When it comes to non-fiction, before you write the book, first you write the proposal. But what exactly is a proposal? Really, it’s a genre unto itself—part table of contents, part jacket copy, part marketing report—and it’s one of the most important yet least understood items in the writing world. In this one-hour workshop, we’ll use real-life examples to show you all of the pieces required to make your proposal sing:
- An overview that presents the entire book in miniature
- A title that frames the book’s tone and intended audience
- A table of contents that shows your research, organization, and overall argument
- A marketing summary that explains who will buy the book, and why
- An author bio that explains why you are the right person to write it
Michael Hingston is an author and publisher in Edmonton, Alberta. He is the author of the books Let’s Go Exploring and The Dilettantes, and his writing has appeared in Wired, the Atlantic, the Guardian, and TheWashington Post. He is also the co-publisher of Hingston & Olsen, the outfit responsible for the Short Story Advent Calendar and other literary experiments.