Book Proposals &
Saving AI Manuscripts
BOOK PROPOSALS
"How do I get an agent? How do I find a publisher?"
​
The answer to both those questions is the same: A book proposal. A book proposal is a sales document that’s used to convince a literary agent to represent your book or get a publisher to buy the rights to publish it. It can run from 40 to 80 pages and consists of the following sections:
-
An overview of the book
-
Bio of the author or authors
-
Your marketing platform and strategy
-
A review of comparable titles in your genre
-
A detailed outline of the book
-
1-2 sample chapters
Writing a proposal that lands you an agent AND scores you a publishing deal is one of the hardest, highest-level tasks in the publishing world. But a proposal is also a tool for developing the crap out of your book idea before the market sees it.
Is it original, or are you rehashing ideas that 10 other authors have already covered? Do you have the platform to reach a substantial audience consistently, and have you worked to build up an existing fan base that's hungry for your book? Is your outline fully fleshed out or are you not really sure what you will write? Have you thoroughly researched the books already on shelves to make sure there's nothing like yours already on the market?
​ Your proposal is your testing ground for rooting out dead-end ideas and determining what you need to do with your marketing platform. It's also a terrific tool for test-piloting different voices and styles before you commit to one for your final manuscript.
​
DEVELOPMENTAL AI EDITING
"This AI manuscript sucks. Now what?"​
It's just a fact of life today that a lot of writing is done by AI. That might include your book. It seems like a great deal: pay $5,000 and get a complete 50,000-word manuscript in a few days. Awesome, right? Well, yeah...until you read the thing and it comes off stilted, cold, predictable, unfunny...and probably partially plagiarized. What do you do?
You hire me to save your book, that's what! In just 30 days, I dig in and do what's called a "developmental edit": learning about your goals and audience, developing a revision plan, and then writing new content, editing to add warmth, character and feeling, doing outside interviews or research—whatever it takes to make your book compelling, enjoyable to read, and impactful for your target audience.
Developmental editing for AI can include:
​
-
A comprehensive edit of the work for style, clarity, originality and flow
-
Restructuring and re-sequencing of the content as needed
-
Interviewing you to add relevant stories/anecdotes
-
Reviewing the work for possible plagiarism
-
Writing new chapter sections
-
Creating original intellectual property (processes, steps, exercises, etc,)
AI developmental editing can be done quickly and when it's finished, you're ready to proofread and publish! And even with my fee, it's still cheaper than hiring a top-flight ghostwriter...though I still recommend that if you have the budget for it.
​
​​
I'm an Old Fashioned guy. Get it? Seriously, here's to you and your success.
FREQUENTLY OVERLOOKED QUESTIONS:
01
Q: How much does a book proposal cost?
A: $15,000, payable in two installments.
02
Q: How long does it take?
A: Anywhere from 2-6 months.
03
Q: If you write my proposal, am I obligated to hire you to write my book?
A: No, but you'll probably want to.
04
Q: Can you guarantee literary agents will read my proposal?
A: I know many agents. I'll query them on your behalf, and a lot will at least look at your proposal. Beyond that, I can't guarantee anything. at
05
Q: What if my proposal doesn't sell?
A: That's a risk you accept.
06
Q: What's your success rate?
A: About two-thirds of the proposals I've written have resulted in a book deal, including 9 six-figure deals.
07
Q: What does developmental AI editing cost?
A: $25,000 to $35,000, depending on the length and complexity of the project.
08
Q: How long does it take?
A: I try to complete the revised manuscript in 30 days.
09
Q: How does it work?
A: I interview you about your book, read anything you've written, learn your goals, and then make my recommendations.
10
Q: Will you conduct interviews and do original research if needed?
A: Absolutely. I'll do whatever is needed to make your AI manuscript be clean, engaging, thorough, and authoritative.
11