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See How Quickly You Can Structure Your Book This Way

Book Proposal, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing, ,

Not long ago I was in a video call with a coaching client who was struggling with how to structure her book.

She has a brilliant concept. Her book meets a real need real people have in a unique way.

But her first draft of the contents page did not deliver on the promise of the idea.

It came across as plodding and a bit heavy—not at all how I think of this writer.

What to do?

Structuring Your Book

If you’ve ever struggled to build a structure for your book, you know this client’s pain. It can be extremely frustrating to have a vision for a compelling book but not know how to bring that vision to life.

Truth is, the process of developing a book structure is where a lot of books get stuck. Writers simply give up.

In a moment I will share a simple, effective method for developing an engaging structure for your book, but you’ll get more out of this if you have a book idea in mind.

Take a minute to think about the book you want to write. Who is it for, and what need does it meet?

OK . . . got it?

A Simple Method

Back to my coaching client. I had a hunch the way she initially structured the book was not the way she would present the material to a flesh-and-blood audience.

I asked her, “If you were to do a series of weekly one-hour seminars on this topic over the course of, say, ten weeks, how would it go?”

She answered right away. “Oh, I’d start with . . .” “And then I’d . . .” “Then I would cover . . .”

I took notes as she verbalized.

By the end of it, we had the bones of a book structure that was much more interesting and engaging than the previous one.

In fact, she told me afterwards, “Aha! Now that’s a book I want to write!”

The reason this method works is because it forces the writer to get out of her own head—to translate what’s in her grey matter to actual readers.

Modifying This Method for Your Book’s Structure

Don’t be afraid to tweak this method. A series of weekly seminars is one way to think about your book’s content.

But a memoirist might find it helpful to imagine telling one’s story in a serial radio broadcast or podcast. Or what if your narrative became a movie? What would the different scenes be?

If you’re writing a business book, it might be helpful to think of leading a two- or three-day workshop for a managerial team.

If you’re writing a work of Christian nonfiction, try dreaming up a series of Sunday School classes.

The point is to externalize your message or story. Use your imagination to get it out of your head and in front of other people.

[Tweet “See how quickly you can structure your book this way #amwriting #WritingCommunity #askeditor #writetip via @chadrallen”]

Want to Give It a Try?

If you want to give this method a try, think about the best setting in which to present the content of your book.

Then start imagining and write down what you see. Keep your mind’s eye moving until you have a solid outline.

It might take a few tries, but if you keep at it, eventually you’ll end up with a compelling structure for your book.

[reminder]What’s a book you’ve always wanted to write?[/reminder]

Hands typing a book proposal on a laptop

How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal + Free Template

Book Proposal, Platform, Publishing, Work Habits, Writing, ,

“It all starts with a book proposal.” That’s inevitably what I end up saying to a writer who asks me about publishing.

As a 20-year publishing professional who has reviewed thousands of book proposals, I’m regularly asked for advice on how to get published.

And that’s my answer: it all starts with a book proposal.

What Is a Book Proposal?

A book proposal is essentially a business plan for a book. The author submits their proposal to a publisher, sometimes by way of a literary agent, and the publisher uses the proposal to determine whether they want to publish the proposed book.

In this article I’m going to share the major elements of a book proposal in the order I recommend. I’ll also share my top tips for each.

Each element is important. Any one of them could make the difference between getting published or not. And assuming approval for publication, any one of them could significantly influence the advance against royalties a publisher offers.

Hands typing a book proposal on a laptop
Courtesy of Unsplash

Start Your Book Proposal with a Cover Page

A cover page presents your book’s title and subtitle, your name, and contact information. If you are represented by an agent, the contact information should be for your agent.

It sounds simple enough, but a lot goes into a good title and subtitle. Publishers often talk about the importance of a strong book “concept.” Your title and subtitle comprise a label for your book’s concept.

Strong book concepts do two things: (1) Meet a need that real people really have (2) in a way that is somehow distinctive.

To download an infographic and video tutorial that teaches a step-by-step process for developing a great book concept, click here.

Tip: Include a list of alternative titles and subtitles on the reverse of the cover page. Such a list suggests to the publisher multiple ways of positioning your book in the marketplace and also implies that you are coachable and open to input from the publisher.

[callout]My Book Proposal Template is free and makes the process of writing a book proposal as simple as filling in the blanks.

Click here to download your copy.
[/callout]

Now, Your Bio

Your bio is a one- or two-paragraph statement about who you are and why you’re qualified to write the book you’re proposing.

Good bios:

  • Are less than 250 words
  • Begin with a role that is relevant to your book
  • Do not hide the author’s main vocational role
  • Reference accomplishments that are relevant to the book
  • Reference the author’s ability to reach readers
  • Briefly tell the publisher what the author is passionate about
  • Include just a tad of humor or something about the author’s location and family

Bad bios:

  • Are more than 250 words
  • Say nothing about why the author is a credible source for the book’s content
  • Hide the author’s main vocational role
  • Do not refer to relevant accomplishments
  • Do not refer to the author’s ability to reach readers
  • Are confused about what the author is passionate about
  • Overdo the humor

To watch a replay of a webinar I hosted titled “How to Craft a Killer Bio,” click here.

Most proposals I review do not include the bio this early in the proposal. Often the bio comes after the brief description (see below) or later, but I’ve placed it here in my preferred sequence of elements because I think your bio is one of the most important elements of your book proposal. Regardless of where it’s located, I usually flip to it right after I read the cover page, and I doubt I’m the only one.

