{"id":1697,"date":"2013-05-29T21:04:22","date_gmt":"2013-05-30T01:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/heather-maclean.com\/?page_id=1697"},"modified":"2016-03-21T16:12:35","modified_gmt":"2016-03-21T16:12:35","slug":"non-fiction-book-proposal-the-competition","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.heather-maclean.com\/heathermacleancooks\/non-fiction-book-proposal-the-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Write a Non-Fiction Book Proposal<\/u><\/font><\/a>
The Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this section, choose 3 or 4 works that are competitively similar to yours and summarize them and their success. <\/p>\n

Choose Wisely<\/strong>
\nEver watch “American Idol” and hear the judges rail on about the importance of “song selection”? Same idea here. You don’t want to pick books that are (heaven forbid) exactly like yours (hopefully there aren’t any!), or too different, or too successful, or not successful enough. You need books that are competitive foils to yours — that will help show how your book will go the extra step in satisfying a hungry public. <\/p>\n

Then, explain how your book will be even better.<\/p>\n

Keep it classy, San Diego<\/strong>
\nThe trick, of course, is to somehow expose your competitors’ weaknesses without actually bashing them (or their publishers!). In the first proposal I ever wrote, I skewered my competition. I was so embarrassed when my agent told me, “We are better than that!” Yikes! Yes, yes we are.<\/p>\n

It’s hard not to get carried away, but here’s an example of how I’ve done it successfully:<\/p>\n