How to Write a Proposal & First Chapter

Video Transcript

"REBECCA SATO: Hi. I'm Rebecca with ExpertVillage.com. And we were just talking about writing a proposal for your--for a potential novel that you would write. Before you actually write the novel, you can actually shop around and see if there's publishers that are even interested in you writing that book. I would say that doesn't happen very often unless you have some fairly decent credentials behind you but that does happen. Some people get contracts before they've even written a word of a book based on the proposal alone. So that's something to keep in mind. But another thing you want to keep in mind is that even if that avenue is not going to work, it's rare that you have to write the entire book before you could find out if there's interest in there or not. Another thing a lot of writers do is they'll write a great proposal and they'll also write the first chapter. And that's what they'll send in to publishers; just give them a taste of it. Because I'll tell you, if a publisher loves that first chapter, they're going to want to see more. And if they want to see more, chances are, they're very interested and you eventually will be awarded some kind of book contract. So that's something to keep in mind. I'd hate for someone to spend years and years writing their masterpiece and then later find out there's just not a market for it. If they enjoy the process, great, kudos, and who knows if it doesn't end up being a classic down the road. But from a very realist perspective, if we're talking about time, energy and we have to make money to pay the bills, then these are the kind of things that you're going to want to consider."