We’re nearing the end of our series on book proposals! So far we’ve talked about the Overview, the Author’s Bio, the Competitive Analysis, and the Marketing Plan. Today we’ll tackle the Chapter Summaries section, and then we’ll wrap things up in the next newsletter with selecting your sample chapter.
This section is basically an annotated outline of the structure of your book. The point of the Chapter Summary section is to give the editor an idea of your content and your method of presenting that information, AND to make sure you are organized and know what you are writing about.
Most books are around 60,000 words, and most have 12 chapters (each chapter is usually about 5,000 words long, including 2,000 words in stories/anecdotes/case studies). Each summary should be 1-3 paragraphs, and should give an indication as to what information will be covered in each chapter and how (client success stories, quizzes/assessments, etc.).
Your book should be laid out in a clear, logical manner. Here is a general structure of a standard nonfiction book:
Chapter 1 – overview/introduction
Chapter 2 – helps reader identify him or herself as a person desperately needing the information you’re about to offer
Chapter 3-11 – expound your ideas of how to solve the problem, etc.
Chapter 12 – go forth and conquer chapter; sums up book, inspires reader to go out and change their life
(Obviously if you are writing a biography, memoir, etc., you will not be offering advice or solving a problem, but you will still want to begin the book with an introduction and then gradually build your story over the chapters that follow. The conclusion should summarize what has already happened (including thematically), and apply those events to the current day – i.e., this is how the Civil War battle influenced the outcome of the war, and history in general, your love-hate relationship with your mother influenced your life in this way, and so on.)
You’ll want to make sure you flex your storytelling muscles – including your own story, there should be two to three others in each chapter to “back up” your claims, statements, theses, etc. You never know whose story a reader will connect with personally, and you want to maximize the opportunity for that connection to be made.
Also, if you will be including graphics/charts/visual aids, it would be a good idea to indicate that in your summaries.
Not sure if your structure works? I can help! Have a proposal ready, but not sure what the next step is? I can help with that too.
The Author Power Pack: 4 Mini-Trainings to Make Your Writing Dreams Happen and Get Your Book Published Now
Discover Industry Insider Tips and Tricks to FINALLY Write and Publish The Book You’ve Been Talking About Forever
I’m sharing:
• Why you need a nonfiction book proposal, how to write one, and how to make yours stand out from the hundreds of others agents and editors see every day
• The 16 common mistakes and missteps that even the best authors make when writing, editing, and pitching their manuscripts
• The #1 mistake that most authors are making (without even realizing it!) and how you can fix it so you can finally get your book written and published
• The 12 specific strategies my clients use to build their platforms
• The secrets to creating a stellar “elevator pitch” and becoming a pro at pitching yourself
Click the link below to purchase your game-changing Author Power Pack Today!