To write a book proposal, start with a 3-5 page overview describing the book, why it fills a hole in the marketplace and is needed now, and why you’re the right person to write it. Describe the audience for the book and the benefits it offers.

Add an author biography. Include what you’ve done and what you’re doing right now to maintain and build your platform: your visibility and credibility that allows you to have a loyal following that will be eager to buy your book. Include information on your social media followers and activities. Note any relevant writing experience you have, and any media experience. Include where you live (no, you don’t have to live in New York City to get a book deal, but it’s good for them to know what time zone you’re in and whether you live in a strong “book town”).

Include a marketing statement. Tell the publisher what you are willing to do to get the word out about the book and to sell copies. Offer suggestions for easy, low-cost things the publisher can do to market the book, such as submitting to specific types of magazines (they know to send it to Parents magazine, but they might not know to send it to Adoptive Families magazine). Suggest niche media outlets. They know you want them to send a copy to Oprah, and that they should send your cookbook to food editors at major newspapers. The idea is to give the publisher a wider range of ideas and show them what you’re willing to do, too (such as research all these wonderful niche markets).

Do a short Table of Contents for the book followed by an expanded table of contents, also known as a detailed outline. Offer at least two paragraphs about what will be included in each chapter. (Also, don’t describe any chapters you’re actually including as that would be redundant. Instead, just note that “this sample chapter is included.”)

Provide a writing sample. Some say you should include an introduction and chapter 1; I think that the overlap between the book’s actual introduction and all your descriptive material in the overview and expanded outline makes that overkill. Send in chapter 1, and a section from another place in the book if it will read quite differently from chapter 1 (for instance, if you have a recipe section in your health book, provide some recipes from that section of the book).

Specify the format, length, and delivery date, also known as the "specs," of the book you're proposing. Within the proposal, either in the overview or in a separate section, you must note when you can deliver the manuscript and the proposed length as well as the format you'd like for the book (hardcover or paperback) if that’s very important to you and both are options. For example, if you’re submitting the book to mass market paperback houses, they’ll publish the book as a mass market paperback (mass market paperbacks are the books that fit into metal spin racks in drugstores and airports). Many publishing houses are now publishing nonfiction books as trade paperback originals rather than hardcovers (trade paperbacks are the paperbacks that don't fit into a metal rack, and can vary in size). Publishers generally want the book delivered within six to nine months, maximum, although they understand that it will take longer if you’re writing a work requiring substantial research. As for length, you can specify your proposed book's word count based on the number of words that fit on a typical page. To calculate the page count of your potential book, look at a book that’s about the size, shape, and length of the book you envision, count the words on a typical page, count the number of pages, and multiply. As an in-house editor, I was taught it’s best to specify word count in contracts so that’s what I do in book proposals as it’s much more accurate than citing page counts. Do a page count on several different books and you'll see that the number of words that fit on the page depends on the page design (font, "leading" or space between lines, margins, design elements such as boxed texts and sidebars, etc.) Note that a typical length for a self-help book these days is about 70,000 words (it used to be 100,000 back in the day).

Include endorsements if you can, and even the promise of a foreword by someone with an impressive name. You might be surprised by who will commit to an endorsement or foreword at an early stage of the book! And if they say no, you can always come back to them later when you have more material to show them.