By Melissa Walsh

As an independent writer and publisher, people often tell me that they have a cool book idea. I say, “Great. You should get started on it.” They ask, “How?” I offer them some tips and suggest they contact me for support if they want help developing the proposal, writing or editing the manuscript, or self-publishing the book. 

Book ideas come easily, but crafting an idea into a reader-friendly narrative does not. My experience chatting with folks about books tells me that just about everyone has at least one amazing book concept simmering in their brain. The problem is getting the concept out of their head and onto the page. Because authoring a book is tedious, requiring discipline and focus, and because the publishing process demands attention to detail and new technologies, too many cool book ideas never enter the market.

For those serious about developing their cool book idea into a real book, here are the steps to making it happen:

1- Get the concept on paper.
Go crazy brainstorming your cool book idea on paper in the form of an outline and clusters of rough prose. For now, don’t sweat the mechanics of writing. The concept or story is what sells. Get it out of your head and slap it into text that you, or a commissioned editor, can later reshape, enhance, and fine-tune. 

Don’t worry about someone stealing your cool book idea. Once you have written a draft of your concept, you automatically hold exclusive rights to the work. But to be safe, you can register your manuscript with the U.S. Copyright Office for a $65 fee.

2- Identify your target audience and get to know them as readers.
Become more familiar with the books your target market consumes. See what these folks are recommending on blogs and chats. Analyze book sales rankings in your genre for your market, entering data into a spreadsheet. Draw conclusions about what hooks and entertains your target audience. Figure out what they want to read more about. What are they curious about? Look for voids in current book listings. Can your book idea fill the gaps?

3- Roll up your sleeves and build the manuscript.
Go as far as you can in developing your book’s content. Stick to your outline and focus on your reader prospect as your write. Carve out time in your schedule at least several times each week to fill those journal pages or type on that laptop. Don’t let anything aside from life’s emergencies get in the way of the authoring time you’ve carved out of your have-to schedule. 

You can’t steer a parked car, and you can’t sell an unwritten manuscript. Like a mechanic building an engine, get going building the manuscript ― the book’s engine ― so you can drive your book to an audience. If you get stuck, and you can’t get that engine to turn, commission a professional writer, or ghostwriter, to build the manuscript (your book’s engine) for you.

4- Investigate your publishing options.
Should you self-publish? Should you work on getting an agent? Should you find a publisher who accepts unagented manuscript? 

Use the Writer’s Market to investigate which agents or publishers you’d like to contact with your book proposal. Create a list of agents/publishers, noting their specialties, proposal requirements, royalty rates, whether or not they accept simultaneous submissions, etc. Identify which agent or publisher you’d like to contact first about your cool book idea.

5- Develop and submit the book proposal.
As you’re actively building your manuscript, you should also develop the business proposal for your book. The proposal is your sales pitch to a publisher, convincing an acquisitions editor that your cool book idea will earn the publisher a financial return. You’re negotiating a business deal; visualize your concept in terms of business value, in addition to stepping into the shoes of your intended readership. 

Developing a solid proposal will do more than convince potential stakeholders that your book idea is truly a cool book idea. It will serve as an important reference in guiding your activities as the project manager of your book’s development. Even if you’re planning to self-publish the book, you ought to draft a well-thought-out proposal for successfully publishing and promoting your book on schedule and with attention to content quality and market appeal. Writing the proposal forces you to research your target readership, any competing works currently listed, and promotional techniques to win market share for your book. You’ll also prescribe for yourself a chapter outline and summary with a schedule for manuscript completion. 

Reference the publisher’s proposal-submission guidelines. Most nonfiction publishers require the following rubrics:

Background ― Tell the publisher why you want to write this book. Why must this information/story be delivered to the target market?

Market ― Tell the publisher about your audience. To whom are you writing this book? What is this market reading these days? What’s special about this market?

