When I was buying books for a Christian bookstore, I met a lot of self-published authors, and most of the books I had to turn down fell short for the same few reasons. None of them had much to do with how much the author loved the Lord or how hard they’d worked.
Here’s the list I wish I could have handed them. If you can say yes to most of it, you’re in good shape to send a proposal. If you can’t yet, you know where the work is.
You can say who it’s for in one sentence
“Everyone” is the most common answer, and the least useful one. “Pastors of rural churches under a hundred people” is a reader. So is “mothers of prodigal adult children.” A publisher can picture that reader, and so can you while you write.
You can name what the reader takes away
When someone closes your book, what will they understand, believe or be able to do that they couldn’t before? If the honest answer is “they’ll know my story,” read this post before you go further. Your stories belong in the book, but they need to be working for the reader.
It’s finished, or nearly
Traditional publishers often sign nonfiction on the strength of a proposal and a sample chapter or two. A first-time author with a small platform is in a stronger position with a complete draft, because it shows the book exists and that you can finish one. At True Bearing Press we’re glad to see proposals for books that are mostly written, but a finished draft makes the conversation easier.
Someone other than your friends has read it
Your spouse and your small group love you, which is exactly why they can’t tell you where chapter six drags. Find two or three readers who match the person you wrote it for, ask them where they got bored or confused, and believe them.
It has had more than a spell-check
Proofreading fixes typos. It doesn’t tell you that two chapters say the same thing or that your argument skips a step. That’s developmental and line editing, and it’s where most of a book’s improvement happens. Here’s what each kind of editing does.
Your quotations are in order
Christian books quote a lot of Scripture and a fair amount of other people. Keep a running list of every quotation and where it came from, and know the rules for the translations you use:
- Modern translations allow generous quoting without written permission, within limits. For the NIV, that’s up to 500 verses, as long as they don’t make up a complete book of the Bible or a quarter or more of your book (Biblica). The ESV’s limits are similar, and also bar quoting half or more of any one book of the Bible (Crossway). The NKJV’s are on HarperCollins Christian Publishing’s permissions page. Each translation also requires a specific copyright notice on your copyright page.
- The King James Version is in the public domain in the United States, though the Crown still holds rights to it in the United Kingdom (Yale University Library).
- Song lyrics are the trap. Even a few lines of a modern worship song usually need the publisher’s permission, and fair use is a defense you’d have to prove, not a rule you can count on (IngramSpark). Older hymns are often in the public domain, but a newer arrangement or added verse may not be. When in doubt, paraphrase.
You’re ready to hear “cut that”
This one isn’t on most checklists. Most good books lose chapters, pet stories and favorite sentences on the way to print. If you can take that kind of note without deciding the editor doesn’t understand your calling, you’re readier than most.