You’ve probably heard about the editor whose privacy was interrupted by a book proposal sliding under a restroom stall door at a writer’s conference.

Suffice to say there are good ways and bad ways to get attention.

Yet, if you want to get your book published, attracting an agent and publisher is vital. My old boss and publisher, Jack Kuhatschek, used to say the doors to publishing are always swinging open or closed. This is never truer than when an acquisitions editor is reviewing a book proposal.

Having spent the better part of my career as an acquisitions editor, I can tell you we had no choice but to review them quickly. It was either review them fast or not review them at all.

To get through the stack, I sometimes hunted for a reason to say no. I realize this will not be any comfort to writers who spend hours crafting their book proposals, but it’s reality. Your book proposal is one of hundreds an editor will receive in a year.

Other times, though, I found myself hoping a proposal would deliver on its initial promise. I would be impressed with something I saw early in the proposal and would be drawn in, hoping the proposal would live up to my own aspirations for it.

How do you make sure your book proposal is attractive to publishers? Below I’ll share three ways.

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1. Win Them Over with Your Concept

Recently I talked with an editor who reminisced about reading Greg McKeown’s proposal for Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. It was a lightning bolt moment, the editor said.

Why? Because Essentialism is a well-developed original idea that meets a real need many of us have, namely, how we accomplish our most important tasks.

That’s what you want: (1) an original idea that is (2) well developed and (3) meets a real need.

How do you develop such a concept?

I encourage my writer clients to create a list of possible “I” statements for their readers. These are statements your reader may think or say before buying your book. A person might think or say, for example, “I have no idea how to take care of a baby” before buying What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Developing “I” statements helps you get into the minds and needs of your readers.

Then try brainstorming different book titles and subtitles. When you do this, experiment with different angles and hooks. You can even invite your most creative friends to do this with you so you can get a greater variety of ideas. Here, the more diverse your set of ideas, the better. Heck, call it your “Book Brainstorming Bash” and have a party!

I’ve created an infographic on how to come up with a great book concept. It comes with a step-by-step video tutorial. Click here to access these resources.

2. Impress Them with Your Hustle

The #1 reason I declined book proposals was lack of platform. Your ability to help promote your book is important because you will be in competition with writers who have this ability.

I’m not saying you need 50,000 email subscribers. I’m also not saying platform alone is enough to get you a book deal (see above regarding concept). But in the platform/marketing section of your book proposal, it’s important to show what you’ve done to build your platform and what you plan to do to keep building it.

One of the most important things you can tell publishers is that you understand the importance of your own efforts to promote your book, and you’ll do everything in your power to help. Then take pains to develop and display a plan for how you’ll do this.

3. Wow Them with Your Writing

Your writing sample is the one part of your proposal a publisher may send into the world. Make it sing.

Writing a good book proposal takes time and energy, but don’t get lazy with the end of it, your writing sample. I think writers are sometimes tempted to think, “Oh, they’ll help me with this part anyway.” Big mistake. Rather, write so well the publisher thinks, “Gee, editing this is going to be a breeze.”

Ask your writing friends to critique your writing sample, perhaps letting them know you’ll do the same for them. And I always encourage writers to go one step further and hire a copyeditor for the entire proposal. A good copyedit will give your writing sample an extra bit of refinement that goes a long way. A very worthwhile investment, if you ask me.

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If you present agents and publishers with a strong concept, your promotion plan, and cracking good writing, rest assured your proposal will stand out from the others!

Your Free Template

Want to take the next step in crafting a powerful book proposal? Check out my free book proposal template. It makes writing a book proposal as simple as filling in the blanks! Click here to download it.

Question: How do you hope to get your book proposal noticed? You can leave a comment by clicking here.