How long does it really take to write a non-fiction book proposal?

You have an idea for a non-fiction book. A potentially really great idea. 

Maybe it's your field of expertise, and you're frustrated with what's already out there. Perhaps you're a journalist covering this topic regularly in the press, and are dying to get your teeth into it in a more in depth way. Or maybe your personal experiences and professional background have collided in such a way, that gives you a unique perspective on a topic you know others are hungry for.

A question I am asked a lot as a non-fiction book coach is - how long exactly will it take to write a proposal?

Photo by Julia Joppien on Unsplash

The amount of time it takes will vary from writer to writer of course, but it largely depends on three factors. 

How well developed the idea is. 

How confident and experienced the writer is. 

How much time they can dedicate to the proposal.

Let's look at the first factor - how developed an idea is. 

When I begin working with clients, where they are at with an idea can be anything from vague in detail but strong on instinct - to having a very clear vision of the structure, content and the place in the market that the book will sit. While I happily work with clients at all different idea stages, as you can imagine, if you only have a vague idea of what your book is, then the work is going to take a lot longer. In those cases a lot of development work will be going into really understanding exactly what your book is, who it's for, why it matters and what point you want to make with it. All of these elements then come together to inform the content and structure of the book. 

Writing a book proposal means really understanding your book inside and out. It's a lot of the hard work of writing a book. So an under developed idea is going to take a lot longer than one that is fairly well formed.

Second - how confident and experienced a writer is will hugely influence the speed at which they can finish a proposal. 

This may seem obvious, but writing is a craft and if you have spent years developing that craft as a part of your day job as a journalist, copy writer or prolific newsletter writer, then you have a huge advantage here. I work with a lot of freelance writers who come to me because this is a bigger project than they usually tackle day to day. They are accustomed to (and often thrive) with structure, deadlines and an editor, and so working with a writing coach can replicate that experience for their larger, more unwieldy book project. 

A skill that journalists and copywriters have had to develop in their work is simply getting the work done. Fast. When you are accustomed to meeting deadlines, you’re less likely to overthink it. Knocking out 1000 words is not a big deal. When you are experienced at the craft of writing, even though you may have worries about the scale of the project and might question your authority (as most writers I work with experience at some point in the process!), what a very experienced writer is able to do, is put that aside long enough to write the different sections I assign them. 

A less experienced writer may take longer to get the words down, find they have more blocks to getting started and overthink the words going on to the page. Working with a writing coach will help them overcome these issues but it will take time. And it doesn't mean they won't end up with an excellent, well crafted proposal, it just might take longer.

And the third main factor - how much time you have to dedicate to the proposal.

Another obvious one of course but we don't all have the same amount of time to work on a side project like a proposal. A proposal may be anywhere between 5 and 10 thousand words, and that's after the initial work of developing the book idea, so that it has a solid structure and point, as well as all the research that entails. Some writers begin working with me having already carried out a lot of research on the topic, others are only just beginning. So how much time you will need to complete a proposal will also vary greatly.

So taking all this in to account, how long does a book proposal take to write to a high standard, ready to submit to agents?

I would say three months to four months, for those that have a solid idea, writing experience and are able to set aside plenty of time. Many writers I work with on the Book Proposal Group Program achieve this. It may look something like this.

8 weeks of meeting online and completing weekly work

2 additional weeks to finish the draft to submit to me

2-4 week break while you wait for my feedback and notes (you can be researching agents and writing sample material during this time)

2 weeks to redraft the proposal based on feedback and complete sample material

For some writers it may take longer - six to nine months. This might because they need to do quite a lot more research, or have limited time to dedicate to it, or its possible that after completing a first draft of the proposal, there are some structural issues that need rethinking.

You may be thinking - wow that seems like a long time. But writing a book proposal is a large undertaking. One that meets high professional standards, that is thorough and gives the author the best chance of being commissioned, can’t be run off in a few days.

Literary agent Megan Staunton of Bergstrom Studios told me it's not unusual for her to spend 6-12 months working with a client on their proposal before it's ready for submission to publishers. Megan recently started representing one of my Book Proposal Group Program writers and their proposal was out on submission and commissioned by a major publisher within a few months.

Book proposals are exciting projects to take on. However you do it, alone, with help from an agent or writing coach - it takes time and dedication. But it is absolutely possible for you to begin a book proposal this January and be out on submission to agents by May.

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If you would like to find out more about the next Book Proposal Group Program, which begins at the end of January, just follow the link for more details. There are just a few spots left.