How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal

This is the ultimate insider guide to writing a nonfiction book proposal (and querying an agent!) from someone who has bashed her head against the wall so that you don't have to. It includes 25 years of accumulated wisdom, including a template for both a book proposal and a query letter for editors and/or agents; suggestions about the order in which to work to minimize long-term suffering; explanations of industry terms and how things work; tips about how to make a proposal more attractive to all members of an acquisition team; a discussion of whether or not you need an agent (and, if so, some underrated tips on how to find one); and guiding questions for each stage of the process.

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg is the award-winning author of eight-plus books, including the National Jewish Award- and American Library Association Sophie Brodie Honor Medal-winning On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World, hailed by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley as "“A must-read for anyone navigating the work of justice and healing." and by Rebecca Solnit as "Brilliant."

She's worked with mainstream New York houses, independent houses, academic publishers, religious publishers, and feminist publishers; she's submitted through an (incredible, wonderful) agent and sent things to editors on her own. She has also coached many colleagues and peers on the book proposal process and decided to finally just write up everything in one clear, digestible document to make it more accessible to more people.



She now writes full time at LifeIsASacredText.com; find her work there.