Currently, I am working on a book that covers many aspects of writing, editing, proofreading and publishing. I am looking for an agent that doesn't necessarily want a full manuscript but who would initially check my proposal. This would include an overview and two or three chapters. The book has 16 chapters identified with a final page count of about 250 pages. I would say I am about 40% of the way to the first draft. Any suggestions on possible literary agents I could approach? Thanks in advance.
I'd have said it was significantly too early to be thinking about representation - finish the book first, agents are going to want to see the thing, not be told oh well i have some great ideas book proposals and such are for when you're an author who already has representation testing their next idea... from an unknown its going to look like you're a dreamer
Don't take this the wrong way but nobody is going to take a proposal from a nobody author who hasn't proven themselves to be reliable. Finish the book. You haven't earned the right to work by proposal.
Also a book about writing is going to be a hard sell for someone who doesn't have a publishing or self publishing background...if you don't have a track record of writing your own successful books, why would anyone buy a book from you about all facets of the business... especially when that market is already glutted with how to books from successful authors
For most nonfiction books, the proposal comes first. When I was working on a nonfiction book my proposal ended u being 50 or 60 pages. Agents do want to see the proposal first when it comes to nonfiction books. Nonfiction books are also sold on proposal so it works a lot differently than fiction. There are specific things that must go into the proposal. Do some research and get it right. And you should find plenty of agents willing to check out a proposal from you. It's how the nonfiction book game is played.
I agree with @deadrats. For nonfiction, it isn't unusual to sell a book based on a proposal--it is the norm. Advice I've heard from agents and editors regarding nonfiction is to shop to proposal around to gauge interest before writing the entire book. This applies to aspiring authors as well. For fiction, it's the opposite--the book should be complete before you approach agents/publishers.
See, e.g.: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/10/smarter-living/how-to-finally-write-your-nonfiction-book.html
The thing is that that's completely right for people who are already established authors of non fiction, or for people who are already acknowledged experts in the field based on notoriety or celebrity etc... if you're stephen king you'll have no problem getting a deal for 'on writing' from proposal But if you're a complete unknown with no following and no previous publications, will publishers commission a book from you based on nothing but a proposal? If you've never written a book or sold a book, is anyone going to commission you to write a book about how to succeed writing books? (article is paywalled by the way)
Yes, that's how it works in nonfiction. Books are sold to publishers based on a proposal. A lot goes into these proposals.
Books are sold to publishers based on credible proposals from credible authors... no one disputes that... i'm yet to hear of anyone who's sold a non fiction book based soley on proposal despite not having any serious expertise in the subject they are writing about. "hey i'm thinking of writing a book about writing a book, but I've never actually written a book" doesnt seem likely to cut it I've got two friends who are non fiction authors - one set up her own small press (like properly not just an imprint) because she couldn't get a publishing deal despite numerous proposals, the other has a big five deal for photo books, but to get his first deal he had to submit a complete manuscript and a full portfolio of images...when he originally showed just a proposal one one wanted to know, when his agent came back with a mock up of the finished thing they practically tore his hand off
Yes. That's standard for nonfiction books, even from new authors (except, I believe, in the case of memoirs).
That's not a proposal. As @deadrats said, they're fairly detailed. If the publisher decides to go forward, they're likely going to want some input into the final product, but the proposal is going to tell them what they need to know about whether you're qualified to write the book and they should do business with you. If it doesn't do that, it's a bad proposal and publishers aren't likely to be interested.
But those new authors have to use the proposal to demonstrate that they know what they are talking abou, that they can write, and their product will sell. Theres a big difference between being an expert in a given field who's never written a book before , and being someone who just fancies writing a book about that subject.
We seem to be actually saying the same thing here... that was why my advice to the OP was to write the book first... if you want a publisher to believe you can write a book about writing a book...having written a book is pretty much a prequisite
Except it really is different for nonfiction. Agnets and publishers are want to going to see the proposal before the book no matter what your experience is. There's a formula for this and a proposal in likely to be3 between 50 and 100 pages. It's just how the nonfiction book publishing world works.
Can you remind us how many non fiction book deals you've got ? I'm confused because you've previously said that you only write short stories, and on another occasion that you're working on your first book If you want to ask me the same, the answer is three as the photographer, in a writer photographer partnership... in all three cases the publisher wanted the full manuscript before they were willing to discuss terms..
This blog post at Reedsy generally aligns with the limited experience I’ve had working with nonfiction authors. It mirrors what I’ve heard from agents and editors about proposals and nonfiction books: https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/nonfiction/how-to-publish-a-nonfiction-book/
At the end of the day i think we can all agree that publishing is a very broad church...my experience with this is in one particular field.. photo heavy advice books, (specifically on woodwork and wood turning) in that field they do tend to want to see both your words and your photos rather than working off a proposal My friend's experience with the big 5 deal was also in the photobook area (specifically nature photos)...where they still really want to see what he had... i suspect this is because books that rely on photos live or die on the quality of the photos. - he sells off proposal now, but his first two books they wanted everything first My other friends experience was in the field that might reasonably be called self help and lifestyle... how do get your perfect guy, how to cope with grief that kind of thing...her experience was that it was practically impossible to sell off proposal because the market was already glutted with established experts...hence why she went the self publishing and eventually own publishing house, route. It may well be that away from these areas the experience is different... I'd still be very surprised if anyone could sell a proposal to write a book on subject about which they know little.... I could be wrong, maybe there is a giant market for books written by non experts... I still stand by the original point though - if you've never written a book, its going to be a hard sell to get a publisher to commission you to write a book about writing books. Excellent- care to share some detail on how ?
Here's Folio Literary Agency, which is well-known. For fiction they want entire manuscripts; for non-fiction they want proposals: https://www.foliolit.com/nonfiction-proposals PEW, a literary agency in London, points out that they'll accept fully-written non-fiction books, but that most are sold on proposal: https://www.pewliterary.com/submitting
In any event, as @big soft moose says, experiences in the field are varied. I'm only passing along what I've been told, read, or seen through working with a couple of clients. I'm not saying it holds true for all agents or publishers--always best to become familiar with the agent or publisher you want to work with and find out what they want from a new author.
The proposals I've seen detail to the agent (or publisher) why the author is qualified to write on the subject. Establishing that is part of what the proposal is for, from what I've seen (which, again, may not be true in all cases!).
Of course, you still need to be an expert or convincing that you've got a good story and you're the best or only person to write it. Just because a proposal is required doesn't lower the standards of what's expected. Like I said, a lot goes into these proposals. There's sort of a standard formula to follow. The proposals are typically between 50 and 100 pages. Also, sample chapters are required. I think it can actually be harder to write the proposal than the book in some cases. But that's how nonfiction book publishing operates. Agents want to see the proposal and books like this are sold on proposal. Even if you wrote the whole book first, you would still need to create a proposal to shop around to agents and publishers. I'm sure there are exceptions like you've pointed out, but what I'm saying is the norm for selling nonfiction books.
