The Insider’s Guide to Winning Non-Fiction Book Proposals: What Publishers Need to Say Yes

Mistakes Authors Make, What Successful Authors Do and a Peek Behind the Scenes of How Publishers Choose Authors

Sandy Poirier Smith, CEO of Smith Publicity

What makes an author and book stand out to an agent or publisher? With the volume of authors competing for traditional publishing deals, authors need to be strategic about presenting their ideas, vision, and brand in a way that gets them to yes.

I attended the Women’s Media Group event Crafting Nonfiction Book Proposals that Editors and Agents Can’t Resist with Michelle Howry, Executive Editor of nonfiction at G. P. Putnam’s Sons and Donya Dickerson, Literary Agent at Aevitas who represents nonfiction authors.

Here are the key takeaways: insights these industry experts wish authors knew about crafting a strong book proposal that can secure the best book deal and result in a powerful project.

Good News—Publishers are Publishing!

They shared good news from Publishers Lunch: The publishing industry is enjoying record-setting time for new book deals with double-digital growth in the number of advice, relationship, self-help, parenting, health, crime, etc. books. Editors are acquiring, readers are reading—lists need to be fulfilled. 


Understanding the Role of a Literary Agent

The majority of traditional publishers work with authors through literary agents. Exceptions to this are niche, smaller publishers. Agents represent the business interest of an author, and as Donya shared, they help the author find the right fit in a publisher with the ultimate goal of securing the best financial arrangement for the author. And once a deal is signed, an agent then acts as the intermediary between the publisher and the author to help the book creation and book launch be as smooth as possible.

The relationship between the agent and author starts with crafting a powerful book proposal that they will present to publishers. Agents can’t do all the heavy lifting. Authors should do their best work before sending initial book proposals to an agent. Good agents play a heavy hand in improving book idea and book proposal before presenting to publishers.


Common Mistakes Authors Make When Creating a Book Proposal

  • Time Involved is Longer than Most Authors Realize. Creating a polished book proposal takes time, often involving multiple drafts and rounds of editing, which authors may find frustrating.
  • Sharing Before It’s Ready. Authors sometimes rush to “get the book proposal out there and see how publishers react.” However, you only get one chance with editors. Proposals must be fully developed to capture attention.
  • Focusing on the Book’s Details. Instead of just explaining what the book is about, authors should emphasize their unique idea, sell themselves, and reference successful, related books.
  • Pitching Several Ideas at Once. This overwhelms agents and publishers. Focus on ONE idea, expertise, or story.
  • Switching Expertise. Authors with strong platforms in one area sometimes want to write on different or unrelated topics. Stick to the category where you’re known and credible.

What Great Agents Do

While each publisher’s process is different—some more formal than others—the fundamental questions asked by sales, marketing, rights, editorial, and other teams remain the same: they aim to support P&L discussions, decide if they want the book, and, if so, determine the author’s advance.


Questions Agents Answer When Pitching a Book to a Publisher

  • Platform. How many people is the author in front of over year through their business or social media? Publishing teams ask for specific numbers.
  • Content. Does the book have strong ideas and “magic”? Publishers want authors to showcase exciting concepts and demonstrate audience engagement.
  • Author Brand. Does the book align with the author’s established expertise? Publishers may hesitate when they research an author and see their content appears to be inconsistent.

Role of an Editor in Acquiring a Book

Michelle reviews about 900 proposals a year, and publishes a tiny fraction of them. And, more than half of the books published are from repeat authors.

Key Points

  • Book Proposals Are Essential. The quality of the proposal influences every stage of the publisher’s vetting process.
  • Feedback and Evaluation. Editors discuss potential projects in formal editorial meetings and informally, consulting colleagues in marketing and sales to gauge interest.
  • Profit and Loss (P&L) Analysis. Publishers evaluate financial viability by comparing similar titles’ sales and factoring in the author’s platform and past book sales.
  • Zoom Meetings. Initial meetings between the publishing team and the author/agent are now typically conducted via Zoom.

