Before submitting a query or book proposal, please see the Submission Guidelines and How to Write a Successful Nonfiction Book Proposal.

We represent:

Health/medicine/integrative health/science
Nature/environment/animals/pets
Gardening
Business/real estate
Popular reference/careers
History/biography
Home/decorative arts/antiques
Travel
Cookbooks
Fine arts/crafts
Sports/recreation/fitness
Psychology/self-help/parenting/inspirational

We do not represent:

The Agency does not represent fiction, true crime, juvenile, textbooks, poetry, essays, screenplays, short stories, science fiction, pop culture, guides to computers and software, politics, horror, pornography, books on overly depressing or violent topics, romance, teacher’s manuals, or memoirs.Sorry, but we will not respond to emailed queries in the categories not represented by this agency since we get hundreds of these per month.

Submission Guidelines

• Please do not require a signature for delivery.
• Do not call or fax your query.
• If you are submitting from outside the United States, please include an email address and/or an international response coupon for a reply.

A query letter is about a page long and makes a case for why the subject of your book is of interest to a specific large audience, what your book will cover, how your book will be different and better than the competition, and why you are qualified as the author.

Step Two: The Proposal
If we like what you propose in your query letter, we will email or call you to ask for a full proposal and sample chapter or two. Please send these materials by mail and enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope for reply and/or return of the submitted materials.
If you are not sure how to write a book proposal, refer to our Nonfiction Book Proposal Guidelines before submitting your proposal. There are some excellent books on the subject as well by Michael Larsen and Jeff Herman that you may want to consult.

We will make an effort to respond to your query letter and proposal in a timely manner, but please bear in mind that we give first priority to working for our existing clients. If you haven’t received a response within a month, you may email a reminder referring to the name of the proposed book, the date it was mailed, and in what kind of package.

We are always looking for new talented authors and we hope that your proposed book will be a good fit for our Agency. Good luck!

How to Write a Successful Nonfiction Book Proposal

The Importance of the Book Proposal

Since they receive dozens of submissions per week, editors (and agents) need to be highly selective. It is not unusual for an editor to skim the first part of a book proposal and decide on that basis alone whether to reject the proposed book or read further. Improve your chances of having your submission seriously considered by making your book proposal compelling from start to finish, and be sure to include all the elements that an editor needs to convince others at the publishing house that you should be made an offer. Remember that the book proposal is a selling document, not just a descriptive overview. When written effectively, the book proposal persuades editors that 1) there is a need for your proposed book by a sizeable audience, 2) your book will be different and better than other published books on the subject, 3) you are highly qualified and motivated to be the author on the subject, and 4) you are professional about your writing and will be hard-working, pleasant, and cooperative throughout the publishing process.

Before Writing the Proposal

Think carefully about whether your proposed book is truly needed by a large enough audience. Have other books already been written on the subject? Can you think of an approach or angle on the subject that would make your book significantly better? Have you taken the time to choose a title/subtitle that is appealing, and succinctly captures the essence of your book? It’s often helpful to develop a list of 20 or more possible titles/subtitles in order to come up with the right one. Have you considered the best way to organize your information and guidance? Have you sounded out friends, family, and colleagues about these matters? Informal focus group sessions can yield valuable insights.

