With some editorializing, here’s a summary of Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry’s excellent advice for writers putting together nonfiction book proposals. There’s guidance regarding fiction proposals in the book as well, but nonfiction proposals are definitely the more mysterious of the two. So here goes:

1. Mind your format. Nonfiction book proposals follow a pretty standardized form—you’ll need a table of contents, an overview, a bio, an audience section, a look at the competition, a sample chapter, and more. Check out their book, The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published, or the free chapter, below, for details.
2. Mind your voice. The sample chapter isn’t the only piece of the proposal that should speak to your writing chops. Even the nuts-and-bolts sections should sparkle.
3. Create a cohesive pitch. It’s not enough that all the pieces of your proposal be equally well-written. They should also be equally relevant to the task at hand—that of selling your book. In other words, your bio is not just your bio. It’s an answer to the question, “Why should this guy write this book?”
4. Identify your audience. It may seem obvious to you that there’s a huge untapped audience yearning for information on extreme fly-fishing, but your potential publishers might be generalists who need you to spell out the opportunity. Numbers and data are key here.
5. Show that you know your stuff. Use your proposal as a showcase for your depth of knowledge in the area you’re writing about.
6. Show that you’re not afraid of hard work. (Arielle and David don’t say this outright, but I know they agree.) A well-researched, carefully structured, and well-written proposal doesn’t just make a better case for your idea than a hot mess—it also shows publishers that they can expect to sign on with a hard-working author. These days, that’s more important than ever.
7. Leave ‘em wanting more. As Arielle and David put it, “The less information you can give and still make an airtight case, the better. Why? Because publishers live off HOPE. Hope that your book will be reviewed in top-tier newspapers and magazines. Hope that your book will speak to Terry Gross and, for that matter, that she’ll speak to it. Hope that it will quicken the pulses of buyers at bookstores. Hope that it will spread on the World Wide Web like a virus. Hope that it will beat the odds and become a big fat juicy bestseller […]. 95% of the time, publishers are more likely to shell out good money if they read a dazzling sample chapter or two to get the voice and point of view. More than that is rarely necessary. Indeed, doing too much writing can both harm your chances (if it strays from the agent’s or publisher’s idea of what the book should be) and waste your time (because the publisher or agent who takes on your project may want you to change large parts of it).” (Note: There are several exceptions to this rule, the most notable of which is memoirs.)

Pitchapalooza, the annual event that allows anyone with a brilliant book idea to pitch a panel of publishing industry experts, is, in a word, a success. No, not just a success, but a HUGE success.  Not only have Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry, aka The Book Doctors and authors of The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published, met some incredible people and heard some incredible stories, they have also helped the authors of a few truly outstanding projects find the right agent for their book.

And now, the very first Pitchapalooza winners have been featured in the New York Times. Ayesha Mattu and Nura Maznavi’s book, Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of Muslim American Women, is a collection of true stories about American Muslim women’s experiences with dating, love, and sex. An inspired idea and pitch that has become an inspirational anthology, this is a book that Arielle and David are proud to have helped launch.

For further reading and viewing, check out the links below.

New York Times article on Love, InshAllah

New York Times article on Pitchapalooza

Pitchapalooza trailer

Pitchapalooza on NBC

Hey, Tri-Staters– Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry’s popular American Idol for books is coming to Manhattan in two weeks! Get your pitches ready… set… go…to the Bowery Poetry Club on October 12, 2011 at 8:00 pm.

(And, if you’re not in NYC, check the calendar — they may be coming to a venue near you very soon!)

What the heck IS a Pitchapalooza? (And do I get to throw stuff?) Well, in a sense, yes! If you’re one of the lucky writers selected, you’ll have the opportunity to throw that brilliant book idea at a panel of publishing industry experts. And who knows… you may just walk away with some leads toward securing a book deal. (Yes, writers have gotten actual legit publishing deals as a result of participating in Pitchapalooza.) But the way it works is: About twenty writers will be selected at random to pitch their book. Each writer gets one minute—and only one minute!

