![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/mullane.png\" "\\"mullane\\"")
<\/a>course. When one of my clients and I spoke to her, we both knew she was the perfect agent for this client\u2019s book. I also found out that Deirdre had compelling ideas for writing shorter proposals and asked her for an interview. I could have shortened this to typical blog length, but Deirdre provided such valuable and detailed information, I decided to post most of our conversation.<\/p>\nHow to Write a Short Book Proposal<\/h3>\n
Here it is\u2014so that you can write a short\u2014and successful\u2014book proposal\u2014perhaps even shorter than this blog post!<\/p>\n
Why a Short Book Proposal?<\/h3>\n
Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> Deirdre, I\u2019ve heard you say that book proposals are getting shorter, because many acquisitions editors\u2014who are pressed for time anyway\u2014often read proposals on their Kindles, Nooks or ipads. Can you say more about that?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> Everything is getting shorter. It\u2019s easier to skim a written proposal, but when it\u2019s being read\u2014or skimmed\u2014on an e-reader, or even a blackberry, it needs to be compressed.<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> As an agent, are you apt to dismiss a proposal if it\u2019s too long?<\/p>\n Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> Sometimes. I recently received an eighty page proposal. It had all the right parts, but I said to myself, \u201cThere\u2019s something here but I don\u2019t have the time to work through this.\u201d So, yes, a super-long proposal may turn someone off who might have been interested\u2014both agents and editors.<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> So, what are some of your tips to a short book proposal?<\/p>\n Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> I used to send the proposal introduction, proposal t of c, sample chapters (intro and one chapter). Now, I tend to collapse the proposal and introduction so it\u2019s almost the same thing. I have authors write the proposal introduction as the introduction to the book, which will cover a great deal of what a traditional proposal used to cover.<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> Do you tend to include an executive summary?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> Sometimes. When we collapse the book\u2019s introduction and the proposal, it\u2019s sometimes inappropriate to put certain proposal details into the introduction. The pitch tries to do some of that. Sometimes we put marketing bullets in the pitch. For instance, I wanted to make the case that a book had some timely aspects to it that needed underlining but didn\u2019t fit comfortably in a book introduction.<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> Do you use bullets more? Phrases rather than sentences?<\/p>\n Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> No, I tend to keep to full sentences and use a nice structure\/narrative. I do use bullets for the marketing section.<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> I\u2019d love your take on chapter summaries versus outlines. Some agents swear that it\u2019s one or the other. What\u2019s your preference?<\/p>\n Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> Summaries\u2014an outline tends to break a chapter apart; a chapter summary brings a chapter together and shows flow\/shape\/forward momentum.<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> Are your chapter summaries shorter?<\/p>\n Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> Yes. I like to keep them to either one really good full paragraph, possibly two, certainly not a page. When authors send page or page and half chapter summaries, editors won\u2019t read that.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> I do like to see some detail, but not every detail. Per chapter, if an author shares one pithy quote or one interesting fact or anecdote that makes it not seem generic, that\u2019s enough. You don\u2019t want every detail or it\u2019s just too much\u2014and too long.<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> With a short proposal, what would you consider too short?<\/p>\n Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> Sometimes in chapter summaries I get fragments\u2014not enough information. It doesn\u2019t tell me what I need to know. I want full sentences that do give me a story-like description. Chapter summaries can\u2019t be shorter than a paragraph.<\/p>\n I do tend to combine the table of contents and chapter summaries, unless the chapter summary section is long.<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> So, how short is short?<\/p>\n Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> Certainly with experienced authors, going back to the same publisher of a previous and successful book, we can keep it very short\u2014sometimes three to five pages.<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> Can you tell us about a few short proposals you\u2019ve sold?<\/p>\n Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 One was a book to Farrar Straus\u2014a cultural history of Naples by historian Stan Pugliese whose previous book with FSG had been nominated for several awards. The book was a good fit but we needed something on the page. The author submitted more of an essay\u2014four pages long and the first three pages were a beautifully written essay about the topic. We included chapter titles with no description\u2014each chapter was a variation on a theme about Naples.<\/p>\n Another book by \u00a0scientist Caleb Scharf also recently sold to Farrar Straus. The reaction to his \u00a0first book, which hadn\u2019t yet been published, had been very strong \u00a0and we were able to sell the second on a short proposal\u201411 pages.<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> How did those pages break down?<\/p>\n Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> A two and a half page overview, 5-6 pages of chapter summaries: a very brief opening sketch of the first chapter\u2014no sample material.<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> And how about an author starting out fresh\u2014not with a publisher they\u2019ve been with before? When can they write a short, successful proposal?<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> What was in the proposal?<\/p>\n Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> Two pages on her platform\u2014she was a former writer for USA Today<\/em> and blogs on Dogster.com. We included links to articles on the subject. The overview was six pages long, chapter summaries another five pages, and then included some recent media about the subject and comps. The proposal was very market\/platform heavy (60%) and 40% editorial content.<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> Let\u2019s look at some specific proposal sections\u2014how about markets for the book?