Book Proposals - Writing an Outline For a Non-Fiction Book
One difficulty that is often encountered when writing book proposals is that of writing an outline for a non-fiction book.
It can be a difficult and time consuming task if done wrong.
The key to doing it right is in the system you have used to write your non-fiction book.
If you've picked a good system then you already have an outline.
In LearningCreators' system this is the Content Map.
In other systems it could be a mind map or an outline.
However you do it, the more detailed the tool's outline the better the book proposal outline.
There are actually three different outlines you need for a book proposal: 1.
The first outline you need is one paragraph in length.
It will be used for both original query letter and in the executive summary.
The easy way to write such a synopsis is to write one sentence for each chapter in the book.
What is the chapter about? What does it discuss? Why is it included? What are you trying to say in it? Theoretically you could just use this as your synopsis.
However, a much better technique is to use each sentence as a bullet point.
Then write your paragraph from the bullet points.
The result will be a much improved paragraph that more closely carries the intent of the book.
2.
The second outline you will need is two to three paragraphs which appear in the Introduction or Overview section.
This synopsis is more difficult to write than a single paragraph.
What are the three key points of the whole book? What are the 3 key points in each chapter? Start with the bullet points in the previous outline.
For each chapter you can expand on the bullet points to two or three points per chapter.
Organize the points into the three key points of the book.
If you have structured the book well you should be able to do this reasonably easily.
Now write a paragraph for each of the three key points of the book.
Use the key points of the chapters to fill in the paragraph.
3.
The third outline you need is a two or three page detailed outline.
This will be used as a standalone section in the proposal.
Initially you want to use the Content Map (or alternative).
Each topic will become a sentence and each chapter roughly a paragraph.
Periodically the sentence should be a quotation from the actual book, although this is a problem if you wait to write the book until the proposal is accepted.
Since you need to include two sample chapters, by writing three chapters you should have enough material to include quotations that are not in the sample.
The idea is to convey both the content and the tone.
Of course you'll need to smooth the writing out and ensure that the whole sounds similar in tone and voice as the final book will.
If you've chosen a good system, writing an outline for your non-fiction book can be done in either order.
However, if you've chosen a system that doesn't provide a good, paragraph level design, you need to create a proper design.
Use the completed book to create the detailed outline.
Then use that outline to create the two or three paragraph outline and finally, use that outline to create the one paragraph outline.
It can be a difficult and time consuming task if done wrong.
The key to doing it right is in the system you have used to write your non-fiction book.
If you've picked a good system then you already have an outline.
In LearningCreators' system this is the Content Map.
In other systems it could be a mind map or an outline.
However you do it, the more detailed the tool's outline the better the book proposal outline.
There are actually three different outlines you need for a book proposal: 1.
The first outline you need is one paragraph in length.
It will be used for both original query letter and in the executive summary.
The easy way to write such a synopsis is to write one sentence for each chapter in the book.
What is the chapter about? What does it discuss? Why is it included? What are you trying to say in it? Theoretically you could just use this as your synopsis.
However, a much better technique is to use each sentence as a bullet point.
Then write your paragraph from the bullet points.
The result will be a much improved paragraph that more closely carries the intent of the book.
2.
The second outline you will need is two to three paragraphs which appear in the Introduction or Overview section.
This synopsis is more difficult to write than a single paragraph.
What are the three key points of the whole book? What are the 3 key points in each chapter? Start with the bullet points in the previous outline.
For each chapter you can expand on the bullet points to two or three points per chapter.
Organize the points into the three key points of the book.
If you have structured the book well you should be able to do this reasonably easily.
Now write a paragraph for each of the three key points of the book.
Use the key points of the chapters to fill in the paragraph.
3.
The third outline you need is a two or three page detailed outline.
This will be used as a standalone section in the proposal.
Initially you want to use the Content Map (or alternative).
Each topic will become a sentence and each chapter roughly a paragraph.
Periodically the sentence should be a quotation from the actual book, although this is a problem if you wait to write the book until the proposal is accepted.
Since you need to include two sample chapters, by writing three chapters you should have enough material to include quotations that are not in the sample.
The idea is to convey both the content and the tone.
Of course you'll need to smooth the writing out and ensure that the whole sounds similar in tone and voice as the final book will.
If you've chosen a good system, writing an outline for your non-fiction book can be done in either order.
However, if you've chosen a system that doesn't provide a good, paragraph level design, you need to create a proper design.
Use the completed book to create the detailed outline.
Then use that outline to create the two or three paragraph outline and finally, use that outline to create the one paragraph outline.
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