GET YOUR DEAL-WINNING BOOK PROPOSAL FINISHED IN JUST FOUR WEEKS.

IMAGINE BEING READY TO PITCH YOUR NON-FICTION BOOK IDEA TO YOUR DREAM AGENT AND/OR PUBLISHER IN A MATTER OF WEEKS!

This INSTANT ACCESS online masterclass will help you turn your non-fiction book idea into a deal-winning book proposal, to wow publishers and launch your professional writing career!

Taught by me, Beth Kempton, in partnership with my literary agency Hardman & Swainson and a host of invited industry experts. My books have been translated into 24 languages, selected by TIME Magazine as a recommended read, called ‘truly transformational’ by Sunday Times Style and chosen by Apple USA as a ‘Must Listen’ on iTunes. My five book proposals have secured 42 individual book deals with publishers all over the world, including three of ‘the Big Five’. This used to be my dream. Now it’s my job. And it could be yours too.

Previous participants of this class have gone on to land agents and book deals for books that will be coming out THIS YEAR. You could be next.

Imagine holding a finished book proposal in your hand just a few weeks from now.

Imagine getting an email from your dream agent, saying they love your idea and want to sell it for you (and by the way, your proposal was one of the best they have ever seen).

Imagine having multiple publishers fighting over your book in a multi-way auction, and landing a tasty advance before you have even written your book.

Imagine publishers all over the world buying the rights to translate and publish your book in their territories.

And then imagine people knocking on your door offering you speaking gigs, and sponsorship deals, and podcast opportunities and partnerships and all sorts of things you had never even imagined.

All that is absolutely possible – it has happened to me time and again. 

But then…

Imagine getting letters and emails and gifts in the post from readers who have told you that your book has changed their life, helped them heal from a major life incident, helped them transition to something new, inspired them, brought beauty into their life, made them think differently or opened their eyes to all the good in their life? That has happened to me too, and it is amazing.

But perhaps the best part is that you get to write a book and get paid for it. I promise you, there is NOTHING like that! And I want to help you make that possible, which is why I have poured all my experience – and the help of a host of publishing industry insiders – into this Book Proposal Masterclass.

And that’s not all. According to the writers who have taken this class in the past, it goes way beyond teaching you everything you need to know about writing a deal-winning book proposal. In their words, it is a precious and powerful personal growth experience. Just as you cannot write a book without becoming a different person by the end of it, so it is with this course. It will change you, stretch you, and encourage you to grow in ways you did not even think possible.

Your idea matters. Your writing matters. And your time is precious. So let’s do this, and do it right.

This course includes:

• Everything you need to know to turn your non-fiction idea into a compelling, commercial pitch for agents and publishers. I do not believe in formulas for creative work, but I do have a process for developing book proposals that land book deals (and have had multiple publishers bidding for them in auctions), and it is that process that I share in this course.
• Industry insight from a host of experts (see below) so you understand where your book idea will land, how it will be viewed, and how the key decision makers decide whether to bid for or reject a proposal, along with detailed explanations of how rights and advances work. Want to hear exactly what goes on at a Commissioning Meeting at a major publishing house? Want to know what happens at book fairs? Want to know whether or not you need a big social media platform? It’s all in here!
• Behind-the-scenes details of my own experience, with details that are very difficult to find out on your own, including specific examples of the pitch to publication timelines for my books, an example of the actual  pitch email and press release used to land coverage in a major national magazine, an insight into creating an awesome book marketing plan and more.
• Encouragement and support for your writing journey, including advice on coping with self-doubt, fear and rejection.
• Tips for building a flexible and sustainable writing career with multiple streams of income.
• Advice for taking care of yourself as a writer, so you can be in it for the long term.
• And a little sprinkling of magic…

PLUS

• Access to a vault of recorded Facebook Lives from previous instances of this class. (Please note as this is a self-paced class, there is no live element to this class. The next live version will not be until at least April 2021. If you choose to register now and get cracking with the instant access version, you will be offered the chance to upgrade to the live version when the next class takes place.)

When is it happening?

This is a self-paced class you can register now and begin today. It has been designed as a four week class, but it is up to you how long you take to complete it. You will have access to the class content until December 31 2021, and almost all content is downloadable anyway.

So, if you are serious about getting your book proposal written, book yourself a place asap!

Here is a short video from me explaining more about the course. Please excuse the shiny face and lack of make up – I was on a research trip in Japan working on a book proposal of my own – shortly after returning from this trip I landed another book deal with that very proposal 🙂

Want to know more about what’s involved with writing and releasing a book? Download my free cheatsheet of the steps here.

Who is involved?