Why is your bio so important? It gives publishing professionals a quick glimpse of who you are as an author and as a person.

[Tweet “How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal + Ways to Stand Out #amwriting #askeditor via @ChadRAllen”]

Brief Description

A brief description is a three- to five-paragraph statement that describes your book, including its purpose and intended audience.

Your brief description should do three things:

  1. Capture the reviewer’s attention. A great way to do this in my opinion is to tell a story or to use some kind of narrative element.
  2. Cast a compelling vision for your book, including both the need your book is addressing as well as where your book will take the reader.
  3. Give reviewers a taste of your excellent writing. Your writing sample will come at the end of the proposal, but your brief description is the publisher’s first taste of your writing on the content you’re proposing.

A while back I coached author Gary Neal Hansen on how to write a brief description of his book. To “listen in” on our coaching session, click here.

Competitive Analysis

A competitive analysis is a listing of about five other books that are in the same market space as yours. Think of it as providing the publisher with the marketplace context of your book. In providing such a list you’re saying, “This is the company my book will keep.”

Your competitive analysis should do two things:

  1. Assure the publisher that your book is in a space or genre that has seen good demand in the past. Be realistic. If your competitive analysis is populated only by New York Times bestsellers, the publisher is likely to cry foul.
  2. Point out the ways in which your book is unique among its peers. Don’t do this in a way that disparages other books; that’s not helpful. Simply point out the differences.

Chapter-by-Chapter Synopsis

A chapter-by-chapter synopsis is three-to-five sentences describing each planned chapter in your book. The essential function of each description is to relate the journey the reader will go on from start to finish of each chapter. If you can work in a brief narrative element of some kind for each chapter, this is ideal.

To read how I coached Hansen on how to write a chapter’s synopsis, which also happens to be one of my all-time most popular blog posts, click here.

Marketing Plan

Publishing is first and foremost a partnership between author and publisher, and this is never more apparent than in the marketing of a book. As one of my editorial colleagues used to say, “There’s what the author can do and what the publisher can do, and that’s it.” This is why the marketing plan you include in your book proposal is so important.

I stress brevity for other parts of a book proposal. Not so here. Publishers welcome long and detailed marketing plans. Yes, publishers will want to help shape the plan, so feel free to make a disclaimer such as “The following are some initial thoughts toward a marketing plan, subject to feedback and collaboration with the publisher.” Then feel free to go on at length. I promise you: the publisher won’t mind. In fact, the publisher will be grateful.

I often encourage writers to divide their marketing plan into three stages: prelaunch, launch, and post-launch. Following are some ideas to use in each stage:

Ideas to include in a book proposal's marketing plan

Each stage is important.

Don’t rush your marketing plan. Spend some time on it. Even if a traditional publisher doesn’t offer you a contract, you’ll be able to use this plan when you self-publish, so it’s worth the investment.

End Your Book Proposal with a Writing Sample

For most books, an introduction and two sample chapters are sufficient. If you’re proposing a memoir it’s a good to include a longer sample.

Up to this point everything in the proposal has been contextual. When we (the members of a publishing board) get to the writing sample, our mindsets shift. Now we are reading that which we’re contemplating sending into the world. Don’t miss that.

I’ve read numerous proposals where everything looks pretty good until I get to the writing sample. Then the wheels fall off. It’s as if it took so much work to do the rest of the proposal that the writer just didn’t have the energy to land the plane. But remember, this is the beginnings of your actual book! Now is not the time to slack.

Make your writing sing. Over the years I’ve written several blog posts about how to write well. Here are some of the more popular ones:

4 “Aha” Strategies for Enhancing Your Writing

5 Ways Stories Can Make Your Writing Irresistible

My Top Piece of Advice on How to Write Really Good Stuff

[callout]My Book Proposal Template is free and makes the process of writing a book proposal as simple as filling in the blanks.

Click here to download your copy.
[/callout]

Book Proposal Academy

I created a course, Book Proposal Academy, which contains over thirty video trainings including transcripts, a closed Facebook forum where you can get feedback directly from me and others in the community, and nine sample book proposals that won book contracts. To be notified the next time registration opens, visit www.BookProposalAcademy.com.

[reminder]What questions do you have about writing a book proposal?[/reminder]

How Much Money You Can Expect to Make from Your First Book Contract

Book Proposal, Platform, Publishing, Work Habits, Writing, , , , , ,

Books require a lot of time and energy to write. It is natural, not greedy, to wonder whether it’s all going to be worth it in the end.

Good work is its own reward, yes, and it’s hard to put a price tag on the feeling of getting your book into the world, knowing it will be part of your legacy for a long time. But you have every right to wonder how much money you’ll make from your first book.

Courtesy of Unsplash

Calculating book-based income can feel mysterious and secretive. In this article I want to give you a straightforward explanation of how authors are paid and therefore how much money you can expect to make from your first book.

How Authors Are Paid

Publishers pay royalties to authors based on how many copies of their book sell. There’s really no such thing as “standard book contract royalties.” In my time in the industry, I saw royalty rates as low as 4 percent and as high as 30 percent. Your royalty rate will depend on a wide variety of factors such as your role in the project (are you the sole author or a coauthor or one of several contributors?), your previous book sales (if applicable), the retail price, the publisher’s sales projection, and how much competition there is for your book.

