All About Sleep from A to Zzzzz

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All About Sleep from A to Zzzzz

• A nonfiction book proposal by
• Elaine Scott
• Prepared for Janet Pascal, Editor
• Viking Childrens Books
• New York

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Summary

• Tell what the book is about in three or four
  polished paragraphsat the most. Include audience
  age and approximate length. Note illustrations
  Art? Photographs? Who will obtain the
  illustrations?
• Is the topic classic, or current? If its a
  current hot topic, will it be viable two years
  from now, when the book is published? Explain
  why.
• Include information about yourself. Why are you
  the one who should write this book? If you have
  a track record, great reviews, or impressive
  sales figures, include the best of them in the
  summary. If its your first book, explain why
  you are the expert on the topic.
• Remember, the summary is the editors first
  impression of the projectand you.

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The Market

• Do homework on places where your book may be
  marketed other than the obvious schools and
  libraries. Museums? Include a number. (There are
  over 70 natural history museums in the U. S.)
  NASA visitor centers? (There are 17 of them.)
  How would your title fit into a bookstores
  shelving?
• How does your book fit into todays curriculum
  standards?
• Are you willing to support the title with school
  visits, etc. If so, say so.

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The Competition

• Include the titles of all books on your topic,
  published for your age group, in the past 5
  years. Give publisher and date of publication.
• Explain why your book is different from each one
  of them. It could be structure, new information,
  style, poor reviews of the existing titles, etc.
• Remember, you are selling to a committee, not a
  single editor.

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Table of Contents

• For a longer title (48-64 pages) break text into
  titled chapters
• For a picture-book length ms. bullet points of
  topics may be sufficient.

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Chapter Thumbnails

• 1-3 paragraphs to describe the content of each
  chapter. Try to include interesting details or
  colorful anecdotes that illustrate your point.
• Books for the upper elementary age usually
  contain between 5-8 chapters and are 64 pages in
  length. Aim for 64 pages, if possible.

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Chapter OneA Brilliant Beginning

• Here you enclose the first chapter of your ms.
  Most editors will require this, since they want a
  taste of your writing style.

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A Good Proposal Should

• Be originalno rehash of topics already out the
• Give an editor a clear sense of what the book is
  about
• Include specifications a table of contents,
  length of ms., type of illustration, use of
  sidebars
• Include a market page that specifies the market
  for your title, AND the competition that is out
  there
• Contain information about your own credentials
  for writing this particular book
• Include a sample chapter or two