Common Mistakes Authors Make When Publishers Evaluate a Project

  • Proposals Must Be Polished. Proposals should come from agents and be in excellent shape. Authors need to know their audience, understand their readers, and craft a book to meet their needs.
  • Numbers Matter. Share platform statistics (e.g., newsletter subscribers, social media followers) and past book sales upfront. Transparency is crucial.
  • Helping Editors Make the Case. Equip editors with strong pitches, endorsements, and market research to help them advocate for your book internally. What is the stand out idea? Early quotes/blurb/endorsements are gold. How does this book stand out in the market?
  • Avoid Hyperbolic Claims. Don’t say, “I’m the only person who can write this book.” Instead, show what makes your perspective unique.
  • Use Storytelling. Many of the basic facts written in books are searchable and available. Therefore, what’s needed is a point of view. Provide a compelling narrative and relatable examples that make your book stand out.

Book Proposal Sections Include 

 Overview Summary

  • This is the author’s chance to make a good first impression.
  • They want to see the book’s idea in shorter form—can the author do this? They want to be confident the author can do a longer (few pages) elevator pitch. What is the central thesis pivot?
  • Here they can also discover nuggets of ideas to further shape the book’s direction.

Table of Contents and Sample Chapters

  • Include one or two sample chapters to demonstrate your writing ability and depth of ideas.
  • Being an expert doesn’t mean you need to be a good writer. If needed, publishers can find a ghostwriter or collaborator to assist.  

Author Bio 

  • Highlight your expertise, past book sales, and achievements.
  • Be transparent—publishers will research omitted information about past book sales. 

Platform

  • Social media numbers—engagement is more important than numbers.
  • They also shared strong social media numbers do not always translate to book sales. But when an audience is engaged—if the publishing team can see an audiences loves the author—that’s a positive and that’s when a book is more likely to sell.
  • Advice on Building Visibility: If a platform is not quite there yet. GO to where your audience is LinkedIn/Instagram. Go where are they are and focus there and also find where their target audience gets their info—magazines, podcasts, conferences and get visibility there!

  • Having an idea for a book, but not having big audience is a challenge to securing a publishing deal. However, you can still can get the attention of a publisher—it’s starts with a strong idea. If your platform is small, show how you’re building visibility and connecting with your audiences.

Marketing Plan

  • Donya said this is her soapbox! Publishers want to see an author’s specific marketing plan!
  • It’s not just, “I have a newsletter with 50K subscribers and speak 15 times a year.” Be specific. Detail pre-launch, launch, and post-launch strategies. Include pre-order campaign timing, speaking engagement schedule, and promotional plans. 
  • Publishers value when authors are connected with people of influencer who are going to support, endorse, and promote the book. This could be in the form of blurbs, shout out on their social media post or newsletter, endorsement, interview on their podcast, etc.

Competitive Titles “Comps” SUPER IMPORTANT TO PUBLISHERS

  • Use comps to demonstrate to the publisher you have knowledge of your genre/topic, and know the players.
  • Use recent comp titles (ideally published within the past two years).
  • Publisher sales teams use comps to research how these comp titles sold. It helps predict P&L, book sales, and they use comp title details to sell to B&N and other retailers.
  • Provide both “Position Comps” (what the book is and its audience) and “Sales Comps” (similar titles’ sales performance).
  • How to find comp titles:
    • go to a bookstore shelf and look for books in your category, 
    • look at Amazon books in your categories–click on categories and see dozens of book to triangulate/figure out strong titles, and
    • look for strong blurbs on books (from recognized names/titles) to help to find lead titles.

Final Thoughts

Crafting a winning nonfiction book proposal requires strategy, patience, and collaboration. Work closely with your literary agent and focus on your unique value, audience engagement, and a strong marketing plan. This increases your chances of securing a traditional publishing deal.

Smith Publicity often helps nonfiction authors think through their next book, build brand visibility and expertise in with their target audiences before, during, and after a book launch. Email us for more information. 


About Women’s Media Group

This is one example of the wonderful education events hosted by Women’s Media Group. Women’s Media Group is a New York City-based nonprofit association of women who have achieved prominence in the many fields of media. Their members—drawn primarily from print and digital book, magazine, and newspaper publishing; film and television; and online and other digital media—meet to collaborate with, learn from, inform, and support one another. The organization is also dedicated to mentoring young women interested in pursuing media careers. For more information, visit: https://www.womensmediagroup.org