The Overview: Your Book’s Message

The first section of your book proposal, your overview, includes a lot of information. If you actually write the proposal and submit it to an agent, this section will have a hook (like the lead to an article), a pitch, details about page numbers, illustrations, etc., and a possibly a brief look at your markets.

While we could have looked at your book’s theme in this section, we’ve already done so. Therefore, we will now continue from that point and begin honing your message. The purpose of the next few exercises all revolve around coming up with your pitch, or elevator speech. While you may not plan on pitching your blogged book to anyone, creating a pitch helps you know what your book really, really, really is about. You want to be able to tell someone the gist of your book in 50 words or less (possibly 25 words or less), including the benefits, unique qualities, and highlights of your “story.”

To get clear on your book’s message, ask yourself, “What am I trying to say to my readers? What do I want readers to remember after they put down my book?”

Here’s another way think about this question: Why do you want readers to read your book?

Try visualizing the back cover of the book. What type of copy might you print there? What would it say? What message would you want to convey about what lies within the pages of your book?

In my next post, we’ll look at your mission.

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