How to write

a successful
book proposal
 Welcome
A book proposal is a document which provides an initial overview
of a book or open access book project. Sometimes a full manuscript
is ready at this stage, but a book proposal is still necessary.
Your proposal will initially be read by an Editor to assess the suitability of
your book project for their publishing program (or “list”). Your proposal may
also undergo a review process in which reviewers are engaged to provide
feedback that can be used to develop the project from proposal to finalized
manuscript. Understanding these elements will increase the likelihood of a
publisher offering you a contract, whilst saving you time and effort when it
comes to writing/editing your book.
To help you prepare your book proposal, we have collected tips from our
global books editorial team and put them into this free handy guide.

T S
T EN
N
CO How to demonstrate
1. the importance of your
Topic book’s subject
How to identify and
2. define the audience
Audience of your book
How to demonstrate
3. an understanding of the
Position market for your book

4. How to structure
Structure your proposal

5. How to finalize
Your Proposal your proposal
 1

Topic

Explain why the First and foremost, it is essential to explain the

topic of the book and demonstrate why it’s
topic is important relevant and important. This can be
in today’s climate; substantiated via different means –
tie it into events in quantitatively, it’s possible to illustrate the
importance of a scholarly topic by looking at
the news; recent measures like citations, course/module
scholarly discussions numbers, and numbers of related publications.
in journals etc. In many cases, it will also be useful to examine
how the topic intersects with different
disciplines and assess the extent to which
there are different schools of thought at play.
– Ellen Boyne
EDITOR, ROUTLEDGE
 2

Audience

Understanding your Working on an adapted Anna Karenina

principle, all successful scholarly books
motives for writing are alike in the same way – their authors
will influence your understand their audience. Thus, a key
route to publication element of a book proposal involves
identifying the primary audience for the
and shape your work book. Books which successfully reach a
for the right audience. wide variety of audiences are rare indeed.

– Natalja Mortensen
SENIOR EDITOR, ROUTLEDGE
To simplify this question, let’s look at three core audiences:
1. Scholars: this audience includes advanced students, early career and established
researchers. Such readers actively search for relevant new material in their specialist
areas – how do you ensure your book appeals to them?
2. Students: this audience are only likely to buy a book if it is recommended for their
class – in this case, appealing to the lecturer/instructor is as important as appealing
to the student:
• An instructor will ask themselves whether a textbook will fit their course,
whether the level will be appropriate, and whether assigning the textbook will
save them time
• A student will ask whether the book is required reading and even if so, whether
they really need their own copy!
3. Practitioners: this audience is more disparate, and can be trickier to reach – ask
yourself whether your book will genuinely offer a service to this readership that’s
not available elsewhere.

Beyond this simple understanding of core

audiences, there is potential for crossover.
It’s best to be honest about whether and
how your book can appeal to more than
Publishers are
one audience. slightly suspicious of
Some books travel better than others. As a anything that has no
global publisher, we are keen to exploit our competition – it begs
strengths and sell the book internationally.
If there are key regions where your book is
the question as to
likely to succeed, now’s the time to highlight why not and if there
that and explain why an audience in a is in fact a market for
specific territory will find your book valuable.
the book.
Open access titles have the benefit of being
more discoverable as the online version will
be available to anyone with an internet – Jo Koster
connection. So, if your proposal is for an open SENIOR PUBLISHER, CRC PRESS
access title, let the publisher know where
your work would make the most impact.

For more help defining the audience for your book, read our free guide: CLICK
3 key tips to consider when determining your book audience HERE TO
READ
 3

Position

Don’t be afraid to take on Demonstrating an understanding of the

established competition position that your book will take in the
market will significantly enhance its
which has not kept up likelihood of success. This involves having an
with the needs of the awareness of what is already available to
market. A well-timed, readers, amplified by a clear expression of
well-researched what makes your book different from this
competitor can be the crowd. In many cases, it is useful to think of
the existing literature as “competition”.
death of neglected titles.

– Jo Koster
SENIOR PUBLISHER, CRC PRESS
An assessment of your competition can be
broken down as follows:
1. Literature review Be sure to recommend
• Do a thorough search – online, in books within the last
bookstores and in the library
5-10 years.
• Ask your colleagues what books they
are reading or using
• Look at student feedback on existing
– Marc Gutierrez
books where available/appropriate
EDITOR, CRC PRESS
2. A competition table
• Using your literature review, list the
key competing titles identifying what’s
unique about them alongside what
makes your book different/better
(written for a different audience, new
approach, etc.)
• Include basic bibliographic details
for each book (publisher, price,
publication year)
3. For a practitioner-oriented book,
investigate whether potential readers
of your book could use a solution other
than a book to solve the problem
addressed by your own work
 4

Structure

For both single As Vladimir Nabokov once said, “style and

authored books and structure are the essence of a book.” Taking
into consideration the topic, audience and
edited books, brief position of the book, its structure is arguably
chapter abstracts are an author’s main tool to achieve its aims.
required. These may Significant and ongoing changes to the
be all that the reviewer market driven by digital disruption — notably
has to go on, so please in reader behaviour — are important to keep
in mind when formulating a draft structure:
provide a good
indication of the 1. Chapter titles should, where possible,
position themselves clearly to enhance
proposed content.
the overall discoverability of the book.

