Jon Samsel

A well-done book proposal acts as a signal to an editor that the project should receive careful attention. If an author receives a quick response, that reaction could be because the editor made an automatic no decision. Proposals that are well-executed, and on subjects that fit a publisher’s list, usually take longer for a decision. Obviously, some proposals arrive at the right time, are on target, and excite an editor’s enthusiasm. Such proposals are a delight to editors.

Try your best to send only terrific proposals to publishers. They take more time and effort, but the positive results they can bring are worth it. Remember what Scott Fitzgerald said about writing a book. “It takes time to complete a book.” And it also takes time, sometimes a lot of it, to complete a topnotch proposal for a book.

Why Many Authors Dislike Proposals and Outlines

Different authors give various reasons why they dislike doing outlines and proposals. Here are the general reasons they turn thumbs down on one or both:

1. Outlines set a limit on the creative process. The author may feel that he or she cannot make any changes once the outline has been set.
2. The minds of many authors go blank when they have to do an outline.
3. Changes are quite likely to suggest themselves to an author while the actual writing is being done.
4. “Outlines are flat and cold,” say a number of authors.
5. An outline, even a proposal, may be a poor indicator of the final book. The completed book may turn out far better than the proposal or outline suggested. Yet editors may turn the project down if they don’t like the way the proposal-outline reads. So an outline or proposal may not give an accurate appraisal of the book’s potential, style, and quality of writing. The outline may be misleading in a number of ways.
6. When it comes to fiction, many novelists prefer to “turn a character loose” and see what happens. They like to discover the story as they write it, and an outline or synopsis cramps this method.
7. Many authors are often more stimulated by working from an opening sentence, setting, or whatever, and they don’t like feeling restricted by what was stated in an outline or proposal.
8. Some authors swear that a proposal or outline simply short-circuits their enthusiasm for a project.

The final decision is up to the author. But to sell a nonfiction book these days, you will usually have to complete a proposal first. In fiction, it naturally helps to know your main characters when beginning a novel, along with an idea for the setting and ending. Some good deal of planning for a novel is probably a must (for most authors), and that will mean a carefully thought out synopsis.

You should experiment to see what works best for you. Try doing a proposal for one book, perhaps a basic outline for another. Go with what each project seems to call for.

Remember that a promising proposal for a nonfiction book can go a long way toward selling your project to an editor. Unless novels are your specialty, sound outlines and proposals for nonfiction books will more than likely mean more book sales for you.

Discover what works best for you through experience. Keep in mind that you can always tear up an outline, even a proposal, change it to please you, or do a brand new one.

Proposal, or outline, or neither? Let it be a new question for each book that will hopefully bear your name.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 1st, 2008 at 7:17 am and is filed under Creativity, Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.