Useful Suggestions for Writing a Book Proposal

How to Write a Book Proposal is aimed at authors of non-fiction books, but is has good advice for fiction writers as well. Non-fiction books usually sell on the strength of a proposal and the advice is excellent. Fiction books usually sell on the basis of the completed manuscript. However, the advice on internet marketing and promotion is appropriate for either type of book.

I found the section on choosing a title to be particularly interesting. Often authors forget what a great selling tool the title is. Larsen makes this point clearly and offers numerous, often humorous, suggestions. In fact, I found all Larsen's marketing suggestions interesting and in many cases vital. Everyone who expects to write a book must find a way to get readers and decide how much time to spend on marketing as opposed to writing new material. The days of publishers marketing all books to the full are gone. Authors need to be entrepreneurs as well as creators.

I recommend this book for anyone thinking about publishing either a non-fiction book, for which it is most useful, or a fiction book, for the information on marketing and use of the internet. My suggestion is to use the material that makes sense for your project, read the rest and enjoy the writer's humor.

I reviewed this book as part of the Thomas Nelson Booksneeze Program.