Penn Group: What A Ghostwriter Can Do For Your Book Proposal

PRLog (Press Release) – Mar 06, 2008 – Book proposals are tricky things. No one formula is going to have you writing the best possible proposal for your book. There are too many variables to writing an effective book proposal. There is a reason that many writers have agents. Only someone knee deep in the publishing business will be able to efficiently create a solid and winning book proposal.

Variable #1

Your manuscript is unique, different from anything that anyone else has written. How, then, can anyone tell you how to write a great book proposal when they haven’t read your book?

They can’t. It’s that simple. The largest variable that will define the style and format of your book proposal is your manuscript. A talented ghostwriter will be able to highlight its strengths in a solid format, piquing the interest of the editor so that she wants to read the entire sample chapter.

Variable #2

Each publishing house that you approach is different from the last. You cannot expect to write just one book proposal and have it work equally well for 25 different publishers. Small publishers have different concerns than larger ones. There is a difference in what each house values most in a manuscript and in an author. A good ghostwriter will be knowledgeable on publishing house trends. After reading your manuscript, she will be more than able to create a list of the publishing houses most likely interested in your work.

Variable #3

Just as every publishing house has its own unique quirks, specialty interests, and particular focus, so too do the editors that run them. An editor may be looking to change the status quo or return to the roots of the press. Ideology and staff changes may sweep the work of 10 years under the rug and whip out the new. Which leads us to the next variable….

Variable #4

Timing is crucial to any book proposal. What has this particular house put out in the past year? The past 5 years? Is there a pattern? Are they saturated on books of your ilk or are they devoted?

These questions are difficult for anyone to answer, but especially so to a writer who has spent his or her time holed up for the past year or two writing a book. A ghostwriter is up on the research; keeps track of publishing houses, their changes, and their interests; knows when an editorial change has affected the number of books put out annually or the type.

Variable #5

Samples are the last and largest variable. You may have landed the right editor at the right publishing house at the right time with a winning book proposal that got that editor interested in reading the sample, but if you can’t grab them with the sample, they’re not going to want to see the rest of the book.

A ghostwriter will be able to check out your book and find the most compelling section to send in: the height of action, the most emotionally poignant. Let the best part of your book sell itself.

Your Constant

The ghostwriter you choose will serve to take the guesswork and worry out of your book proposals. She knows the ins and outs of the publishing industry, what the publishers are looking for this season, who needs what and how many. She has the skill to write a tight, interesting book proposal, one that will effectively outline your book and pique the interest of the editor.

With a ghostwriter on your side, you can move onto your next project, secure in the knowledge that your progress toward publication is well in hand.