Book Proposal Template

Nonfiction is sold on a book proposal, not a finished manuscript. The proposal is a structured document -- usually 30 to 60 pages -- that argues for the book's market, demonstrates the writer's authority, and shows that the writer can execute the project. Editors buy nonfiction based on the proposal. The actual writing of the book often happens after the contract is signed.

This template walks you through every standard section of a book proposal, with notes on what each section needs to do and how to do it well. It assumes you are writing a trade nonfiction book (memoir, narrative nonfiction, prescriptive nonfiction, history, business, popular science). Academic press proposals follow different conventions; this template applies primarily to commercial nonfiction.

The proposal is a sales document. Every section is making a case. The case is that an editor should pay you to write this book and that readers will pay to read it. Keep that purpose in mind, and the writing decisions become easier.

Section 1: Overview (3-5 pages)

The overview is the proposal's elevator pitch, opening argument, and tone-setter combined. It is the first thing the editor reads, and if it does not land, they may not read further. Treat this section like the most important essay you have ever written.

The Hook

The opening paragraphs. Establish the question your book answers, the problem it addresses, or the story it tells. Lead with something arresting -- a statistic, an anecdote, a recent event, a striking image. Then narrow toward your specific project.

The Argument or Story

What is the book actually about? In about a page, articulate the central argument (for prescriptive or analytical books), the narrative arc (for memoir or narrative nonfiction), or the historical scope (for history). This is where the editor decides whether the project has structural integrity.

Why Now

Why does this book need to exist in this moment? Is there a current event that makes the topic urgent? A cultural shift that has primed the audience? A gap in the existing publishing landscape? "Why now" is one of the questions editors are trained to ask, and proposals that answer it persuasively have an edge.

Why You

What gives you authority to write this book? Professional credentials, lived experience, prior research, unique access. This is a brief version of what will appear in the Author Bio section -- enough to establish that you are not someone trying to write outside your wheelhouse.

What to write here: 3-5 pages. Polished. Drafted and revised over weeks, not days.

Section 2: About the Author (1-2 pages)

The case for you as the writer of this book. Different from a query bio -- there is more space and more weight.

• Credentials: Education, professional positions, awards, expertise. The credentials specifically relevant to this book.
• Platform: The reach you currently have to potential readers. Email list size, podcast audience, social media following (specifically engaged followers, not vanity numbers), public speaking venues, media appearances. Editors care more about platform than almost anything else for prescriptive and personality-driven nonfiction.
• Previous publications: Books, articles, essays, anything in respected publications. If you have published widely on this topic, that history is a major asset.
• Personal stake: Why this book matters to you, beyond professional interest. Especially important for memoir and narrative nonfiction.

Tone: confident without arrogance. State your qualifications matter-of-factly. Avoid puffery. Editors are practiced at detecting it.

Section 3: Market Analysis (2-4 pages)

Where the book sits in the marketplace and who will buy it.

The Target Reader

Specifically. Not "anyone interested in history." Specifically: "Readers of accessible narrative history in the tradition of Erik Larson and David Grann, particularly those drawn to crimes against the powerful and to the early twentieth century." The more specific you can be, the more credible your argument that an audience exists.

Comp Titles

Four to six published books that share your book's territory. For each, capture:

• Title, author, publisher, year, sales (if known).
• What the comp shares with your book.
• What distinguishes your book from the comp.

Comp titles should be recent (last 3-5 years), commercially relevant (have sold respectably), and structurally similar to your book. Comping to runaway bestsellers makes you look unrealistic; comping to books that flopped makes you look uninformed.

Trends and Cultural Context

Note any relevant trends -- a category that is growing, a topic in the news cycle, a generational shift that primes readers for your book. Editors track these patterns and proposals that engage with them effectively have an edge.

Section 4: Marketing and Promotion Plan (1-3 pages)

What you, the author, will do to support the book's launch. Editors increasingly expect authors to be active in marketing, particularly for nonfiction. Be concrete.

• Owned channels: Your email list, social media accounts, podcast, blog. Sizes and engagement metrics.
• Earned media potential: Outlets that have covered your work before, or that you believe would cover this book. Be realistic; do not promise The New York Times if you have never been published there.
• Speaking and event opportunities: Conferences you regularly attend, public events you organize, communities where the book would be relevant.
• Endorsement potential: Authors, experts, or public figures who might write blurbs or champion the book. Only include those who would plausibly say yes.
• Specific tactics: A pre-launch newsletter campaign, a podcast tour, a series of essays in major outlets, a launch event in a relevant city. The more concrete, the more credible.

Section 5: Chapter Outline (5-15 pages)

The structural skeleton of the book. For each chapter:

• Chapter number and title: Working title.
• Length: Approximate word count.
• Argument or arc: What this chapter accomplishes, in one or two paragraphs. For narrative nonfiction, the events and emotional arc. For prescriptive nonfiction, the central claim and its supporting evidence.
• Key elements: Sources, scenes, examples, frameworks, or anecdotes the chapter relies on. Enough detail that the editor sees you have done the foundational research.

The chapter outline serves as both a sales document and a planning document. Once the contract is signed, you will draft from it.

Section 6: Sample Chapters (1-3 chapters)

Usually one or two completed chapters, totaling about 10,000-20,000 words. The sample chapters demonstrate that you can actually write the book you are proposing. Choose:

• An early chapter: Often the first chapter or the introduction. Establishes the voice and the structural promises.
• A representative chapter: A chapter that shows the book at its most characteristic -- the kind of writing the editor can expect to see most often.
• A challenging chapter: Sometimes useful for showing you can handle the hardest material. Include only if the difficulty is part of why the book is interesting.

Sample chapters should be polished. They will be read against published nonfiction, not against your other unpublished work.

Section 7: Practical Details

The administrative information the editor needs.

• Estimated total word count: Most trade nonfiction lands between 70,000 and 100,000 words. Memoir often runs shorter; histories and biographies often longer.
• Estimated delivery date: When the manuscript will be complete. Realistic for the scope and your other commitments.
• Special considerations: Photographs, illustrations, charts, an index, appendices. Note anything that affects production complexity.
• Existing rights commitments: If any portion of the material has appeared elsewhere (a chapter as an article, the proposal in development), disclose.

How to Customize This Template

• For memoir: Section 4 (marketing) can be lighter; Section 2 (about the author) carries more weight because the author is the subject. Sample chapters are critical -- voice and emotional authenticity make or break the proposal.
• For narrative nonfiction: Lead the overview with story. The opening pages should read like the opening of the book itself, drawing the reader in. Then pull back into argument.
• For prescriptive nonfiction: Section 4 (marketing) and Section 3 (target reader) carry the heaviest weight. Editors of prescriptive books are buying a platform as much as a manuscript.
• For history and biography: The chapter outline becomes critical -- editors want to see that you understand the shape of the story you are telling. Source notes and access (to archives, primary sources, or living subjects) should be visible in the overview.
• For business and self-help: Add a "framework" section that articulates the book's central idea or method in graspable form. Books in this category often sell on the strength of a memorable framework.
• For academic press proposals: This template is not the right starting point. Academic press proposals have different conventions, often including a literature review and a methodology section. Consult your target press's guidelines.

Build your book proposal in Plotiar. Keep the overview, market analysis, chapter outline, and sample chapters in one project, with everything searchable and revisable. Try it free.