<\/p>\n Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> I keep it short. Many potential clients come to me with generic information about the market. My pet peeves are when authors say there are x number of books on Amazon about the subject. That\u2019s not relevant. My other pet peeve? \u201cThere are 3.5 million nurses in America\u201d (for book about nursing). That has no relevance unless the author can reach them because, for example, he\/she is \u00a0president of the American Nursing Association.<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> And how about the marketing plan?<\/p>\n Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> I don\u2019t put any plan out there\u2014it\u2019s pie in the sky. It doesn\u2019t mean anything to say, \u201cWhen the book is published I will do xyz.\u201d Publishers are interested in what you have done\u2014here\u2019s my list of past speaking engagements all of whom will ask me back. Something speculative is not useful.\u00a0 If an author does a lot of speaking, we might include a twelve month rolling calendar\u2014past six months and next six months.<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> How about the comps section?<\/p>\n Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> Don\u2019t leave off comps\u2014they\u2019re more essential than ever. It\u2019s all about the marketplace. If a publisher can\u2019t position a book or see what it\u2019s like, you\u2019ve got a problem. It needs to fit a category, in general. Or a particular slot. If an editor can\u2019t figure out what it is or who it\u2019s for or who its close relatives are, you have a problem.<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> And the author bio? Is there a way to shorten that?<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> Do you suggest two sample chapters or just one?<\/p>\n Deirdre:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong> I usually send just the intro (which is like a proposal) and one sample chapter. I only send without a sample chapter altogether if we\u2019re going to the same house an author already published with. Of course, sometimes even with the same house, it\u2019s a good exercise to write a sample chapter to make sure the author can do this\u2014is there enough material there? Can the author write in this different voice?<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> Any last tips?<\/p>\n Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> Competition is fierce. Title is essential. Move towards shortness. Editors say more and more, \u201cIs this a book I have to have?\u201d Some proposals may hit all the marks and are good but not good enough (it can be function of subject or a question of platform).<\/p>\n Lisa:<\/span><\/strong> Do you have a favorite book on how to write a book proposal to recommend to authors?<\/p>\n Deirdre Mullane founded Mullane Literary Associates<\/strong>\u00a0in 2008. She is a publishing executive with more than two decades in the industry as a publicist, editor, publisher, editor, agent and author. She handles primarily serious nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, science, politics, sports, nature\/environment, mind\/body\/spirit, narrative nonfiction and a small list of literary\/commercial fiction. \u201cWhat our clients share is passion, expertise, and a belief that books truly have something indispensable to say about our lives\u2014past, present, and future.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Get Lisa Tener’s free ebook: 10 Tips to a Book Proposal Publishers Will Love<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wondering how to write a short book proposal? I get it. Book proposals can be daunting. Why write more than is needed? This is the longest interview I\u2019ve ever posted on this blog, but when you read it, you\u2019ll know why. There is an art and a science to writing a book proposal. The market… Read more<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6326,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,12,1685,1],"tags":[1137,984,1140,1139],"class_list":{"0":"post-6306","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-book-proposals","8":"category-how-to-get-published","9":"category-how-to-write-a-book-proposal","10":"category-more","11":"tag-deirdre-mullane","12":"tag-how-to-write-a-book-proposal-2","13":"tag-mullane-literary-associates","14":"tag-soldier-dogs","15":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6306"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":279251,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6306\/revisions\/279251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>Tips to Write a Short Book Proposal<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Chapter Summaries or Outlines<\/h3>\n
How Short is Short?<\/h3>\n
Successfully Short Book Proposals<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> If you\u2019ve got a really hot subject and time is of the essence, but you need enough in the proposal to be convincing and the platform to perform. Soldier Dogs<\/em> by Maria Goodavage is a great example of a successful, short (15 page) proposal. It\u2019s about the dogs used in war, including the dog that helped capture Osama bin Laden. The Times<\/em> did a photo essay on these dogs. The dog had been in a foreign policy magazine and got five million hits\u2014which seemed extraordinary! I contacted the potential author \u00a0on a Thursday. By the following Wednesday, the author had a very nice six-figure deal from Dutton and the book went on to become a New York Times<\/em> bestseller. The proposal was all about her, her platform, the subject and the momentum.<\/p>\nTips for Specific Book Proposal Sections<\/h3>\n
<\/a>It\u2019s not about the market as a raw bit of data. It\u2019s about how you as the author reach the market. All the rest is of no interest whatsoever, unless the market is something a little less known. For example, arena football. You might say, \u201cSurprisingly there are arena football leagues in every major metropolitan area.\u201d A surprising fact about the market is useful. If the market is trending in one direction\u2014grown x % in x number years\u2014that\u2019s useful. Now, sometimes it\u2019s useful to share secondary markets for the book that aren\u2019t obvious to an editor. But I wouldn\u2019t give that more than a sentence or two.<\/p>\n<\/a>Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> All the extraneous stuff gets cut\u2014personal info. It\u2019s all about two things: the author\u2019s relationship to the material and how can he or she can sell it (media, platform, live links (where the author writes). This section is tending to be shorter, too. \u00a0I\u2019d stick with a half page to three quarters.<\/p>\nHow Many Sample Chapters in a Short Book Proposal?<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Deirdre:<\/span><\/strong> I haven\u2019t myself recommended a lot of those in some time. I like Susan Rabiner\u2019s book, Thinking Like Your Editor<\/em>, since I deal with serious nonfiction.<\/p>\n