Life Writing for Publication

But it offers a nice chunk of relief, I think, known as the "book proposal." Unlike our less lucky fiction-writing friends, we life writers (who belong to the nonfiction genres of memoir, biography/autobiography, and creative nonfiction) typically get book contracts, and advance money, before we finish writing the books themselves.

That doesn't necessarily make it easy. Somewhere between 90 and 95 percent of book proposals get turned down by agents. The other 5 or 10 percent that clear that hurdle must go on to impress publishers with their potential for literary merit and market appeal. An effective book proposal requires a serious investment of effort and commitment.

Although you'll want to inquire about the specific preferences of individual agents, most book proposals include a standard group of basic components. (Recall that you submit your proposal to agents, and the agents forward proposals to publishers. Also remember that in almost all cases, you will not send a full proposal to an agent unless she/he has asked for it in response to a query letter from you.) Your proposal should include these sections:

• overview, which summarizes information from the whole proposal in a couple of pages;
• competition, which explains why your book is either the first or best of its kind;
• marketing and promotion, which describes the people likely to buy your book and your ideas (and resources, if you have them, for reaching the book's intended audience);
• biographical, which gives your credentials, qualifications for writing the book, and writing experience;
• chapter outline, which provides titles and abstracts for each chapter in the book;
• sample chapter(s), to show how you write; and
• supplementary materials, including your resume or vita, clippings, and recommendation letters.

If you're serious about creating a book proposal for your life writing, I recommend that you purchase one of several good book-proposal writing guides. My favorite is the concise and helpfully-organized Nonfiction Book Proposals Anyone Can Write, by Elizabeth Lyon. Although less good as a general guide, Jeff Herman's and Deborah Adams' Write the Perfect Book Proposal provides 10 full length (successful) book proposals that you can use as models.

Over the past year-and-a-half, I've tried to cover the fundamental, need-to-know topics for life writers aspiring to publish-working with agents, writing query letters and book proposals, life writing online. If you want to publish your life writing, you might explore other helpful topics. Seriously think about self-publication (once thought of as amateurish, now quite legitimate). I'd also encourage you to investigate writers' organizations. From critique groups to professional associations, they can help you ground your publishing aspirations in reality, both gritty (hard work and the marketplace) and bounteous (the support of likeminded friends).

Someone else will be writing on those topics here, however, because this is my last column for Story Circle Journal. Like many of you, I face the demands of competing priorities. I need to return to some interrupted work dear to my heart. I leave you with this wish-the most meaningful exploration of your own life story, as you come to discovery for yourself, and as you choose to share with the world. A lotus to you.