Rationale ― Convince the publisher that the intended market needs this book? Why will the target market embrace your proposed book?

Market Analysis ― Show the publisher the numbers. Present a table with sales figures on titles overlapping your proposed book’s topic and target readership. Provide your analysis of how and why currently listed titles seem to be attracting or repelling the readership. Based on book rankings, explain how your proposed book will fill a hole in current listings or meet a need or desire of the market.

About the Author ― In one to two short paragraphs, tell the publisher a little bit about yourself and your credentials for writing this book.

Table of Contents ― Decide on chapter titles and list them for the publisher with a one- to two-sentence description of the scope for each chapter.

Sample Chapter(s) ― Submit clean (copyedited and proofed) copy of one or two sample chapters with the proposal.

Submit the proposal to to your number-one publisher prospect or agent and hope for a positive response within one to three months.

6- Be patient. Stay positive.
Every author experiences rejection. Just about every book proposal is rejected at least once. The manuscripts of Stephen King and J.K. Rowling were rejected. Rejection is a normal part of the process in the book-publishing biz. If (when) you receive a rejection letter, simply file the rejection notice, cross that prospect of your list of publishers/agents, and press on with your cool book idea by preparing your proposal for the next prospect.

7- Rely on your “book mechanic.”
Once you have a plan in place for publishing the book, you’ll charge forward in completing and perfecting the manuscript. To achieve optimal market mileage for your book, rely on an editor, or “book mechanic.” You wouldn’t diagnose and repair an engine without the help of a trained and experienced mechanic, right? So don’t try to fix your book manuscript without professional help either. Whether your publisher assigns you an editor or you have to commission an editor yourself, it’s a good idea to incorporate the recommendations of experienced book mechanics, who’ve honed skills in wordsmithing and cultivated a savvy for the book biz. 

Your book mechanic may suggest minor tweaks or recommend a major overhaul of your manuscript. Don’t take it personal. All authors require a degree of help in crafting manuscript into smooth-running prose. The objective, trained eye of an experienced copyeditor assesses the manuscript for readability and adherence to the prescribed editorial standard. Just as a skilled mechanic can make an engine purr, so can a skilled editor develop a manuscript for the proper rhythm and tone of the market.  

8- Promote your book.
You’ll get to know your target readership better by developing the marketing sections of your proposal. You’ll also learn more about your market during the course of researching the subject of your book. A few months before your target publication date, you’ll want to begin promoting your book. Generate buzz for the upcoming release of your book. Get creative with memorable YouTube videos and clever tweeting. Launch buzz that is amazing or funny enough to go viral. Send out a press release to get reporters and reviewers interested in the book’s release. Start a blog on your book’s topic to build readership interest. Develop a book website with a POS link. Introduce yourself to area libraries and book stores, requesting a meet-the-author/book-signing event. Prepare posters and handouts for these events. Your publisher my offer you complete support in these promotional activities, or you may have to execute them on your own. Either way, make sure you have a promotional plan in place well in advance of your book’s pub date.

Need Help Getting Out of Park, Into Drive?

If you’re serious about getting your cool book idea to an audience, contact Powerplay Communications for a free consultation. We offer professional support for all stages of book development. Request an appointment by calling 248-650-2995 or submitting a request online.

You can’t steer a parked car, and you can’t sell an undeveloped manuscript. Like a mechanic building an engine, get going building the manuscript ― the book’s engine ― so you can drive your book to an audience. If you get stuck, and you can’t get that engine to turn over, commission a professional.

Don’t worry about someone stealing your cool book idea. Once you have written a draft of your concept, you automatically hold exclusive rights to the work. But to be safe, you can register your manuscript with the U.S. Copyright Office for a $65 fee.

To achieve optimal market mileage for your book, rely on an editor, or “book mechanic.” You wouldn’t diagnose and repair an engine without the help of a trained and experienced mechanic, right? So don’t try to fix your book manuscript without professional help either.