By Rebecca Gould
Before you can even start to write a business book, you must first write your book proposal and pitch it to publishing houses. Regardless of whether or not authors decide to hire an agent for this portion of the process, they often make the same common mistakes, sometimes without even realizing their missteps.
After preparing and editing book proposals for my own clients, as well as speaking with authors, editors, literary agents, and publicists for the RainToday research, The Ultimate Guide to Publishing & Marketing a Business Book, I'm familiar with many of the stumbling blocks to putting together a winning book proposal. Drawing on the RainToday research and my experience, I have compiled a short list of easy-to-make, but also easy-to-avoid, mistakes to help guide you towards earning your book contract.
1. Do Not Use Your Book-To-Be As Your Marketing Platform
This is the cardinal sin in the world of business book publishing. It is of utmost importance to realize that while you are writing your business book to grow your business and make you more successful, so are publishers. Mary Glenn, editor at McGraw-Hill, reminds authors that,
We're looking for stuff that we think we can sell, not necessarily your commentary on what you're seeing. We're running a business, as well.
In the competitive world of book publishing, it is critical that you demonstrate to publishers that not only do you have something substantial to say in your book, but you also have the ability to promote it and sell it to a solid audience. As experienced literary agent and author Jeff Herman advises,
Publishers don't want to see themselves as being in the business of creating a platform for the writer. They want to be the beneficiary of the author's pre-existing platform.
That said, even if you are accepted at a publisher without much of a marketing platform, you had better start scrambling to put one together. Of all the things I heard in my interviews with the experts, the number one theme was, as Herman states,
One of the misconceptions that people who are new to the book publishing world have is they think that not only does the publisher publish the work, but that they actually do a lot of the marketing. The rule is that they do no marketing.
2. Your Book Needs To Stand Out From The Crowd
You know you're great at what you do. You know you provide top-of-the-line accounting / consulting / design / IT / whatever services to your clients. And you know your book would help a world of people with their business. Guess what? That's not enough for you to win a book contract.
The reality is, there are thousands and thousands of professionals who want to write business books, and there are plenty who are more than qualified to do so. The trick is to do your research on competitive books and really demonstrate in your proposal what makes your book different from the ones that are already in the market.
As Debra Wishik Englander, editor at John Wiley & Sons, says,
It's a real turnoff if somebody says, 'Well, I've written a book on retirement planning and I think there's going to be a wide audience.' And I'm thinking, 'Snooze… Yes, I've published 15 or more books in the last 2 years on retirement planning, but what's different about yours?'
3. Don't Exaggerate Your Book's Ultimate Influence
At this point in the process, you're probably stressed. You want to demonstrate that you have a great marketing platform, and you want to tell the editor that your book will go above and beyond any of the others already in print. However, it is important not to go too overboard in your proposal.
John Willig, a seasoned literary agent, advises,
One of the most common mistakes that authors will make is that they try to do too much. They try to reach too broad of an audience. In their proposal, they'll have 10 to 15 bullet points listing their target audience—everyone from senior executives in corporations to working moms in home office businesses. Those are two completely different audiences. The mistake is in thinking that it has to reach that broad audience. This is the kind of marketplace where 9 times out of 10 you're not going to have wide-ranging appeal.
4. Your Attitude Makes A Difference
Not only do you want to be honest with publishers, but you also don't want to appear arrogant. Publishers look for authors who will be good partners during the publishing process. If you start out submitting a book proposal that claims your book will solve the world's problems, you'll end up leaving the wrong impression.
Finally, just as you enjoy your job as a professional, so do acquisitions editors. Glenn advises authors to,
Be a fan of business books. Be part of the community. If you want to be successful, then buy some business books and support your bookstore, even if it's just for good karma. Don't say, 'I hate business books, but I want to write one.' You've got to be into every aspect of it.
To read more expert advice on business book publishing, check out RainToday's report, The Ultimate Guide to Publishing & Marketing a Business Book.
Rebecca Gould is the former Editor of RainToday.com and can be reached at rgould@raintoday.com.