Hey, do you know that there’s one common thing with all of us in this world since the year 2020? Do you know what that is? The greatest novel of all history. It’s the most depressing true-life story I have ever seen made it so big, that it didn’t even need any wands (maybe magic) for it to appear in our lives, and we’re still unsure of WHO the author is, but it was you know WHO that reported it officially. Wanna guess what novel that is? Novel Coronavirus!
Damn, I should have written a book on Vitamin C, now that would have been a guaranteed bestseller!
Seriously, so many people read it (Novel Coronavirus), and it’s the most spread, word of mouth novel, that even Quentin Tarantino became “Tin tin” Quarantino!
See South Africans don’t say “thin,” they say “tin”.
Alright, before I get out of hand, let’s get straight into the differences between fiction and non-fiction book proposals. Also, take a look at the articles Writing a winning book proposal, and the article How to write a literary query letter?
1) Fiction proposals should be written in advance and require more details
Fiction books are much riskier before a publisher decides to make a bet on them. This is why the proposal has to be in detail. It requires generally the following to be in the proposal. This will help one to see the differences between fiction and non-fiction book proposals.
- Query letter
- Marketing plan
- Table of contents
- Chapter by chapter breakdown
- Sample chapters
- Author’s bio
- Target audience and market analysis
- Other books that are similar in the market related to the concept of the book that the proposal is being written for and their success.
The difference between fiction and non-fiction book proposals is that with fiction book proposals the book must be completed.
With non-fiction book proposals the concept can be there along with a couple of chapters, and a proposal can be written out to publishers to consider offering a publishing contract on the project that is currently in the works.
The following should be in the proposal:
- Query letter
- Marketing plan
- Author bio (The author’s expertise or reasons why they can write about this topic)
- Sample chapters/ overview or chapter breakdown
- Other books that are similar in the market related to the concept of the book that the proposal is being written for and their success.
2) A fiction proposal takes longer to write compared to a non-fiction proposal
The differences between fiction and non-fiction book proposals here are … just imagine…
If it wasn’t enough to finally finish writing one’s novel after so much dedication and time put into it, only to find that no matter how much dedication and time that went into the novel it’s the work in the proposal that determines the level of commitment the publisher will put into the project. This means taking a lot of time writing out the proposal and carrying out proper research, but by this point, one would already know the audience the book was written for and what it is they wish to present to the publisher in the requirements of the proposal.
When it comes to a non-fiction novel, writing a proposal comes more naturally, what matters here is why is the author qualified to write about this, this again comes naturally to an author as the topic and content are already there in their mind it doesn’t need to be invented or imagined.
The research into the market, analysis and comparable books are where the time can be dedicated to even if the entire book isn’t written as yet, so if a person, not necessarily an author wants to first find a publisher they can, then if they can’t write the book themselves, they can have a ghost-writer write it along with their help. If the story is good or can be proven to do well in the market, demonstrated well in the proposal, then there should be no reason why a publisher won’t offer a contract. It is about business in the end nothing personal.
Maybe this is a myth, but it’s said that it’s better to get an agent for a fiction proposal than a non-fiction proposal
The differences between fiction and non-fiction book proposals on this point are purely due to trust in fiction books even more, now that there are many companies and platforms to self-publish. Remember, for traditional publishers to bet on a book, provide a contract, or an advance payment they’d need to be certain that the book has a market that will purchase it or that the book will succeed. Once upon a time, traditional publishers had more control, even over bookshops, but today, with the various methods one can publish and sell their books, traditional publishers can’t risk their resources on just any book.
It might be more work, but it might even be worth it to approach an agent with the proposal or the fiction book. Publishers receive a lot of unsolicited manuscripts and submissions if a call for submissions has been put out. They don’t have time to look through the piles of manuscripts similar to recruiters this job is given to someone else to look through the piles, in the case of the publishing world this is the job of agents meaning literary agents. Literary agents have years of connections with publishers and certain literary agents are more trusted by publishers compared to others. Even though they take fees upon receiving the advancement or have their agreement on fees this way a literary agent, their guidance, and motivation can likely land one the publishing contract if this is the route one wishes to take.
Finding the right literary agent or the one can take time, that between drawing up the proposal, finishing the book and looking for an agent, research and a lot of time should be dedicated, but also writers and artists know fully well that patience is a virtue. The literary agent is that one person that will stand in the writer’s corner and find them the best publishing contract, look out for their rights, and can make simultaneous submissions on the behalf of the writer/author.
Maybe I should write a non-fiction book on vampires, I already have the title, or maybe I should reconsider it… it might end up being a real pain in the neck!
I’m Indian after all and I’m still human… that’s why I only go for naan fiction, any other ideas?
You can also have a look at the Differences between fiction and non-fiction book proposals short video.
Alright, that’s all for today but do lookout for the next article which “type-writer” are you?
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Yours sincerely
T. Dench Patel
