How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal That Sells
What you'll learn
- The function of a book proposal in marketing nonfiction books to editors and agents.
- How to concisely articulate a book's purpose and premise.
- How to identify the target market for a nonfiction book.
- The elements of a successful nonfiction book proposal.
- How to organize the proposal.
- How to hone your writing to maximize the impact of the proposal.
Requirements
- An interest in writing nonfiction
- Good command of the English language
Description
There are many reasons why you might consider writing a nonfiction book. You may be an expert and want to share your insights in a specific area of expertise. You may be an entrepreneur who would like to showcase your knowledge and skills for potential clients. You may have a passion for a subject area and want to share your research and insights with the wider world. You might have an interesting personal story and want to write a memoir to enrich others' lives. Whatever the reason you may have for considering writing a book, your first step is to plan and write a book proposal.
Agents and publishers demand nonfiction proposals, and if you plan to self-publish, your proposal (for yourself) provides you with direction for writing, publishing and eventual marketing.
This course is designed to help you create a draft proposal that will become the basis for your final nonfiction book proposal.
Through a series of guided exercises, you will complete the course with your draft in hand.
Your course instructor is author Patricia J. Parsons who sold her first nonfiction book to a publisher based on her first book proposal attempt in 1988. Since then, she's written and successfully sold almost a dozen nonfiction books―all based on the proposal. A seasoned teacher, she also spent 26 years teaching writing and communication strategy as a university professor in communications studies. She lives in Toronto, Canada.
Who this course is for:
- Business people and professionals who are interested in creating a nonfiction book about their specialty area
- Subject matter experts who want to share their expertise in book-length form
- Writers planning a memoir
- Anyone with an idea for a nonfiction book
- Nonfiction writers seeking publication
- Nonfiction writers planning to self-publish
Course content
- Preview03:19
- 02:45Book Proposals: What & Why
- 03:13The Role of the Proposal in Book Acquisition
- 03:03The Role of the Proposal in the Writing Process.
- 1 questionAssignment: Course Project Part 1 FUNDAMENTALS OF BOOK PROPOSALS
Instructor
![Patricia J. Parsons](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 64 64"%3E%3C/svg%3E){kind=avatar}
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PATRICIA J. PARSONS started her writing career over 30 years ago as a health and medical writer. Her first book, on the ethics and politics of organ transplantation, brought her health and writing backgrounds together.
She started her “accidental” academic career teaching writing to communication undergrads while establishing herself as an expert in communication ethics and strategy. Two of her textbooks are still widely used today.
She is the author of ten nonfiction books and has worked with publishers such as Doubleday Canada and the University of Toronto Press in Canada, Taylor and Francis/ Routledge and Health Administration Press in the US, and Kogan Page in the UK.
She is also the author of a tough-love book on the realities of writing and publishing in the twenty-first century and a memoir. More recently, she has been writing historical and women’s fiction. Her YouTube series WRITE. FIX. REPEAT. is designed to help writers improve their writing, five tips at a time. She lives in Toronto.
For further information, or to ask to be contacted for future courses, please email backstorywriting@gmail.com.