Sometimes royalties are based on the retail price; sometimes they are based on the publisher’s “net receipts,” which is just a fancy term for the revenue a publisher receives from sales.

Let’s say you’re getting a 14 percent royalty based on net receipts. Let’s also say your book retails for $15 and sells 5,000 copies in the first twelve months of publication. Keeping in mind the publisher sells at a 50 percent discount (or higher) to retail outlets, here’s the math:

14 percent royalty x $15 retail price x 5000 copies sold x 50 percent discount = $5,250.

That amount ($5,250) is how much royalty your book would have earned over its first 12 months of publication.

[callout]My Author Income Calculator is a simple spreadsheet that helps you determine how much money you can make from your book. Just plug in a few numbers and look at the bottom line. Click here to download your FREE copy.[/callout]

How Advance and Royalties Work

Publishers pay an advance against royalties based on how many copies they think a book will sell over some period of time, often a year. So, using the above example, if a publisher projected that scenario, they might offer an advance of $5,000.

But let’s say your book went on to sell 5,000 more copies for a total of 10,000. Just to make things interesting, let’s say your agreement with your publisher is that after the first 5000 copies sell, your royalty increases to 16 percent. Here’s the math:

14 percent royalty x $15 retail price x 5000 copies sold x 50 percent discount = $5,250.

+

16 percent royalty x $15 retail price x another 5000 copies sold x 50 percent discount = $6,000.

Total: $11,250

Very often publishers hold some number of copies sold in reserve to allow for returns, but assuming all 10,000 copies sold and did not come back to the publisher, you’d be at a total royalty income of $11,250.

If your initial advance was $5,000, the publisher would now pay you an additional $6,250. Different publishers have different cycles for paying royalties, but a fairly common payout is semiannually (twice a year). This is also when you would receive a royalty report—essentially a spreadsheet showing how many copies have sold and the resulting amount due to you.

Influencing Factors

All the variables in this equation have a significant impact on the total at the end of the equation:

  • Your royalty rate could be higher or lower.
  • Your book’s retail price could be more or less than $14.99.
  • The average discount at which a publisher sells your book could be more or less than 50 percent.
  • And of course the number of copies will likely be lower or higher than a round 5,000 or 10,000 copies.

You can manipulate any one of these factors to see how it will change the total. I created a tool called the Author Income Calculator which allows you to see how changing any of these factors affects the bottom line. To use the calculator, click here.

Another Way to Make Income from a Book

Another very important opportunity for authors to keep in mind is how much money they can make from selling copies of their own book. Publishers often sell copies of an author’s book back to the author at a discount that is higher than they offer through regular trade channels, as long as the author is buying a significant number of copies. This is referred to as an author’s “buyback discount.”

These copies are typically royalty free; nevertheless, you can generate a significant amount of revenue by buying and selling copies of your book. Let’s say you bought 1000 copies of your own book at 65 percent off the retail price. (Your publisher may not want to offer that high of a discount, but it’s not outlandish.)

Here’s the math on your cost:

1000 copies x $15 retail x 35 percent (the percentage you pay after a 65 percent discount) = $5,250 + shipping.

Now let’s say over the course of a year you are able to sell those copies at the standard retail price of $15. A thousand copies multiplied by $15 is $15,000. Subtract your cost and shipping, and you’re likely to be well over $9,000.

So in this scenario you made over $9000 from 1000 books sold, and this does not include whatever your advance was.

It’s important to your relationship with your publisher and to the overall success of your book to promote your book widely. You don’t want to promote the copies you’re selling at the expense of all the other copies (your publisher has distributed) in the market. You definitely want to take a multi-pronged approach, but hopefully you see how you can make a significant amount of money from a traditionally published book.

[Tweet “How much $ you can expect to make from your first book #amwriting #askeditor via @ChadRAllen “]

The Common Denominator

Whether you’re calculating your advance, your total royalties, or the amount you can make from copies you sell, the common denominator is sales. The amount of money an author can make is not really mysterious. It comes down to math. (To calculate how much money you can make using your own figures, click here.)

If the common denominator is sales, what’s the secret to selling as many copies as possible? Well, again, it’s not really a secret. Selling books is a result of cultivating an audience over a period of time and writing a great book that offers a lot of value.

Next Steps

Here are some questions to ask as you think about writing and publishing your book:

  • Who is your audience?
  • What problem do they have that you can solve in a practical, meaningful way? I recently heard Pamela Slim say, “Define your audience by their problems, not their demographics.” That’s good advice.
  • Are you willing to spend a year or longer helping your readers solve that problem (i.e., promoting your book)?
  • Where is your audience already gathering?
  • How can you begin attracting them to you and building an email list of potential readers?

Like most things worth doing, building an audience and writing a book take time. But getting your book into the world can be one of the most rewarding things you’ll ever do.

[reminder]Who do you want to serve, and what sort of book would you like to get into the world?[/reminder]

How to Format a Book Proposal

Book Proposal, Creativity, Goals, Platform, Publishing, Work Habits, Writing, ,

The moment arrived. I had wanted to meet with this particular author for a long time. (I’ll keep the author anonymous to protect her privacy, but she’s well known in some circles.) The door opened, she greeted me, and I handed her two loaves of bread.

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression,” I said, and she smiled.

