the man-agement of money.

Chapter 3: Back to the Drawing Board

This chapter will open with the story of Don andMartha, two parents who did things right. They taughttheir own children how to manage money and, as a re-

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Do make sure all your facts andfigures, names and dates, peopleand places, are accurately noted;don’t force the publisher to siftthe wheat from the chaff.

Do engage in a little marketresearch, sending your proposalonly to publishers whose backlistand editorial objectives matchthe predisposition of your project;don’t simply mail out a query toevery book house listed in the lat-est edition of Writer’s Market.Also don’t send simultaneoussubmissions to any house unlessyou note this in a cover letter.

Conclusion

Preparing a book proposal like theone outlined here will require a con-siderable investment of time andthought on your part. However, thiskind of investment will pay substan-tial dividends later when you beginthe actual process of writing. Moreimportant, perhaps, it will go a longway toward actually improving yourchances of getting published. Whoknows? The next book you read maybe your own!

Michael S. Hyatt is Senior Vice Presidentand Associate Publisher of Thomas NelsonPublishers, Inc.’s Book Division. In this ca-pacity he is responsible for all product devel-opment, including author acquisitions, edi-torial development and author relations. Hehas been involved in the publishing industryfor nearly twenty years. Prior to coming toThomas Nelson, he was a partner in the lit-erary agency of Wolgemuth & Hyatt, Inc.(now Wolgemuth & Associates, Inc.). Heis the author of two books: TheMillennium Bug: How to Survive theComing Chaos (Washington, D.C.:Regnery Publishing, 1998) and Y2K: TheDay the World Shut Down: A Novel(Nashville: Word Publishing, 1998). Heand his wife, Gail, have been married fortwenty years and have five daughters.


Figure 9: Sample Chapter

SAMPLE CHAPTER

CHAPTER ONE

A RUDE AWAKENING

Bill dropped his head into his hands. He rubbed his eyes and

stared back at his computer in disbelief. the numbers were still

the same. His checkbook was overdrawn and he still had several

bills overdue. how in the world had he gotten into this mess?

It has all begun so innocently. Bill grew up in a stable,

middle-class home. His father sold life insurance and his mother

had stayed home to raise Bill and his two sisters. His parents

didnÕt talk about money much, except their frequent comments

that there was never enough of it to go around. Nevertheless, he

never seemed to be in serious want. He worked several odd jobs

growing up but was always free to spend the money as he wished.

In his high school years, he spent most of it on his favorite

hobby: restoring a 1955 Chevy to near-factory condition.

Like most of his friends, Bill went immediately from high

school to college. He learned many things while at the universi-

ty, but no one ever taught him the fine art of financial man-

agement. Amazingly, since his dad had paid for college, he never

seemed to miss it. Until now.

When Bill graduated, he was immediately offered a job as a

civil engineer. Soon, without his even asking, preapproved

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How to Write a Winning Book Proposal

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