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 make it publishable; can be a few paragraphs or two or so pages; detail any features or benefits of the book; how is your book different and better than what's been published?)
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR (note the key details that help an agent appreciate your expertise and relationship to the topic of the proposed work; prose not a c.v.; cite awards and other publications)
- MARKETING (note your proposed marketing before, during and after the book
launch--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)