Who are these so-called “industry experts”? Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry (below), aka The Book Doctors, are co-authors of The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published: How To Write It, Sell It, and Market It… Successfully. Arielle Eckstut has been a literary agent for 18 years at The Levine Greenberg Literary Agency. She is also the author of seven books and the co-founder of the iconic brand, LittleMissMatched. David Henry Sterry is the best-selling author of 12 books, on a wide variety of subject including memoir, sports, YA fiction and reference. They have taught their workshop on how to get published everywhere from Stanford University to Smith College. They have appeared everywhere from The New York Times to NPR’s Morning Edition to USA Today.

But, I’m really just going to leave feeling brokenhearted and criticized, right?: Not a chance. At Pitchapalooza, judges will help you improve your pitch, not tell you how bad it is. The panel critiques everything from idea to style to potential in the marketplace and much, much more. Authors come away with concrete advice as well as a greater understanding of the ins and outs of the publishing industry. Whether potential authors pitch themselves, or simply listen to trained professionals critique each presentation, Pitchapalooza is educational and entertaining for one and all.

So what’s my prize? At the end of Pitchapalooza, the judges pick a winner! And that lucky winner will receive an introduction to an agent or publisher appropriate for his/her book. Not too shabby…

Is there a catch? In order to have the opportunity to pitch, you must purchase a copy of The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published. Oh, but anyone who buys a copy of receives a FREE 20 minute consultation, a $100 value. If you don’t want to pitch, the event is FREE.

Not convinced? Here’s the enthusiastic crowd from a Pitchapalooza event at Anderson’s Bookshop in Illinois:

For your further reading and viewing pleasure, check the links below. Otherwise, hope to see you at the next Pitchapalooza!

—

New York Times article: http://tinyurl.com/3tkp4gl.

Pitchapalooza mini movie: http://tinyurl.com/3jr8zte.

Pitchapalooza on NBC: http://www.thebookdoctors.com/the-book-doctors-pitchapalooza-on-nbc-television

Wow. That’s pretty much the temperature in the Workman offices this morning after last night’s Pitchapalooza at the B&N on the Upper East Side. Wow. Wow. Wow. It’s not just that Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry totally rocked it, in general and more specifically with a choreographed routine(!). It’s not just that they filled the expansive (150 seats) room almost to capacity. It’s not just that it was H-O-T-T in there. (Literally.)

Things get off to a rollicking start. Authors Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry with Workman Group Publisher Bob Miller (left).

It was, frankly, just awesome.

Awesome to see how passionate people were about sharing their stories and turning them into books.

Awesome to see how hungry they were for the very real information offered up by Arielle, David, and their panelists, agent Larry Kirschbaum and Workman’s own Bob Miller.

But most awesome of all were the stories. People had stories. The winning pitch in particular is one none of us who attended have been able to stop talking about. (I won’t give it away now. In a few years, Oprah will be telling you about it. Seriously.)

It was one of those special New York City nights, where you remember why so many of us put up with this place. The people! The stories! The umm, crowds! And from my perspective, it’s a rare treat for an editor to be able to connect her work so tangibly to its purpose.

So thank you Barnes & Noble, Arielle, David, Bob, and Larry. And thanks to agent Jim Levine for snapping the pics.

For more info on The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published, head over to www.thebookdoctors.com.

The runner-up (IMHO!) giving a pitch too good to spoil--you'll just have to wait for the book!

Agent Larry Kirschbaum (right) breaks it down with Pitchapalooza winner Verne Hoyt. None of us have any doubt that Verne's amazing story will one day be a Very Big Book.

Books were signed.

More books were signed.

The happy panelists, all stories and smiles.

(A social media addendum for intrepid authors trying to work it on Facebook.)

I recently hit a brick wall in trying to help an author suss out her Facebook page, so what did I do but call another one of my authors, Arielle Eckstut, who has spoken to every social media expert you can shake a stick at.

The question? Here goes: On Twitter, it’s easy for authors to connect with other, like-minded authors and what the social media crowd calls “influencers” (basically, people with large, active online followings who have the power to steer conversations). On Facebook, if authors have set up a dedicated book page—as opposed to a personal profile—not so much. A quirk of FB’s professional pages is that they don’t allow you to “friend” or “like” other people or pages. And, as authors will learn from Arielle and David’s thorough chapter on social media, virtual friending and liking is an essential component of getting online love!

So what’s a Facebooking author to do? Arielle to the rescue:

1. Email everyone you know and ask them to “like” your page. (Don’t rely on Facebook’s “invite your friends” function.)

2. Through your personal FB account, find fellow authors, people with interests related to the topic of your book, influencers and big-mouths, and friend away.

