You’ve heard the term book proposal, but you have no idea what that means. You might just have an idea for your book and you’ve finally started writing. Or, you finished the book and you don’t know where to submit it.
UHP is here to help!
We will walk you through the 12 Steps to submitting an awesome book proposal if you feel that we might be the best fit for you.
Even if you choose another agency, these tips can help you write a book proposal that will blow an agent away!
How UNITED HOUSE is different
Most publishing companies require a query letter, in which you send a letter pitching your manuscript to the agent. This is the first step. If interested, they ask for a book proposal and manuscript. We do not have agents (click here to learn more about our style), nor do we require you to submit a query letter. All we need is a book proposal. If you do desire the traditional publishing route, click here for some tips to submit a fantastic query letter.
If our process sounds interesting to you, let’s go through the different aspects of our book proposal and tips for submitting an awesome one.
Have a manuscript!
Unlike most publishing companies, we do not require a completed manuscript to submit a book proposal. We are not asking for perfection. Give us what you have! We are more focused on your message and your story.
However, we encourage you to have an end goal in mind for your manuscript. Edits and revisions can be made with the help of our team, but we want to ensure the story gets on the page.
Here’s a tip from Joe Savalle, author of Little Joey Goes to Camp, about the manuscript process:
“As a children’s author, I didn’t have a lot of confidence on where to start or how to get the ball rolling. The encouragement that I received was just to finish your manuscript. United House Publishing can assist you with having your manuscript edited and revised…It’s my goal to get the story out of my mouth and onto paper to the best of my will and work with a team of professionals to help finalize that special crafted piece.”
Joe Savalle
Do your research
Before submitting your proposal to our company, please make sure that UNITED HOUSE aligns with the vision of your book. Learn more about our culture points and beliefs to ensure that it is a good fit. If not, there are many other fantastic publishing companies (big and small) that will look at your work. Self-publishing is also an option!
If you aren’t looking to publish a book but still want to get your writing out there, consider becoming a guest writer for our blog! We have quarterly blog themes and writing tips. You can submit it to blog@unitedhousepublishing.com.
Access + Review Book Proposal Form
There are many ways you can get the book proposal form. You can either go on our Instagram bio or here to get the proposal form. It is in a Google Form format, so don’t worry about putting it in a document and sending that to us. Once your form is submitted, we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Here’s a list of the main components:
- Proposed book title
- Tagline
- Core Message
- Mission / Impact of the Book
- Target Audience
- Social Media Handles
- About the Author
- Marketing + Promotion
- Chapter Outline
- Additional Information
We also request you email us a Word Document of your manuscript to info@unitedhousebpublishing.com. Please use this format to make sure we can fully enjoy your manuscript.
Let’s take a closer look at what is needed for each component:
Proposed Title + Tagline
Your Title and Tagline goes on the first page of your manuscript. You want it to hook the reader like an article headline.
You might have an idea for the title that could change right after submitting your proposal. That’s okay! Since the proposal is just a form, you can always add the additional titles in your manuscript.
Core Message + Mission / Impact of the Book
Core Message
This is the heartbeat and bloodline of your book, devotional, etc. You want to answer the question: “what is the purpose or heart of my book?” Knowing this gives you direction and clarity for your book as you continue writing. This also allows us to determine if the book aligns with the values and beliefs of UNITED HOUSE. If you aren’t sure what those are, click here to learn more!
Mission / Impact of the Book
In this section, you want to ask this question: “how does this book help my audience?” If you are writing a book or devotional about depression and your goal is for people to have a better sense of how to manage it, talk about that! If you are writing a children’s book about grief, and your goal is for kids to understand that the grieving process is okay and that people grieve in different ways, you can do that too! Your words are meant to make an impact. We want to make sure we understand that as we read the manuscript.
Target Audience
Your target audience is who the book is for. UNITED HOUSE offers books and devotionals for various demographics, from children to mothers to teens. Highlight your demographic! This can help in the future when it comes to marketing, but most importantly, it gives you clear direction and allows you to cater your language to your specific demographic.
Social Media Handles
We want to know you and connect with you! If you don’t have any social media accounts, this is not a deal-breaker, so don’t worry.
About the Author
This is another way for us to get to know you! Who are you, what has your writing experience been, any fun facts? Dogs? Do you like plants? Anything that can help further highlight your book would be great as well. If you need tips on what to put in this section, our article on query letters can help with that.
Marketing + Promotion
If your book is accepted, UNITED HOUSE would love to know how you can contribute to your book’s success. For example, do you have a coffee shop where you could do a pop-up book release event? Do you have a marketing firm? Are you good friends with the local bookstore that can sell some of your books? Whatever ideas you have, it’s good to jot them down in this section of the proposal.
It’s always good to have a marketing plan, even if you plan to self-publish.
Chapter Outline
Your chapter outline is your blueprint. This chapter-by-chapter outline allows you the opportunity to see your book from start to finish. When you have a clear direction for your story, it takes the pressure off from finishing the manuscript.
It can also be helpful for the unfinished or incomplete chapters to jot down a few notes as to what you might want to write about in those sections. The more details you can provide, the better.
Make sure that just like any other book, your table of contents is towards the beginning of your manuscript, preferably after the title page.
Additional Information
If there is any additional information you think we should know about you or your book, let us know. This is a good place to ask questions.
Submit your Proposal + Submit Your Manuscript
Yay! You have finished your proposal. After that is complete and you receive that confirmation, send off your manuscript, preferably within 24-48 hours of completing the form. If you can do it immediately after, that is even better.
Email us a Word Document of your manuscript to info@unitedhousepublishing.com with the email header “(First Name and Last Name) (Proposed Title) (Book Manuscript)”
Bonus: When in Doubt Write it Out
Even after you have submitted your book proposal and manuscript, keep writing. Don’t stop until you feel it is complete.
We hope that this encourages you to submit your work to UNITED HOUSE! We can’t wait to work with you.
Click here to fill out our book proposal form.
I believe you have a short synopsis of the book I am writing about starting a Good News Kids Club and the story.