BY BARBARA PARUS
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Dig this gold mine of information for writing and selling
a book proposal that you might not find elsewhere.
Book proposals: your ticket to publication! Hold all calls, turn on your
computer, and brace yourself for the
exciting new life that awaits you as
a published author. Is that Oprah or
Leno calling? Who wants to interview
you for the six o’clock news? Do you have time
to fly to Los Angeles for a TV special on your new
book? You’re thinking, “Do I have time? Who are
you kidding—sign me up!”
Yes, your new book may change your life in
extraordinary ways, such as heralding you as a guru
on a particular topic and increasing your speaking
engagements ten-fold. But don’t forget, it all starts
with a book proposal. There are dozens of books
lining the shelves of libraries and book stores that
explain how to write an effective book proposal.
After flipping through the pages of several, however, you’ll discover they contain identical information about a proposal’s basic components; namely,
the hook, overview, marketing, table of contents,
sample chapter, etc.
According to several NSA members who are
published authors, writing and selling a book proposal are not always, well, by the book. In this article, they share some golden nuggets of information
based on their own experiences.
SAM HORN
BOOKS: Pop! Stand Out in Any Crowd, Tongue Fu!®,
Conzentrate, Take the Bully by the Horns, and What’s
Holding You Back?
GOLDEN NUGGET: Write a two-page proposal
using the A-t-M triangle.
Many “how-to” books recommend writing a
lengthy proposal; however, literary consultant,
speaker and author Sam Horn disagrees. “Don’t
