Product Description

Many writers, and aspiring writers, don't realize the opportunities that exist in the nonfiction book market. This book shows them how to take advantage, with topics including subject matter research, creating marketing plans, and writing a strong "About the Author" section. Also features two dozen actual proposals.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41662 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Amazon.com Review
I know: we all want to write a Great Novel. But in the meantime, don't you have a few terrific ideas for a nonfiction book, too? The subtitle of this book is "How to Get a Contract and an Advance Before Writing Your Book." Doesn't THAT sound better than competing with John Grisham and Tom Clancy? Eighty-five percent of all new titles are nonfiction. So dust off those memoirs, dig up those recipes of Aunt Edna's. Lyon takes you step by step through the process of how to discover and pitch your nonfiction book idea to the best market.

About the Author
Elizabeth Lyon has been a contributing writer to Writer's Digest and is a mentor, editor, and teacher for many writers.

Customer Reviews

Good book for the money
I purchased this book hoping for information for my book proposal. I was not disappointed. This book has valuable information and I am happy with my purchases.

Good For a Clear Understanding of Your Book Proposal
If you have started to look for a literary agent, buy this book first. If your proposal has been rejected by agents, buy this book. I thought I had read good proposal books until I read this one. Follow it step by step, chapter by chapter, and your book proposal will look quite differently than what you wrote before. After reading this book, I re-wrote my entire proposal, because the suggestions in this book gave me a better understanding of what I wanted to write, and how to convey my vision of my book to outside parties. If you are having problems outlining your book, defining your chapters, writing a query letter that will impress an agent in the first two sentences, buy this book. How To Pick The Best Tenant Jump Start Your Book Sales: A Money-Making Guide for Authors, Independent Publishers and Small Presses

Hope my proposal doesn't fall apart like the spine of this book
Whether the glue is poor quality or another problem with the paperback spine, I really wish this much read book had held together better. From one to a few pages, to chuncks of pages, have separated.

That said, the book is completely informative, with numerous examples and step by step directions. Explanations help shape the user's thinking about how to develop their book proposal. I wish the writer covered the proposal in order, but I understand her reasoning for covering sections out of order.

The book doesn't give much help about how new writers can pad their "About Author" and beef up their personal selling points when they have never been published.

Overall, the book is packed with useful info.