The same goes for your book proposal. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and wouldn’t it be great if your proposal made the publisher’s reviewing committee smile? That’s not a bad thing to shoot for.

Writers know this intuitively, which is why they often ask me, “What’s the best way to format a book proposal?” They want to know how to structure the book proposal, what to include, how important design is.

Unsplash
Courtesy of Unsplash

Substance over Style

Before I write about things like book proposal format or design or structure, I want to underscore the importance of substance. More important by far than things like format and design is content.

Recently my son used his hard-earned allowance money to buy a remote control helicopter. It was sweet looking! But after two days the helicopter started collecting dust in a toy bin because it hit a wall and broke. Hugely disappointing, and we’ve all been there.

That was a $30 toy. We typically pay quite a bit more than that for books we publish.

A shiny well-designed proposal for a flawed book is like a sweet-looking ‘copter that breaks in its first days of flight. Why bother?

[callout]My recently created Book Proposal Template makes the process of writing a book proposal as simple as filling in the blanks.

Click here to download your free copy. [/callout]

Substance: Concept, Platform, Writing

So what’s your concept? Is it unique somehow? Does it meet an actual need people have?

What’s your ability to help us move books when it’s published? What’s your promotion plan?

Are you a good writer? Do your words grab us? Would a reader rather read your book than go to a movie?

Those things—concept, platform, writing—are paramount. Design, structure, and format are not unimportant, but they’re not nearly as important as the actual book you envision.

I recall reviewing a gorgeously designed book proposal. This thing was breathtaking. A professional designer had obviously put some major TLC into it. But you know what? Neither the concept nor the writing grabbed us, and we decided quickly to decline it.

Here’s the the thing to keep in mind: We’re not publishing the proposal; we’re publishing the book it proposes.

And I could point to numerous examples of plain-looking proposals (think Courier font on about 5 pages of paper) that led to books we were quite happy to publish. Why? Because the concept or the writing or the platform or some combination thereof was amazing.

[Tweet “How to format a book proposal and get the attention your book deserves #amwriting #writingcommunity #askeditor via @chadrallen”]

Book Proposal Design

Having stressed the importance of substance over style, we can move to the more visual aspects of the proposal because ideally your proposal will have both!

Once you have the text in tip-top shape and you don’t have any further corrections to make, it’s probably worth sending your proposal to a professional designer to make everything look terrific. Consider having a mock-up cover created for the title page, noting somewhere that it is merely a mockup. For the rest of the proposal, shoot for something simple, elegant, and (this is important) easy to read.

Hiring a designer need not cost an an arm and a leg. Services like Fiverr and Upwork can connect you to designers around the world who do solid work very reasonably.

The writing sample need not be designed. A simple look in MS Word is fine. But you’ll probably need to send it to the designer to have everything in one file. Publishing pros are perfectly capable of opening multiple documents, but every second they spend closing and opening documents is a second they are not actually reviewing your proposal!

Writers often ask, “Single spaced or double spaced?” Go with what looks best to you. I like a single-spaced look for everything but the writing sample. I like the writing sample to be double-spaced.

Book Proposal Format and Structure

Following are the major elements of a book proposal in the sequence I prefer:

  • Title page
  • Alternative titles
  • Bio
  • Brief Description
  • Table of Contents
  • Chapter-by-chapter synopsis
  • Platform/Marketing Plan
  • Writing sample

Want to know more about how to create each of these elements?

Click here to read my article “How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal.”

[callout]Need more help writing your book proposal? I created a Book Proposal Template that makes the process as simple as filling in the blanks!

Click here to download your free copy. [/callout]

[reminder]Are you working on a nonfiction book proposal or thinking about it? What questions do you have? I’ll do my best to help.[/reminder]

6 Things I’ve Learned from a Year of Self-Employment

Blogging, Creativity, Goals, Inspirations, Platform, Publishing, Uncategorized, Work Habits, Writing, , ,

About a year ago I packed up my office at Baker Books and “went out on my own,” as they say.

I’m pleased to say I’m still self-employed, although that’s a bit of a misnomer for reasons I’ll get to shortly.

This is a significant milestone and bears reflection on what I’ve learned along the way. Here are six lessons that seem worth highlighting.

1. The risk was worth it.

My wife and I went into this transition with some trepidation. It’s true I had started a business on the side and had built up a financial buffer before casting off the lines of my day job.

I’ve always liked the idea of building a bridge to a new endeavor like this as opposed to taking a leap. We did our best to build that bridge before I left Baker, but it was still risky. We knew I could fall flat on my face. And we knew, if that were to happen, finding a new job could be difficult and might require uprooting our lives to a new location.

So I had a small business started, some ideas for how to grow it, and a deep desire to give it a try.

It turns out, the risk was worth it. I’m not living on Easy Street. I don’t have a million dollars in the bank. But I have managed, with help, to grow the business enough to assure both my wife and me that this really is a viable business. I am offering services others find valuable. And I’m watching books come to life, which is what it’s all about for me.

I just completed my third quasi-annual life-planning retreat. This is when I go to the woods and live in a hut for a few days without electricity or running water. It’s a wonderful way to clear out the distractions and get focused on the life I’m meant to live.

At some point, as I was either pumping water or tending the fire, I stopped and looked up. “Thank you,” I said. “This is fun. It’s fun to live out my calling, to follow my passions, and to help others follow theirs.”

