How do you get a book contract?

How do you get a book contract? I’m starting to get this question more often now that I’m working on my second book. The short answer is: write a compelling book proposal.

A book proposal is a short pitch that you submit to publishers. The goal is to convince a publisher that: you have a compelling book idea; you’re the right person to write the book; and they should invest in the book.

In other words, a book proposal is very much like a grant proposal. The grant writing skills you have (writing one pagers, lit reviews, research plans) are all relevant for book proposals.

Here’s my advice for writing book proposals. One caveat, I’ve only written two book proposals. My perspective is not all encompassing. For a comprehensive take on book proposals, I highly recommend Laura Portwood-Stacer’s Book Proposal Book.

• Read samples. Similar to grant writing, reading samples helps you understand this genre of writing. Here is my book proposal for my second book, The Public Scholar (under contract with Princeton University Press).
• Study guidelines. Publishers often post what they want to see in your proposal. Make sure you adhere to those guidelines. It makes it easier for editors to advocate for your book during decision-making meetings.
• Use comp titles to bolster your case. Comparison (“comp”) titles are the books that your book could sit next to on the shelf. They’re the “Fans of ____ book might like my book.” Or “My book has elements of ____ book combined with the writing style of ____ book.” To help you think of comps, consider these questions. If the marketing team made a stack of books from the press, what books would be in a stack with your book? If you sat on a panel, what other authors do you hope would be at the table? Many people think of comps as competing titles. But I think of comps as books I love that I hope my book could be in conversation with (but contribute a different voice).
• Argue for your work. Like grant writing, you are making a case for your work. Give specific evidence that convinces the press you can write and market your book. For instance, have a clear outline. Instead of saying you will market the book, say which networks you could tap and give examples of your launch plan (see pp. 8 - 9 of my sample for more examples).

That’s all for now, colleagues! Stay tuned for part II of this series, where I will cover securing grants to get time to actually write your book. If you know someone who’s interested in writing a book, would you mind forwarding this newsletter to them?

As always, thanks for reading and believing that scholars deserve support for incredible ideas.

Betty

Stay in touch: The Newsletter, Bluesky, TikTok, and The Grant Writing Guide book.

P.S. Need an invite to join Bluesky? I have five I can share. Many scholars have migrated from Twitter/X to Bluesky. It’s starting to feel like the old Academic Twitter - when it was a helpful space.

P.P.S. If you’re interested in NSF grants, you can register for a free virtual training conference at NSF.

P.P.P.S. Happy Thanksgiving to those that celebrate. My daughter isn’t feeling the spirit of the season.