Basic book proposal guidelines:
- COVER PAGE (with the title, your name and your full contact information on the lower left)
- BOOK PROPOSAL TABLE OF CONTENTS (include all the major components and their respective page numbers in the proposal)
- OVERVIEW (clearly and concisely state intention of book and what qualifications you bring to it to make it publishable)
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR (note the key details that help an agent appreciate your expertise and relationship to the topic of the proposed work)
- MARKETING (note your proposed marketing--unrelated to what the publisher will do--based on your social media, lecture circuit, and other dynamic ways you have engaged with your prospective readership)
- MS. DETAILS (projected delivery date and word count; if applicable, number of illustrations, graphs, etc.)
- COMPARATIVE TITLES (title, author, and include publisher and publication date)
- BOOK TABLE OF CONTENTS
- SAMPLE CHAPTERS (ideally the first chapter and another key chapter)