I really don’t know what the future holds. Still, I have more confidence than ever that what has begun will continue. And I know, more than ever, that the risk was worth it.

[Tweet “”The risk was worth it” & 5 other important things publisher-turned-writing-coach @chadrallen has learned from #self-employment”]

2. I could not have done it without the support of family and friends.

I said above the term “self-employment” is a misnomer. The reason is because this work is far from work I do by myself. In fact, if I had to do it by myself, I think I’d fail within a week.

It’s only because of the support of my wife, my kids, and my friends that I’ve had some success up to this point. I’d be remiss not to mention the names of some of the people who have been instrumental in guiding and supporting me—people like Michael Hyatt, Jonathan Milligan, Jeff Goins, Bryan Harris, Grant Baldwin, Joseph Michael, Carissa Magras, Matt McWilliams, Jodie Von Kamecke, and Andy Traub. I’ve also benefited enormously from the Fast Track Lab Insider community that Jonathan Milligan facilitates.

And this is to say nothing of my personal friends and clients who make me way better than I could ever be by myself.

People call this “self-employment” or “solopreneurship,” but make no mistake. People who think they can do it on their own are fooling themselves. I’m just extremely fortunate to have people around me who care about me and want to see me succeed.

3. It’s one big experiment.

The big difference between working for somebody else and working for yourself is, when you work for somebody else, in most cases you have a program, a plan that’s laid out for you. Your job is to follow that plan and make something happen.

When you work for yourself, the reality is the plan doesn’t exist until you create it. Creating the plan and then executing it is one big experiment.

Entrepreneur Magazine asked Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, to share what she’s learned as she’s grown the company to 200 employees. “Looking back at the past 10 years,” she said, “my biggest takeaway is to fire faster.” To just try stuff. That’s been useful advice to me.

I can either kvetch and worry and theorize whether something is going to work or actually try it and see, once and for all. In other words, I’m learning to iterate as quickly as possible, to fail fast, to learn quickly what works and what doesn’t work.

Here’s something I’ve noticed. Very rarely do I try something that is immediately successful. So far, my path has been, I try something, it doesn’t work, I tweak it, and then it does work, at least well enough to try again. So the only way I’m going to to make something that works is by trying the thing that does not work.

On my recent life-planning retreat, I started a number of campfires. When I started a fire, very rarely did the fire catch where I thought it would or where I intended. But if I hadn’t lit the match and put it somewhere, the place that did catch wouldn’t have. That’s how it’s been with my business.

4. Self-employment has a LOT to do with self-care.

Dan Allender, in his book Leading with a Limp, makes the profound point that we lead from who we are. Our leadership, everything about it from the tactics we use to the communication style we employ to the tone we express ourselves in—all of it comes down to who we are.

The better we live, the better we lead.

I’ve had to learn (I’m still learning) what self-care looks like, what the rhythms are, how much is too much, how much is not enough. How to care for myself when I make a mistake.

As I learn to take care of myself mentally, physically, spiritually, I become a better leader for my clients and customers. It’s tempting to drive a wedge between who we are and how we serve, but my journey, so far, has taught me that the two are inexorably connected.

It’s scary to realize that, if I fail to live into the person I’m meant to be, I end up failing those around me. But that seems to be the truth. The flip side, of course, is that as I do care for myself, as I manage my health in various ways, the better I am able to help writers get their books into the world. It’s a striking corollary.

5. A handful of systems have been the lifeblood of my business.

I want to mention just a handful of systems that have been essential to my success up to this point.

The first is a goal-setting system. Every year, and once a quarter, I think about the goals I want to pursue. I have to tip my hat to Michael Hyatt here. His course, 5 Days to Your Best Year Ever, as well as the related book we worked on, have been absolutely instrumental to me. His Full Focus Planner has also been extremely useful in helping me implement my goals into daily life. This system has given me a north star by which to navigate day-by-day.

Another system that has been invaluable is from Michael Michalowicz’s book Profit First. (Hat tip to Jodie Von Kamecke for sending me this book early in my transition.) It’s a way of accounting that jibes with how most of us naturally operate and has given me a daily picture of my finances that has been indispensable.

A third system that’s been really useful to me is actually more of a ritual, namely, my morning ritual. Every morning, well, every weekday morning anyway, my practice is to spend fifteen to thirty minutes meditating using the Calm app, reading, and filling out my Full Focus Planner. This ritual has centered me each day and kept me from getting overwhelmed with all I have to do.

Two systems have helped me with my physical health. The first is Rich Roll’s Plant Power Meal Planner. I estimate my diet is about 80 percent plant based because of this app, and I love it. The other is the tried-and-true WeightWatchers system. On Tuesday afternoons I make the 5-minute trek to weigh in and go to a meeting (workshop). I’m down over twenty pounds since starting four months ago. Also, I’ve found my exercise routine leaves a lot to be desired unless I’m training for an event. I trained for and ran a 5K with my 12-year-old son earlier this year, but what’s next? Still figuring that out.

One last system I’ll mention that I don’t use as often as I’d like but has been vital is the Day Review system. I use Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Journal (note: journal, not planner) for this but, basically, it’s six or so questions you ask yourself at the end of the day, questions like, “What happened today? What did you learn? How can you make progress on your goals?” You write your responses to them, and it’s just very clarifying. It helps you learn what there is to learn from a day’s work. It’s been a healthy way for me to end most of my work days and has definitely helped me achieve more than I would have otherwise.

