So I'm preparing to coteach a course next year, and this is one of the books we intend to use. It's a pretty good summary of the proposal process and of the publishing process in general: for serious trade nonfiction. There is other nonfiction, however, like how-to books, and this one doesn't really delve into that. Or humor. And fiction, of course, is yet another animal.
I'll summarize each chapter, mostly so that I remember its details.
The book opens with an account of the controversy over where to shelve a book. Some books, of course, have two or three subjects, and where they end up in a store can make a big difference in terms of sales. Publishers and booksellers don't always agree.
The introduction notes that acquisitions editors often make decisions based on proposals rather than book manuscripts. The author notes why academic books aren't trade books: (1) discipline-specific writing; (2) jargon; and (3) niche subjects. Editors focus on readers. As an author, you need to know why your book is being written, for home, and what it wants to say. These days, TV appearances sell more books than book reviews.
Chapter 1: All book decisions, including marketing, type of edit, sales, print run, jacket, are based on four criteria: (1) Does the book have a buying audience? (2) Who is that audience? (3) What does this book say to that audience. And (4) Will the audience buy the book? Trade books are idea books, not practice books. So there are four more questions to answer: (1) Is it a book or an article? (2) Is it general interest or academic? (3) Has the audience been properly defined? And (4) Is the topic compelling to a core audience?
Chapter 2: The proposal should tell the editor what needs to be known, not just what the author wants to say. The big five questions a proposal answers: (1) What is the book about? (2) What is the book's thesis and what is new about it? (3) Why are you the person to write it? (4) Why is now the time to publish it? And (5) Who is the core audience and why will they want it? Good proposals tell a story. The proposal is twenty pages double-spaced and leaves the editor wanting more. If you don't have a thesis yet, think of the question driving the projects, the thing you will answer. The answer to that question is more than just the thesis, though—it is the thesis plus the answer to the question, “And so?” That is, how does this finding affect the reader?
Chapter 3: In proposal, the table of contents should contain a paragraph for each chapter with basic points. (Two to three pages for the TOC.) The sample chapter doesn't need to be a real chapter. It can steal from other parts of the book. The point is to be compelling—show that you can write. There are three types of books/chapters: narrative, argument, and explanatory. The proposal package should include the proposal, the TOC, sample chapter, and your CV (with previous publications and publicity contacts).
Chapter 4 is about whether to get an agent or go straight to a publisher. The author recommends the former in most cases.
Chapter 5 denotes the importance of balance and truth telling. If a writer argues something a reader knows not to be true (twisting basic facts), how are we to trust the argument when we get to material we don't know. (I'm reminded of a podcast I was listening to just today, where I knew info that the podcaster obviously didn't. Made me doubt the accuracy of everything else that's been discussed.)
Chapter 6 is about using narrative elements to drive reader interest—essentially posing a question and dangling the answer out in front for th reader to discover.
Chapter 7 argues that anecdote to start a book is oversold. If used, it should be short. Intros instead should get quickly to the thesis, a bold thesis. Readers use the intro to see whether to buy the book. In essence, the intro should give away the book in terms of the thesis, but the rest of the book shows how that thesis can be true. That's how readers stay curious. Intro also lays out how the book is different from other related texts. Exception to this advice on introductions: biographies. Those will use an anecdote to lay out one emblematic moment from the life of the subject. After the introduction, in nonfiction, comes the context chapter. Then narrative chapters with side issues in break-narrative chapters or in two-to-three page section breaks with more more context.
Chapter 8 reviews the editing and publishing process.
Writing craft books usually intimidate me a bit. They make me feel like I'm not sufficiently following rules. But the best way to learn is really by doing and by reading, a lot.
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