I love figuring out how to sell a book.
The business side of the publishing industry is one of my favorite parts of being an author. Maybe it's because I've owned several businesses (including retail) myself; maybe it's because I used to work in content & marketing for tech startups. But the blurred line where art and commerce is one of the things that most excites me.
Doesn't mean it isn't hard. It took two separate proposals over two years to sell my first book, Heretic: A Memoir (HarperCollins) — but when I finally did sell it, it was at auction for six figures.
Over the course of that time (and in the years and projects since), I learned a lot about book proposals. At this point, I've helped dozens of friends and students
figure out how to articulate what the heck the argument is at the core of their memoir
uncover the stakes of their spiritual, meditative prescriptive nonfiction
learn the difference between marketing and publicity — and understand their role in that process
research and deep-dive into who, exactly, their audience for the book is
and so much more
This independent study, a slightly modified version of the wildly popular live class How to Write a Book Proposal, will have two video modules (3-4 hours in length total), hosted on my website, in which I walk you through the process of the book proposal.
Within the class itself, you get:
The generation of a new, invigorated outline and fresh material for your book proposal
In-class generative prompts and exercises that are designed to help you fill out and/or revise your book proposal — and address the uncertainties and fears beneath it
An improved understanding of the business aspects of the book proposal's function and process.
Writers working on memoir, narrative nonfiction, and/or prescriptive nonfiction.
Writers who are either just starting their proposals or who are stuck on their proposals and need to focus on the generation of new material rather than the polishing of what they have
Folks who are not looking for a workshop setup — you will not be submitting work or receiving any kind of feedback from me
Feeling intimidated and clueless about proposals is the main thing that kept me from trying to publish a book. With Jeanna's deeply informative lessons by my side, I wrote my book proposal in three months and had multiple offers of representation from major agencies within two weeks of submission. Every agent I spoke to said my proposal was one of the most polished they'd ever seen. Jeanna's class gave me all the knowledge I needed to write a killer proposal — but what I'm still carrying with me, every day, long after the proposal did its job, is Jeanna's unyielding faith in me and my writing.
author of Queering the Tarot and Queering Your Craft