If You Want to Traditionally Publish a Book Someday...

this one's for you.

There are a number of crazy people in the world who get it in their heads that they would like to traditionally publish a book.

People tell them all sorts of things, like that the odds of doing so are 1-2%, or that they should focus on more useful things (like folding the laundry taking over their living room), or that writing can be a fun little “hobby” for them.

And trust me when I say that many of them would LIKE to keep the fun, light-airiness of “hobbyism” to their writing. They’d LIKE to not drown in laundry. They’d like to be able to tell their idea to go fly a kite so they can get on with more lucrative pursuits, like investing in Bitcoin or showing up for their salaried job on time.

But alas, they can’t.

Because the little idea that has nested in their bosom is like a shimmering virus. It has worked itself into their cells. It has become the oxygen they gasp for. It has rooted its way into their brains and hearts. Like my friend

Kim D. Butler

says, a book idea is like a baby: it just grows and grows and at some point, it has to come out. It has to be birthed, no matter how painful the process.

I’m writing this for those of you who have an idea that has taken root. An idea that will, inevitably, need to be born. If you’re one of those people who wants to publish a nonfiction book and try for the traditional route—either by getting a literary agent or by pitching directly to a publisher—you’ll need a book proposal. A book proposal is a 40-50 page document that outlines everything about your book: your summary, your chapter outline, how you’ll market it, who you’ll write it for, why it matters. And so much more.

I have found that there isn’t a ton of guidance out there for how to write a book proposal. I originally taught myself by watching the same, detailed YouTube video over and over and over again, practicing and rewriting and being willing to be bad at it at first. It can be frustrating and overwhelming, learning to write a book proposal yourself.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve written a number of proposals for my own ideas, gotten plenty of rejections and feedback, and eventually got a YES from a literary agent (at Embolden Media Group, yay!). And I’ve also helped clients of mine develop their own book ideas, fleshing them out into proposals of their own, editing them to near-perfection, and those clients have landed their own agents and even traditional book deals.

A lot of people have asked me this year to help them with their proposals, or have told me they’ll need help in the near future. I can’t possibly work one-on-one with each of these people and still keep my OWN laundry pile under control, so I’ve come up with a plan: I am going to offer a Nonfiction Book Proposal Cohort.

The Details:

• We will meet 8 Tuesdays in a row, starting on February 4.

• We will meet from 12-1:30 PM (EST) on ZOOM — and yes, you can eat your lunch and we won’t judge.

• We are going to be a down-and-dirty, GET ‘ER DONE, group. I will teach you, section by section, everything I know about writing a nonfiction book proposal, and we will collaborate in a small and intimate setting. You will have time to work inside our meetings, and you will have time to ask your very specific questions. You will get personalized feedback from me. You will feel loved and seen and known by this group.

• The goal is to have a book proposal that you’re proud of finished by the end of the Cohort.

• There is only room for 15 people, because this needs to be a space where each person can get the feedback they need and where each person can feel part of an actual community.

• It costs $499, unless you are a paid subscriber here at The Second Cup ($399). If you want to become a paid subscriber and get the deal, great. You can do that below.

I can’t promise you will land an agent with the book proposal you create, but I can promise that this experience will be invaluable in your journey, and that you will feel more confident as you get ready to pitch this ideas to agents/publishers. I also have a hunch it will be one of the kindest things you do for yourself—because that idea isn’t going anywhere, and it has to be birthed at some point.

Please, send this to a friend that you think could use this type of community, this nudge to invest in their dream. Please, sign up and join us if you sense 2025 is the year for you to do the same.

Drop your questions, comments, excitement, and intentions to join in the comments below! Please help me strum up some buzz around this opportunity!