– Matt Friberg
EDITOR, ROUTLEDGE
2. Supplementing the table of contents with chapter synopses will ensure you are
keeping topic, audience and position in mind and will provide reviewers with
sufficient material to supply useful feedback.
3. Consistency is key – chapter features such as introductions and summaries should
be included across the board, or not at all.
4. Pedagogical features are a tool to engage and retain readers faced with
information overload – boxes, case studies, and illustrations should be considered.
5. Contributor details (even if tentative) should be supplied at proposal stage as this
helps illustrate international and disciplinary coverage.
6. A sample chapter, though not always necessary, can help assess writing style and
ensure that feedback can be provided to tie the book proposal to its execution.

Do you
know about
our Book
Editing Service?
For authors who would
like English language
support, our Book Editing
Service offers you the
opportunity to have your
work reviewed by editing
experts.

FIND OUT MORE

 5

Your
Proposal
Treat your proposal The mission of a good publisher is to connect
authors with readers. The advice in this guide
as an advertisement hopefully facilitates that, but a conversation
for you, your ideas with the relevant editor is often a vital stage
and what you have to bring together your subject expertise with
their publishing expertise.
to offer. It should grab
From the perspective of the editor, such
attention and make
conversations can be key to sharpening your
your proposition proposal in a few key areas:
attractive. 1. Title: The main title of the book should
position it clearly without reference to
other bibliographic information and
– Natalja Mortensen should be as short as feasible.
SENIOR EDITOR, ROUTLEDGE
2. Length: Often book proposals are just
a few pages in length, supplemented
in some cases by more information on
authors and/or a sample chapter.
Use simple formatting
and traditional fonts.
3. Review: The review process is a tool
to ensure that a resulting book finds Don’t get ‘fancy’.
its audience.
4. Data: Quantifiable data on citations,
– Ellen Boyne
course sizes, and other areas can be
EDITOR, ROUTLEDGE
very helpful.
5. Presentation: Take the time to check
spelling and grammar. Use simple
formatting and traditional fonts and
provide it in Word, not as a PDF.
6. Format: If your book is open access,
make this clear in your proposal

Having provided you with the key tips, it’s perhaps useful to reflect on the publisher’s
perspective when it comes to features of book proposals that tend to sound alarm
bells. Here are a few examples:

What authors say What publishers hear

“My book has no competition.” “I have not researched the market.”

“There is no market for my book.”
“My manuscript is complete.” “I do not wish to engage with constructive
criticism.”
“I want you to read my entire manuscript,
but I will not make any changes.”
“The book will be read by everybody.” “The book will be read by nobody.”
“The book will appeal to students, researchers “The book will disappoint students, researchers
and practitioners.” and practitioners.”

Want to know more about our open access books program? CLICK
Visit the open access pages on our website. HERE TO
VISIT
Conclusion
In summary, remember to think about the following areas when you put together
your book proposal:

4 key tips on how to write a successful book proposal

1. TOPIC Ensure your book’s subject is cutting-edge and important.
2. AUDIENCE Know the audience for your book and exactly how your
book is relevant to that audience.
3. POSITION Understand the market, how your book sits alongside
existing literature, and what makes your book unique.
4. STRUCTURE Be clear, concise, and consistent when you present the
ideas for your book to your publisher.

If you consider these points, you should be well on your way to writing a successful
proposal.

And a final piece

of advice…
All stages in the publishing process
are a huge commitment – do not
underestimate the time it will take to
write a book. Often, it takes at least a
year, with contributed books going
at the rate of the slowest contributor.
You’ll be expected to take a very
active part in all processes, as well as
marketing pre- and post-publication.
Best to think of it as a partnership.
Next Steps
For more information about the Taylor & Francis book publishing process,
please go to the Publishing Guidelines help page on our website, where you’ll
find everything you need to know about the Taylor & Francis book publishing process,
including quick guides (for example on the book publishing process, our products,
customers and readers), forms, checklists and more.

Would you like to chat with one of our

expert editors about your book idea?
Then please complete this short form and we’ll put you in contact.
Assuming your proposal is suitable and aligns with our publishing
framework, a commissioning editor will provide you with a specific
proposal form suitable for your subject area and book idea,
which will help you capture key information and make
the most of the tips in this guide.
 Thank You
for reading