6. My success depends on the success of those I serve.

This is where the rubber meets the road. At the end of the day, self-employment is not about me. It’s about my ability, my energy, and my expertise poured out in service to the writers who are part of this tribe I’m doing my best to lead.

If you’re in this tribe, and you succeed, I succeed. If you don’t, I don’t. It’s really that simple. And that’s why it’s crucial for me to be thinking continually about you and doing my best to serve you in the best way I know how.

I’m honored to help you and hope to continue doing so for a long time to come. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I really appreciate your trust in me.

[reminder]What in this article has been most helpful to you?[/reminder]

3 Easy Questions to Help You Improve Your Book Idea

Book Proposal, Creativity, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing, , , , ,

She was about the coolest girl I’d ever met. And she’d invited me, still in high school, to hang out near her college campus about an hour away.

That’s right, friends. This was the big leagues.

I was relaxed, though; you would’ve been proud of me. In the days leading up to my big date, I only mentioned it a measly 581 times.

Well, the day came, and I guess I wasn’t ready for the big leagues. I took a left instead of a right and traveled in the wrong direction for a good half hour before realizing my mistake. That made me an hour late. She said it was no big deal, but I was mortified.

Some wrong turns have bigger consequences than others. Say, for example, you pitch book A to publishers when book B would have been much better received.

Admit it. Just hearing of the possibility stings a little, right?

Problem is, how on earth do you figure out which idea to lead with? How do you gauge the strengths of one book concept over another? Well, look no further, because the purpose of this article is to help you evaluate the strength of your book concepts.

We’ll do that with three questions.

Question #1: Is this book idea at the intersection of my passion and the world’s need?

Frederick Buechner said the place God calls you to is where your “deep gladness” intersects with the world’s “deep hunger.”

Both are important. If you’re passionate about something but your audience isn’t, you can write your book, but it won’t sell. If your audience is hungry for a topic you don’t give a rip about, you’re not likely to write a very good book. And again, it won’t sell.

So, keeping both in mind is crucial. How do you determine your audience’s needs? One of the best ways is to produce a lot of content (think blog posts, articles, speeches, podcasts, videos, or webinars) and note which kinds of content resonate the most.

You can also send out a survey that asks readers to tell you where they most need help.

[Tweet “3 Questions to Help You Evaluate the Strength of Your Book Idea #amwriting #writingcommunity #askeditor #askagent @ChadRAllen”]

Question #2: How original or unique is this book concept?

Solomon from the Bible said there’s nothing new under the sun, and of course he was right. What can be new is how we combine different ideas or our specific approach to a topic. Publishing pros refer to this as an “angle,” often asking authors, “What’s your angle on this topic? What makes your approach unique?”

The Five Love Languages, a perennial bestseller by Gary Chapman, is not popular because it’s a relationship book. It’s popular because it’s a relationship book with an original angle (and it’s well written).

Publishers and readers are looking for a fresh idea—one that helps them make sense of the world in a new way. As you consider your concept, consider: How original is this approach?

Question #3: How surprising or intriguing is this book idea?

Often ideas that spread are intriguing or surprising. Simon Sinek told business leaders to “start with why,” and they wondered what he meant.

In the subtitle for his book Free to Focus, Michael Hyatt tells us we can “achieve more by doing less.”  That’s intriguing.

When considering this question, you might assume your idea is sort of boring, but consdier: Is there a way to turn the volume up on your idea? Can you make it more extreme?

Marie Kondo’s book could have called A Comprehensive Guide to Decluttering. Instead it’s called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. She turned up the volume. She “extremified” her book idea, or maybe her publisher did. Either way, it worked. The book has sold a bejillion copies and kicked off a Netflix series to boot.

Evaluating Your Book Concept Is Important

The above questions will get you started. Other questions are helpful too. Does this concept lend itself to a book-length treatment? Does this book speak to our cultural moment?

As I’ve worked with writers over the past twenty years, what I’ve noticed is an eagerness to move right past the concept to the manuscript itself, or to getting a book deal. But hanging out in concept land for a while is a worthwhile use of time.

If you can develop a concept that meets your passion and an audience’s need, stands out as original and surprising, you’ll be going a long toward landing a book deal and writing a book that enjoys a wide and enduring audience. 

[reminder]As you think about the concept of your book, which of the above questions is most helpful to you?[/reminder]

3 Benefits of a Powerful Title and Subtitle

Book Proposal, Creativity, Life, Platform, Publishing, Uncategorized, Work Habits, Writing, , , ,

Baby names are a multi-million dollar business. A quick Amazon search for “baby names” yields over 5,000 products that promise to help you name your newborn. And if you’re really concerned, you can hire a baby-naming consultant for a measly $29,000.

Well, you may not drop that kind of cash on a moniker master. But if you’ve ever been an expectant mother or father, you likely have experienced the stress of naming your child. We all know that names are important.

And so is your book’s name, the working title, the one that goes on your book proposal. Yet writers often skirt right past it. Many treat it as a tangent or afterthought.

It’s no wonder. Books take considerable time and energy to write. Spending time on the title can feel like futzing around the trail head when there’s a whole mountain to climb. But then experienced hikers also know the importance of identifying the right trail head!

If you’re a writer, particularly of nonfiction, I encourage you to take some time to brainstorm a great working title. Here are three reasons why.

