Your Nonfiction Book Proposal, Part 2

Positioning Your Book in the Market

In my last post, I talked about the first part of your proposal, where you talk about your project. Today we’re talking about the second vital part of your proposal: your book’s positioning. 

Remember: Not all book proposal templates will have it organized the way I do, but they WILL address all of these parts!

Positioning

Your book’s positioning is its place in the world, relative to other books out there. Keep in mind that when a publisher evaluates a book proposal, they are trying to determine how many copies they could sell. So the positioning section of your proposal is going to help them answer these questions:

• Where in a bookstore or online would someone find your book? How easy will it be for them to find?

• What else does your audience like to read? Where can we find these potential book buyers?

• How will we sell this book?

‍This positioning information is critically important for marketing, and will help a publisher envision what a marketing campaign would look like. If you’re self-publishing, then you are your own publisher and marketer, and you’ll need to answer these questions for yourself!

There are three key components of your book’s positioning: the positioning statement, competitive titles, and your previous works.