I have designed this course to share everything I wish I had known when I was starting out, and most of the daily lessons are taught by me, speaking to you writer-to-writer, and also sharing my experience as a business owner with multiple streams of income, which support and are supported by my writing. I have also brought in the following experts to give you invaluable industry insight through my probing interviews with them:

• Caroline Hardman, Co-Founder of Hardman & Swainson Literary Agency (my own agent)
• Therese Coen, International Rights Director at Hardman & Swainson Literary Agency (my own foreign rights agent who has sold the translation rights for my books to 24 different languages)
• Anna Steadman, Commissioning Editor at Headline Publishing, an Hachette company (Anna was the Commissioning Editor for Wabi Sabi before she moved to Headline and has vast experience in acquiring and publishing non-fiction books including the bestselling Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton)
• Beth Wright, Senior PR Officer at Piatkus / Little, Brown (Beth has led on the PR for my books at Piatkus)
• Aimee Kitson, Senior Marketing Officer at Piatkus / Little, Brown (Aimee has led on marketing for my books at Piatkus)
• Beth Kephart, award-winning memoirist, writing tutor at the University of Pennslyvanie (UPenn) and author of ‘Handling the Truth: On the Writing of Memoir’ and over 30 other fiction and non-fiction books

Where do I sign up?

Sound like exactly what you need to bring your book dream to life and land an actual real-life book deal? Then register now via the link at the top of the page and then dive straight in!

FAQ

(1) How does it work? This class is delivered in a private online classroom. Upon registering you will get instant access to all content, with a suggested schedule if you wish to complete the course within four weeks.

(2) My idea is very vague at the moment. Should I wait and take a later class? Vague is very welcome, because it means your idea is still fluid and the exercises in the class will help you shape it into a book only you could write. In fact, even if your idea feels fairly developed, I will invite you to take a step back and be open to looking at it with fresh eyes, to allow it to evolve into a truly compelling idea. The process of creating your book proposal is perhaps the most powerful way to shape your idea.

(3) My manuscript is not finished. Should I wait and take a later class? You do not need a finished manuscript to submit a non-fiction book proposal. In fact, sending in a complete non-fiction manuscript it is actively discouraged by agents and publishers*, as they often like to help you shape it to make it as commercial as possible. You will only need one or two chapter samples and a summary of what will go into the other chapters. All this is covered in the course. So the answer is don’t waste time working on a full manuscript at this point – instead you are much better off putting that time and energy into writing the best proposal you can, so you can land a book deal and get an advance before you write the book!

*Note: The exception to this is memoir, which is almost a hybrid of fiction and non-fiction in terms of how it needs to be pitched to publishers. Although this course is not specifically for memoir, we do touch on it, and the development of a proposal will make a huge difference to how you shape and tell your story, so it is still absolutely worth spending time on it at this point.

(4) Is it possible to write a book proposal in four weeks? Yes it is possible, but whether or not you do of course depends on you! I tend to spend 4-5 weeks on my book proposals, from vague idea to ready-to-pitch. In this course I give you everything you need, break it down into small chunks so it is not at all intimidating, and help you pull together a brilliant proposal by the end. If it takes you a little longer than the four weeks of class that is absolutely fine. You will have access to all the content until the end of 2021 and most of it is downloadable anyway. Want to know more about what’s involved with writing a book? Download my free cheatsheet of the steps here.

(5) I have not yet decided whether to go down the traditional publishing route or to self-publish. Will this course help me? Yes! Even if you are going to self-publish, you still need to hone your idea into a commercially-viable book (especially if it’s your own money on the line), know your audience and figure out how you are going to get your book into the hands of readers. Writing a book proposal will help you do all of those things, and will be a valuable reference document for you every step of the way. And you never know, you might discover that traditional publishing is more appealing than you thought!

(6) Does this course cover how to get an agent? Yes it does. It also includes an in-depth interview with my own agent Caroline Hardman, who shares specific advice for how to get represented.

(7) If I have a question can I ask it to someone? The self-paced version of this class does not include any direct support, but if you register for this you will be offered the chance to upgrade to the next live version of the class, which will run in February 2021. That way you can get going on your proposal now, and then if you need support further down the line you will have that option open to you. You will also have access to a vault of Facebook Lives from previous courses when it was run live, so you will get all that insight.

(8) I live in a different time zone to the UK. Can I still join in? Absolutely. You can access the course whenever suits you.

(9) I based in the USA (or another market other than the UK). Is the information in this course relevant for me? Absolutely. My first book Freedom Seeker was published by the world’s largest mind-body-spirit publisher, Hay House, which is headquartered in New York. Wabi Sabi is published by Harper Design in the US and was on the Indie Healthy Living Bestseller List in 2019, based on sales in independent bookstores across the US. Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year is published by Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, in North America. Both of those deals were based on the original proposal I wrote, for a global market. My agent and rights director act on an international stage, and the principles of what publishers want in a proposal are similar for all territories. Many of the writers signed up for this class are based in the USA.

(10) I only have a small platform at the moment. Should I wait to build it up and work on a proposal later? We go into this in some depth in the course, but essentially it is worth beginning on your proposal now, regardless of the size of your platform, because then you will be building it in a way that supports your book in the long run.

(11) Do you offer individual feedback on our proposals? No, if you want that service you will need to book 1-1 mentoring sessions with me.

(12) Does this course guarantee me a book deal? No it does not! Whether or not you land a book deal depends on many things beyond my control, including the quality of your idea, pitch and writing, the agents and publishers you pitch to, your authority and platform, the timing of your idea and so on. However, what I can guarantee is that if you throw yourself into this course, do all the exercises and give it everything, you will have a superb pitch, a lot more confidence and a host of insight to give you the best possible chance of making it happen. The rest is down to you!

Any other questions? Just drop me a line at [email protected].