The Parts of a Complete Proposal

1. Title Page
   Attractively present the title, subtitle, your name, address, and phone/fax numbers, and e-mail address and website (if you have one), as well as those of your agent, if appropriate.
2. Table of Contents for the Proposal
3. Overview
   Within the first couple of paragraphs, provide a “subject hook,” and “book handle.” This means you need to establish quickly why the subject of the book is of interest to a definable audience and what your book offers to this market. Remember a book sales representative has an average of 14 seconds to sell a title to a bookstore buyer, and the editor in a publishing board meeting has only a few minutes to convince colleagues of the potential of a book. Try to hone the rationale for your book into a statement that is less than 25 words. In advertising lingo, this is called the USP (unique selling proposition).Following this, provide some amplifying paragraphs about what information or guidance you will provide and how you plan to deliver it. Where appropriate, phrase these as selling points.Give a brief explanation of why you are especially qualified to write this book (detail will follow in your author biography section).
4. The Market
   Define the market as precisely as you can. Avoid terms such as the “general reading public” or “all female readers.” Where possible, give actual numbers of your target markets. Further identify potential readers by their level of expertise in the subject (e.g., is this for novices, seasoned professionals?). Is this for people with certain minimal education or income levels? Are readers likely to be members of particular groups or readers of certain books or magazines? Publishing board meetings at most companies sound more like product development meetings these days and you help your editor be more persuasive in this setting if you provide accurate, measurable data about the target markets for your book.
5. The Competition
   By researching well stocked bookstores and libraries as well as Books in Print, Forthcoming Books in Print, Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com, provide a list of 5-10 titles that would be considered competitive or at least somewhat related to the subject of your book. For each competitive title, give author, title, price, publisher, publication date, number and type of illustrations (if appropriate), and any known sales figures, rankings, or other indications of the success of the book. Provide a brief statement about what the title offers and how yours would be different and better. Don’t be overly critical of the competition since in some cases you will be trying to sell your book to the same publisher. At the end of your list, summarize how your book will distinguish itself in the marketplace.
6. About the Author (insert your name)
   Using third person (unless your book is a personal memoir), explain why you are particularly well qualified to write the book and how you will be an effective promoter. Instead of a chronological approach, start with your key qualifications and experience, followed by educational background that is relevant. If you have been previously published, give particulars about what you’ve published, with whom, and when. If the books have sold well, give sales figures. If you have received favorable reviews, include a few of the best. If you have written relevant magazine or newspaper articles, include some samples. If you have promoted previous books or have made speeches or conducted workshops or classes related to your book, include some detail about them. If you have a video, CD, or DVD of one or more of your appearances, enclose a copy with a label or provide a link to an easily accessible source on the Internet. If you are truly at ease in front of audiences and media, say so and express your willingness to promote the book in cooperation with the publisher. Include a schedule of your upcoming speaking engagements, if relevant. If you have a website or blog, give particulars about the number of hits you get or the number of followers that you have. Mention any awards you’ve received that may enhance your reputation as author of the book. If your professional background is very important to qualify you as a good author on the subject, clip a separate C.V. to this section.If you know some authorities in the field who are likely to provide endorsements for your book, include their names and positions; better yet, enclose an endorsement or two that is already written.
7. Marketing
   Do you have any practical ideas about how to best reach the target markets of potential readers that you described above? Do you have a website or blog that can be used as a marketing tool? Do you have lists of names/addresses/email addresses that can be used to spread the word? Do you belong to organizations that would help you promote? Do you have a schedule of upcoming appearances and speaking engagements that would coordinate well with promoting your book? Do you know people who are influential in the media who would be willing to help you get on a show? Are you willing to commit a certain dollar amount to hiring a publicist to complement the efforts of the publisher? Are you willing to commit to purchasing a large quantity of your book (1,000+) because you have a ready audience who will want to purchase copies?
8. Specifications and Delivery
   Summarize your proposed specifications for the book:
   1) estimated length in words or book pages
   2) preferred trim size (5 1/2 X 8 1/4, 6 1/8 X 9 1/4, 8 1/2 X 11 are standard economical sizes)
   3) number, size, and type of illustrations (color, black & white photos, line drawings).Try to enclose copies of 5-10 samples of the art, on a CD (jpeg format) or in a plastic sleeve or as an attachment to the electronic version of your proposal. Don’t enclose originals; color photocopies, and duplicate transparencies are generally acceptable. In presenting your vision of the appearance of the book, show flexibility to enhance your chances with a variety of publishers with different design budgets and strengths.State what portion of the manuscript is written and when you could complete it (usually stated as a number of months after signing of the contract).
9. Table of Contents for the Proposed Book
   Include a brief listing of the parts and chapters of your book. Try to make your chapter titles interesting.
10. Chapter Summaries
    For each chapter, provide anywhere from a few sentences to a few paragraphs to summarize what you will cover. To make the summaries more appealing, include some intriguing case histories, anecdotes or data, if possible. Communicate how the chapters will build on each other and advance your thesis.
11. Sample Chapters
    Enclose one to two sample chapters of your best writing. At least one chapter should be from the heart of the book so the editor can get a sense of how you are going to handle a major issue or theme. Introductions and first chapters tend to repeat what is said in the proposal and, though useful, do not give the editor as much insight into your writing skills.

Mechanical Details

1. Double-space, using letter-quality printing on standard 8 1/2 x 11 white paper.
2. Use serif typefaces such as Times or Courier, which are easier to read than the more modern sans-serif typefaces. 
3. Do not staple anything. If necessary, use paper clips to secure chapters and sections together–they’re easier for the editor to deal with when photocopying parts of the proposal for colleagues.
4. Start each section of the proposal on a fresh page.
5. Make sure your proposal is free of typos and incorrect grammar. Get help if you need to, and don’t rely solely on your computer’s spelling software. Errors distract a trained editor and can even spoil your chances of getting a positive response.
6. Consider using boldface subheads to break up the text.
7. Put your name, the title of your book, and the page number at the top of each page of your proposal so the editor can collate easily after photocopying.
8. Do not date your proposal nor refer to being able to finish by a date in the near future. It is not uncommon for the submission process to take months and you don’t want to have any clues in your proposal that it might be dated.
9. Similarly, be sure that each copy of the proposal looks fresh. Provide your agent with some additional first pages to replace those that tend to get worn after being reviewed by the first editor.
10. Send your proposal with a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope).
11. Be prepared to send an electronic version of your proposal since it is becoming increasingly common for editors to request proposals this way.