How to Write a Medical Office Book Proposal
Writing a medical book is a lot more challenging than other forms of writing. The author has to have a strategy for developing, writing and marketing his book. This is functional writing, that means your readers are expected to act on the information they will derive from your book. The basis of your book should clearly be indicated in your book.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
The Concept
-
1
Write an overview that will detail the concept on which your book is based. It is in this part that you will need to convince publishers that your book idea is unique and that a certain segment of the population would be interested in reading it. Explain how you developed your book idea and the kind of research material at your disposal. If it is based on research studies on how to live up to 120 years, for instance, elaborate to the editors how you arrived to that conclusion. This part of your proposal could take up to three pages. In this area, you should also convince acquisition editors that you know your subject well.
-
2
Provide a table of contents in the second part of your proposal, followed by a summarized description of what you intend to write in each chapter. A paragraph on each chapter is enough if it conveys the gist of what you will write. In short, the book editors should be able to have an accurate picture of your medical book when they read this section. It is partly this area of your proposal that will determine the uniqueness or relevance of your medical literature to the target audience. This will also give the editors an idea of how long your book is likely to be and when the manuscript could be submitted.
-
-
3
Indicate why you are writing this book. In the first part of your proposal, you have already discussed the origin of your book. Use this part to expound the essence of your writing. Most clinicians write for others in their field. In that case, you must clearly indicate the void you want to fill in that area of medical literature. Usually, clinicians write to share ideas, publicize their research findings, stimulate debate or simply boost professional profile.
Present your market strategy at this stage of your proposal. You should have an idea of your target audience. Your audience will determine how well your book will sell. In medical writing, the audience is usually small. Unless your proposed book is based on a medical breakthrough with a wide appeal, it is most likely to be read by fellow clinicians. Publishers understand that, and that is the reason why they will not pay substantial amounts in royalties. But even then, it is imperative that you identify your audience in the proposal.
-
4
Show publishers in this part that you have looked at the existing medical literature and you are trying to fill up the gap. You have to give the editors the reason why you think readers will prefer your book over your competitors' books. A book on ground-breaking medical research will definitely rise above competition because it is likely to receive a lot of attention from the media. That will help sell the book. You need to understand your competition in order to know what you will include in your manuscript.
-
5
Write about yourself and why you think you are the right person to write this kind of book. Tell the publishers about your medical background and some of the unique and outstanding accomplishments in your career. If you have written books before, you need to let your publishers know how many copies you sold and what kind of reviews you received. If you are already known, publishers are most likely to accept your proposal. New authors have to do more to convince publishers they would sell books.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
By the time you write your book proposal, you must have sharpened your focus. It is not enough to have have researched material unless you can present it in writing. Your writing skills must also be sharpened.
The mistake that most people make is to fail to identify their target audience. You must have a picture of the people you are writing for when developing your book idea, otherwise your book proposal might not attract any publishers.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit young businessman writing image by Kovac from Fotolia.com
