How to Submit a Book Proposal in 3 Steps

How to Submit a Book Proposal in 3 Steps How to Submit a Book Proposal in Just 3 Steps Many writers start the publishing process thinking that the writing of a book is the most difficult part of the journey. Once their book is written and published, they quickly realize that the marketing of their book is just as hard - if not harder!The same thing applies to book proposals. Once you've finished writing a great book proposal, you might think you're over the hump and ready to coast to a book deal. But then you realize: you still haven't figured out who to submit it to - and how.Well, we want to be in your corner! To that end, this post will discuss the four main components of submitting a book proposal: deciding whether you need a literary agent, how to find the right publishers for you, and what to do if your proposal is rejected.How to Submit a Book ProposalDo you need to submit a book proposal through an agent?How to submit a book proposal to publishers in 3 steps.What should you do if your book proposal is rejected?Do you need to submit a book proposal through an agent?The answer is yes and no. Or rather, it depends on the type of book you’re working on and your goal.Let’s start with the yes...When you should work with a literary agentIf you are working on general fiction (such as histories, memoirs, and biographies) and are looking to secure a contract with a major trade publisher or New York house, you will need a literary agent for your proposal to be considered. Do you need a literary agent to submit a book proposal? Find out here. To bring that point home, here’s an account from a former executive editor at St. Martin’s Press, Laurie Chittenden: â€Å"Once a month, assistants will process the slush pile. That means putting a form letter with the proposal saying the publisher doesn’t accept unsolicited manuscripts and sending it back to the author. Publishers already see such a massive volume of projects from agents, they don’t have time to look at unsolicited ones. When I was in-house, I’d easily get 25-50 manuscripts a week from literary agents. That’s well over 5,000 pages to read a week, on top of the books I already had under contract to edit.† And remember that as with any new business endeavor (which is what you should treat becoming a published author as), sometimes you need to call on the experts.If your proposal hasn’t yet led to a contract, considering getting a set of professional eyes on it. A developmental editor usually charges $500 - $1,000 and can take the feedback you’ve received so far to improve your proposal and ensure it’s putting it’s best foot forward.And hey, the good news is that the more you keep at it, the more you learn about the publishing process - maybe even enough to fill a book.What's been your experience with submitting or writing book proposals? Do you have any additional questions about this process? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!