Review: How To Write a Book Proposal

Michael Larsen
Paperback
Published 1997
Writers Digest Books; ISBN: 0898797713

Many people stumble in their attempts to find an agent or a publisher because they simply don’t know enough about the process. They send a book when they should send three chapters, they write poor cover letters that don’t give the necessary information or fail to attract interest.

There are plenty of books about the process of writing book proposals. One of the advantages of How To Write a Book Proposal
is it gets to the point. There are barely over 100 pages to read, and for a process like this, that is really enough. Writing a book proposal isn’t terribly complicated, but the rules you learn are rules you need. Could you sell a book without knowing this process? It’s very possible. People do it all the time. The goal here is to increase your chances. A well written book proposal has a better chance of selling an idea than a badly written one.

Larsen’s book covers such topics as creating chapter outlines, choosing your sample chapters, and finding the publisher or agent best suited to your work. Larsen also includes samples to guide you in your effort. This book doesn’t include a revolutionary new method for selling books. This is tried and true advice that has been repeated to me from many a source. The benefit here is that all the advice is wrapped up in a bow for easy reference.