3. Post status updates inviting all your friends to “like” your book page and/or send individual messages to same effect.

* Advanced technique: Ask a friendly influencer to tell his fans to migrate to your page. (Best if you have a carrot to wave, say, a particularly exciting dialogue, or a book giveaway.)

Whew. Lots of work, but until the next evolution of the book of faces, that’s how you work the system. Thanks, David and Arielle!

It’s no news that the book industry is changing, and fast. Seems like every week brings a new iteration of an e-reader, a new entrepreneurial model that’s going to change the game for good, a new social media platform that is fast becoming The Number One Way to Promote Books for Free! Sure, it’s exciting, but it’s also enough to make an editor want to roll over and say, “Can somebody please brief me when this is all sorted out?”

And I know authors feel the same. I was recently lucky enough to have tea with the fabulous Diane Leslie, family friend, novelist,  and moderator of book groups at Brentwood’s most excellent Diesel bookstore, and she had me in stitches with the assertion that her real-life connections didn’t count anymore, because she wasn’t friends with them online.

Point being, even the most experienced of authors (in this case, a model author—a former bookseller who knows every writer and book person in town) needs guidance on navigating these busy new waters. Which is why, for every author (or editor!) whose head is currently spinning, we’re very pleased to be able to offer a great free resource for a limited time only—the incredibly valuable chapter on social media from The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published. Arielle and David interviewed dozens upon dozens of experts in the field (Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk, Mike Shatzkin, Debbie Stier, Workman author Ramit Sethi, and Workman friend Fauzia Burke, to name a few) and did an amazing job at distilling all the info into a totally accessible primer. Enjoy, apply, and, if you have any questions, ask away in the comments section or directly on the authors’ site.

The four principles of successful publishing are a core idea in The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry. The third point is: WRITE. To inspire you, here’s a guest post on getting started from National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo) founder Chris Baty!

Top Five Reasons Why You Should Do NaNoWriMo This November

1. You deserve a creative adventure. We get so focused on paying the bills and taking care of people around us that we forget how important it is to make time to make stuff. Think of NaNoWriMo as a thirty-day writer’s retreat plunked down in the middle of your busy life. It’s a chance to recharge your creative batteries and explore your imagination. Whether the book you write is ultimately genius or dreck doesn’t matter. Making stuff just feels great, and tackling big, fun projects helps make life more magical.

2. Absurd deadlines are easier to hit than realistic ones. Human beings are amazing procrastinators. Give someone two years to write a 50,000-word novel, and what you’re really giving them is two years to feel guilty about not writing their 50,000-word novel. Give that person 30 days to write the same book, and they’ll get it done, no sweat. Tight deadlines bring focus and build momentum, which ultimately makes them much easier to achieve than their open-ended cousins.

3. The quality will be better than you think. There will be beauty. There will be hilarious plot twists. There will be moments of unexpected synchronicity and rushes of writerly euphoria. There will also be a lot of crap. But such is the nature of first drafts. A novel is just too complicated to nail on the first go-round. If you want to write a book, the most important thing you can do is get a beginning, middle, and end down on paper. As a wise person once said: you can revise a bad novel into a great novel, but you can’t revise blank page into anything but a blank page.

4. Novel-writing is actually a great social activity. The fact that 200,000 people around the world will be tackling this ridiculous challenge alongside you makes it exponentially easier to get it done. NaNoWriMo’s forums are bustling with support and encouragement, and NaNoWriMo write-ins will be taking place in your city and town throughout November. Having company on your month-long writing adventure creates accountability and opens up exciting opportunities for literary smack-talk.

5.  If not now, when? With everything else going on in your life, November is probably not a good month to write a novel. But there will never be a good time to write a novel. Do it now before another year slips away. It’ll be easier than you think! And come December you’ll have a great new novel to read—your own.

Chris Baty is the founder of National Novel Writing Month and the Executive Director of NaNoWriMo’s parent nonprofit, the Office of Letters and Light. Chris is the author of No Plot? No Problem! A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing Novel in 30 Days. He’s currently hard at work revising one of his ten NaNoWriMo novels, and looking forward to writing his eleventh novel with you this fall.