[Tweet “3 Benefits of a Powerful Title and Subtitle #amwriting #writingcommunity @ChadRAllen”]

1. A Great Concept Will Give You Unmatched Writing Momentum

When you brainstorm a title, you’re doing more than that. You’re developing your book idea. You’re playing with different ways to angle your concept, different ways to position it in the marketplace.

Let me be clear. The goal of this process is to come up with a truly great idea. That may sound daunting. It may sound like something you can’t do on your own (which might be true). But the hard fact is you and the people to whom you’re writing deserve nothing less than a great idea to chase after.

It’s going to require creativity. It may require using your mind in a way you usually don’t.

Some will say I’m putting the cart before the horse. Shouldn’t a person start writing first and see what emerges for a title? Sometimes that’s necessary, and sometimes the writing of a book forces a shift to the title. I fully acknowledge that.

What I’m after is a strong genesis—an animating notion that carries you forward.

Stephen King said in his essay in Light the Dark that if he can get a novel’s first line right, he’s off to the races. What I’ve learned in working with hundreds of nonfiction writers over the past twenty-plus years is that if we can get a really good working title in place, the writing of the book can take on a wonderful momentum.

Don’t get me wrong. Writing a book is a lot of work, but a great concept helps tremendously. And you’re going to need as much help as you can get, believe me!

2. A Great Book Concept Attracts Book Publishers

When pitching your book to publishers, the old adage holds: you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Your title and subtitle all but exclusively create that first impression.

If you’re a writer and you’ve been around me any length of time, you’ve likely heard me say, “The #1 reason publishers turn books down is too small a platform.” I still believe that’s true. What’s also true is that even a big platform cannot always overcome the inertia of a less-than-stellar book concept.

Note, too, the corollary: a great concept can sometimes overcome the inertia of smaller platform. I’ve seen this happen numerous times. Sometimes a concept is so original, so catchy, so perfect for a time or an audience, that a publisher can’t help itself. It will take the risk of a small platform for the potential benefit of publishing a brilliant concept.

[callout]Do you need some help writing a book proposal? I’ve created a Book Proposal Template that will guide you through the process, and I’d love to send it to you for free. Click here to download your copy.[/callout]

3. A Great Book Concept Attracts Readers

Recently I had a conversation with successful author Scott Kedersha as part of our BookCamp community. I asked him, what are the most important things authors can do to market their books? “The first thing,” Scott said, “is get a great title.”

Scott knows that the book itself is its main marketing strategy. Yes, that includes the content, but people will never get to the content if the first impression doesn’t draw them in.

Concept alone isn’t enough to create a bestseller. Often you need a strong platform or rapid word-of-mouth for that to happen. But your concept gives you a fighting chance. Without it, a big platform can only do so much, and rapid word-of-mouth, though still possible, is not likely.

Caution and Encouragement

It is possible to spend so much time in concept development that you end up endlessly spinning your wheels. That’s no good. But many writers I work with suffer from the opposite problem—moving forward too quickly and then regretting it later.

Give your concept its due. Eventually you’ll have to go with your gut and move on. But a little extra time at the beginning could give you the writing momentum you need, to say nothing of deal-making publishers and money-wielding readers!

[reminder]What book are you working on or dreaming about? I’d love to hear about it![/reminder]

Want a Book Deal? Download My New Book Proposal Template!

Book Proposal, Creativity, Goals, Platform, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing

For a lot of people book proposals are intimidating and scary. I wonder how many books don’t happen just because the prospect of a book proposal is so daunting.

Often writers don’t know what goes into a book proposal.

  • What are the different pieces?
  • How long should each section be?
  • How should I organize the different elements?
  • Are some elements more important than others so those should come earlier in the proposal?
  • Is there a generally accepted way the different pieces should be formatted?
  • What are the headings I should use throughout my book proposal?
  • And so on.

    Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

I can’t write your book proposal for you, but I can address most of these questions with my new Book Proposal Template!

Numerous writers have asked me for this. In the past I’ve had general guidelines, but this is definitely an upgrade.

The beauty of a template is it gives you a path to follow. You can simply “fill in the blanks,” as it were, and begin crafting your book proposal.

I hope you find it useful.

ENJOY!

Click here to download my just-released book proposal template.

[Tweet “Need help with your book proposal? Check out this Book Proposal Template from 20-yr publishing insider @ChadRAllen”]

Why Rejection Is NOT the Problem

Blogging, Book Proposal, Creativity, Goals, Inspirations, Life, Platform, Publishing, Uncategorized, Work Habits, Writing, , ,

I remember meeting with an unpublished writer in a Nashville coffee shop years ago. She told me in no uncertain terms she was a writer and was going to be published.

That writer was Rachel Held Evans, and she meant what she said. Evans worked hard on her craft and nurtured an audience. She honed her first book concept and got a deal, then a second, and now she’s a well-established and beloved author.

Evans had something you can’t quantify but is more valuable than perhaps any other asset: resolve. She was single-minded in her pursuit of getting her books into the world.

As I’ve worked with writers over the years, I’ve come to realize that while rejection is a real possibility, it is not the problem. The problem is we give up too soon. We hit a wall and throw up our hands, believing we have less influence than we do.

Having said this, it’s important to know resolve isn’t something you have or don’t have. It’s something you cultivate. Below are three simple but important ways to do that.

