Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody can Write (Revised and Updated)

I found the template helpful because it had a lot of detail and success models in it. On many pages I scribbled several notes to myself of how to use the point made in the book in my next proposal. Although I have written and sold two books in the past and read two other books on book proposals, this one added a lot to my knowledge.

In fact, I had an epiphany in the middle of reading the book. I suddenly got it: The editors who may be very interested in my next book may not know anything about my subject, not have time to learn, nor the background to appreciate the nuanaces. Yet they will take a little precious time to consider my ideas if I just make them easy to understand, fun to absorb, and exciting to contemplate. With that insight, I am very excited about writing my next book proposal!

I urge you to read this book and apply its lessons.

My only quibble is that the book has little in the way of examples of proposals for business books, my genre. The Herman and Snell books are better for examples if that is your subject.

If you are serious about wanting to sell your book, I strongly urge you to read this book as well as the Herman and Snell books on the same subject. Good luck with your sale!


Comprehensive Book   December 15, 2002
Bert Krages (Portland, OR United States)
62 out of 64 found this review helpful

Of the several books available on how to write nonfiction book proposals, this one is the most comprehensive. Some of the areas it covers particularly well are the importance of credentials and presentation. However, it provides solid information in all the important areas. It takes more time to read this book than the others on the topic but the time is well spent. Editors and agents are always impressed by book proposals that are informative, succinct, and well prepared and following the guidelines in this book will help you prepare an impressive proposal. Prospective writers often ask me to recommend books on writing book proposals and there are several that I recommend depending on the writer's temperament. I am always encouraged when writers select this one because the level of commitment usually reflects a quality proposal.

Note: Beginning in December 2002, the book is published by a new publisher. The proofing issues that inadvertently slipped through the cracks with the second edition have been corrected( e.g., chapter 14 is now included in the table of contents).


This really is the best advice for writers   February 2, 2003
35 out of 35 found this review helpful

As a literary agent, I endorse this book and recommend it to my clients who are working on nonfiction book proposals because, in my view, it is the most thorough and clear book on the subject. A number of the titles listed on E. Lyon's website are books I represented and sold. They were developed following these guidelines. It is one thing to tell a writer to develop "a great hook" or "write a strong concept statement" and quite another to actually explain what these things are and why they are needed. It is important for the writer to understand the purpose of each piece of a proposal and how it will be used by the agent and editor to grasp why the approaches explained in this book are so valuable. Beyond having a strong salable subject and good writing skills (or a good co-author or ghostwriter), in today's publishing world even smaller publishers want to see a solid marketing plan and publicity ideas. Elizabeth provides guidance to develop one. There are quite a few books on this subject offering a broad range of expertise, but this one is the best. As someone else pointed out, the errors in the previous edition were the responsibility of the original small press-- a reminder that many things like title and cover design and certainly page layouts are not left up to the author! Natasha Kern


A Great Resource for Writers - Aspiring and Otherwise   June 8, 2006
Danny Iny (Montreal, Canada)
22 out of 22 found this review helpful

The position of an aspiring writer, trying to break into the published market, is not an enviable one. Here's a fairly common scenario: writer spends a year or two writing his book. He pours his heart and mind into the manuscript, and once it's done, he starts sending it out to publishing houses. Responses aren't immediately forthcoming; it's a big manuscript, so it tends to sit at the bottom of busy publishers' to-do lists. Finally, if he's lucky, he gets a response - someone actually wants to publish his book. Only they want a lot of it changed, to make it more marketable.

It doesn't have to be this way; there's a better process to follow. You start with a query letter; a short letter of a few pages outlining the idea for your book. Since it's short, publishers are likely to read it much sooner. You get replies sooner, too; to the people who are interested, you send a full-blown book proposal - explaining in detail what you want to write, who will buy it, outlining the book, and providing a sample chapter or two (preparing this proposal is much, much easier than actually writing a whole book).

If a publisher likes the idea, you can be extended an offer, including a cash advance for the book. If something needs to be changed about the concept, it can be done before you've actually written the whole thing. Basically, this process means much less work, and getting paid for your work quite a bit sooner.

In "Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write", Elizabeth Lyon explains in detail how to go about putting together a book proposal that a publisher will read and like, so that you will be offered an advance to write your book. If you want to make your living as a writer of books, you absolutely must have Lyon's book on your reference shelf.

My first book was self-published - that's a route that you can take to completely circumvent the approach to publishers; you can learn more about that in Dan Poynter's "Self-Publishing Manual". My next book is more suited to go through a publisher, and Lyon's book is definitely going to be one of the tools that I use to get the project going. Highly, highly recommended.

Danny Iny
Author of "Ordinary Miracles - Harness the power of writing and get your point across!" (ISBN 1-4116-7252-6)


This book is pure gold! Got me an offer from a major pub.   August 25, 1999
19 out of 19 found this review helpful

A thousand thanks to Ms. Lyons who wrote a truly helpful book to the first-time author, like me. Although I have found books on the shelves offering a more simplified way to complete a book proposal, none is as thorough as Non-Fiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write. It took me about 2-1/2 months to get it right, but after it was finished, I was extremely satisfied with how it read. I received an offer from a large publisher who also stated that my proposal was professional and well-written; even my agent said it should be the standard in the industry. I owe a debt of gratitude to Ms. Lyons and would recommend this book highly!