How to Write a Book Proposal

Do you have a book inside you? Are you unclear what you should do next? It’s a book proposal. The nice thing about most non-fiction publishers is that you don’t need to have written your entire manuscript to gauge interest. In fact, all you need to do is pitch the idea of the book itself. So how do you do that? What goes into a book proposal?

Join best-selling authors Susan Piver and Lodro Rinzler for a workshop about how to draft your non-fiction book proposal—and then participate in four sessions where you will actually write it!

Format:

In the introductory workshop, learn all the elements that publishers look for in a book proposal, receive a template for your own proposal, and ask questions of these two authors and teachers to determine the next steps for you.

In the four follow up “study halls” we will gather as a community online and work side-by-side on our individual book proposals. In the first part of each study hall Susan or Lodro will discuss what we will be working on that day. We will meditate together briefly, then get to work on our individual proposals.

In week one we discuss the intro and overview statement. In our second session we dive into the table of contents. Week three is about target market and competitive analysis. Our final week we get into telling the story of you – why you’re the person to write this book. Our goal is to offer you not only the skills you need to craft a compelling book proposal but the time and support to draft the actual proposal itself.

Over these five weeks you will gain a sense of community with fellow writers, teachings on how to draft the proposal, and the time to work on it.

Disclaimer: we are not in a position to review individual book proposals or make connections to people in the publishing industry. This class is simply to explain how to write the proposal and then offer the space to do that work.

All sessions will be recorded for later viewing.