What does a Book Proposal entail?

Many people believe that authors get to choose what stories they write. While this may be true for famous authors that make millions, it is not true for me and for most authors. So, when a reader sends me a note begging for another pirate book or begging for another addition to a series I wrote, I am forced to tell them it is NOT in my hands.  It's a very odd business, I agree.

So, how do my next story ideas come to pass? I'm glad you asked!  You may know that this month I have a new release out, Forsaken Dreams!  It's doing very well and getting good reviews so far. You may also have noticed that to the right I have a cute little digital countdown to my next release, Elusive Hope, in November. What you probably don't realize is that book is already written and edited. Yup. I turned that puppy in last November. I'm currently working on book 3 in the series, Abandoned Memories. That book is due May 1st. After that I'm off contract, which means I no longer am contracted by my publisher for any more books. It's a little bit of a scary position for an author to be in. Regardless that I will have 14 books published, that doesn't guarantee that I will get another contract! Things like my sales numbers, the market demand, the economy, the success of my publisher, all play a role in whether an author gets picked up again.



Anyway, all that to say that the next step for me is to put together two or three story ideas and send those to my publisher. I always like to give my current publisher first dibs on whatever I write next because they have been so faithful to me. And because I like working with them a lot!  But how do I put these story ideas together? How do I present them in a way my publisher will become all giddy about my ideas and want to sign me up for a million dollar contract? (Okay I'm exaggerating about the million dollars.)



First thing, you need a really good idea. It can't be a run-of-the-mill boy meets girl sort of idea that is already out there in a thousand books.  It must be something unique, exciting, interesting. It can be similar to other stories (because let's face it, most everything has already been done) but it has to be a new twist on it

Next, you must create a pretty extensive description of your main character (or characters if it's a romance) Personality type, age, description, faults, dreams, hopes, goals, weaknesses, etc.

Now, you need to create the bare bones of a storyline. You'll need a beginning, a crises that gets the story and characters moving, a couple of other major events that make the situation worse and worse for the characters, a climax of disaster, and the ending where everything gets resolved.  All this you include in the infamous and dreaded synopsis. Entire books have been devoted to writing synopses so I won't go into them here. Depending on the publisher, it could be anywhere from 3 to 15 pages long. Thank goodness my publisher doesn't require long or detailed synopses because I'm definitely not a plotter and I rarely stick to the synopsis I first submit. :-)  Regardless, the publisher will want to know the main story line, the characters, the main events, etc.. so they can judge whether the book will sell.

Now, research the marketability of the story. Why do you think it will sell well? What other similar stories have sold well? What movies? Why would people flock to pick up your book?  This is an important step to show the publisher you've done your homework and you're serious about writing

How to put your proposal together.  Here are the main elements of the three proposals I just sent my publisher

Book Title:
Theme:  Moral of the story or major theme that runs throughout
Backdrop:  Time and place the story takes place and why that's important
Selling points:  List what will make readers buy the book. As an example I'll list mine from one of my proposals

• Tie in with Best-selling Pirate series in both setting and character (Port Royal, Reverend Buchan, and Captain Merrick’s son). Sure to pull in prior pirate fans, begging for another story.
• Similar feel to it as found in Veil of Pearls: Soirees, fancy balls, upper crust, a character who flows between two worlds
• Fascinating historical event of the Earthquake that destroyed Port Royal, the wickedest city on earth.
• Intricate plot involving many events which lead up to saving the hero and heroine and the children from the earthquake, all directed by God’s hand
• Reminiscent of the duel identity found in the Scarlet Pimpernel
• Great theme that shows how what we may think is a bad thing ends up leading to a good thing if we just trust God

Heroine: name and description of heroine, what she wants in life and what's keeping her from it
Hero: Same
Synopsis:  3 to 10 pages of story plot


And that's it!!   Easy peasy? NOP.  To put together a good proposal could take months, depending on the amount of research needed and how creative I can be in coming up with a new story.

Anyway, I just sent in 3 proposals to my publisher!  I'm praying they will be interested in at least one of them. As soon as I know anything I'll let you all know!  I'm excited. Really excited about all 3 stories, so we'll see where God leads me!



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