[Tweet “”As I’ve worked with #writers, I’ve come to realize that while rejection is a real possibility, it is not the problem. The problem is we give up too soon.” @chadrallen”]

1. Tap into or Start a Supportive Community

Ask any successful writer this question: “When it comes to your writing, who has believed in you from the beginning?” My guess is she or he will be able to point to at least a handful of people who have supported them along the way.

Question: would you try growing a plant without water? Then don’t try growing a writing career without community. Your writing deserves support from others.

Of course, it only works when you join the community first of all to be a giver. If you come only to receive, it won’t work. Truth be told, it’s actually in giving that we receive the most.

By the way, if you want to tap into a wonderfully supportive community of writers, I invite you to explore BookCamp. BookCamp is a remarkable group of people who are resolute in their commitment to get their books into the world.

2. Decide on a Doable Routine and Stick to It

Start easy. Write fifteen minutes per Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, for example. Don’t beat yourself up for missing a day, but try not to miss two in a row.

I use a social habit-building app called Spar that might be helpful to you. Check it out.

[Tweet “Why rejection is NOT the problem . . . #writing advice @ChadRAllen #amwriting”]

3. Celebrate Your Wins

We might think celebrating little victories is indulgent, but it’s actually very strategic. One of the best ways to cultivate your resolve is by feeling a sense of momentum. Where does that feeling come from? Celebrating your wins.

If you can do this on a daily or quasi-daily basis, that’s wonderful. Before you go to bed at night, or first thing when you wake up, or just before you turn on your computer each day, take a minute or two to jot down your wins—no matter how small.

Honestly, I struggle to do this on daily basis, but at least on a weekly basis, often Monday mornings, I write down my wins in my Full Focus Planner. I’ve found this simple practice profoundly helpful.

Resolve to Be a Writer

Let me ask you some pointed questions: Are you ready to work hard until you succeed? Prepared to get rejected multiple times? Can you face extreme frustration and keep going?

If so, congratulations. You are already a professional writer, and I’m eager to help you.

We can do this. Resolve is the key, and it comes when we build into our lives the power of community and tried-and-true rhythms of writing and celebrating our triumphs.

If we start with these relatively simple strategies, we’ll be making strong progress toward bringing our books to life.

[reminder]What will you do in the coming days to strengthen your resolve?[/reminder]

Are You a Safe Bet for Publishers?

Book Proposal, Creativity, Goals, Inspirations, Platform, Publishing, Work Habits, Writing, ,

Publishing is legalized gambling.”

That’s an aphorism I’ve heard several times from publishing professionals, and there’s some truth to it.

Publishers place a bet on an author and her manuscript, meaning they pay an advance as well as all the costs of production (editorial, marketing, printing, paper, glue, etc) and marketing (advertising, mailings, publicity, exhibit banners, etc.). Then the market decides whether it was a bet worth making, meaning the publisher either makes a profit or not.

As an author pitching your book to publishers, it’s important to make sure 1) you are a safe bet and 2) you do an effective job of convincing publishers of the same.

How to Make Sure You’re a Safe Bet for Publishers

You’re a safe bet when enough readers part with their money to buy and read your book. So how do you make sure those readers exist? I think one of the best ways is to serve a community of people long enough to have a good sense of the book they need and want; then write it.

How to Convince Publishers You’re a Safe Bet

And how do you do an effective job of convincing publishers you’re a safe bet? To answer that I’d like to share an adapted version of an exchange I recently had with writer Linda Ganzini. Linda is writing a narrative history of her family’s fascinating story. She wrote to me:

“I wanted to ask your opinion on something. I signed up for Book Proposal Academy to teach me the ins and outs of writing a book proposal . . . . We concluded my story was not a memoir but a work of creative non-fiction, and so I needed a book proposal. Editors are now telling me I don’t need a proposal. I’m a little confused. I’ve spent months trying to put my proposal together. Have I gone down the wrong road writing a proposal? And do I need to complete my manuscript before submitting to literary agents? Thank you for your advice!”

I wrote back to Linda with a version of the following thoughts:

  • I think of memoirs as being about the author’s past, not someone else’s, typically, but yes broadly speaking I can see how someone would call your book a memoir.
  • As far as I know, the starting point for any decent-sized publisher and for any book submission, unless you’re already a known brand or the publisher already has a track record with you, is a book proposal.
  • I doubt this editor is saying a book proposal is unnecessary.
  • If you were submitting your first novel, you typically would need to have both a proposal and the complete manuscript. You would submit the proposal and hope for a publisher to request the complete manuscript.
  • The closer a book gets to being like a novel (think memoir, narrative nonfiction), the more likely it is that a publisher will want to see a complete manuscript, but again this is not in lieu of the book proposal but in addition to it.
  • It could be, Linda, that since your book is highly narrative in nature that agents/publishers who review the proposal with favorable interest will want to see the complete manuscript.
  • Even if your proposal is turned down, creating one is still very helpful because writing a book proposal helps you develop your book’s concept and structure, your bio, your book’s place in the market, how to market it, and so on.

I hope you find this exchange helpful.

[Tweet “How to convince book publishers you’re a safe bet #WritingCommunity #amwriting @ChadRAllen”]

[reminder]If you’re reading this, you likely have a book inside you that you’d like to get published. So let me ask you: What steps do you need to take to make sure you’re a safe bet for publishers?[/reminder]