*THE BOOK PROPOSAL MASTERCLASS

GET YOUR DEAL-WINNING BOOK PROPOSAL FINISHED IN JUST FOUR WEEKS, STARTING TODAY

Taught by me, bestselling non-fiction author Beth Kempton, in association with my literary agent Hardman & Swainson and a host of invited industry experts. 

INSTANT ACCESS – REGISTER NOW AND START MAKING YOUR BOOK DREAM A REALITY!

This RAVED-ABOUT live online masterclass will help you turn your non-fiction book idea into a COMMERCIALLY-COMPELLING proposal, to wow agents and publishers and launch your professional writing career!

My books have been translated into nearly 30 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 book proposals for those books have secured some 60 individual book deals with publishers all over the world including ALL of ‘the Big Five’. This used to be my dream. Now it’s my job. And it could be yours too.

In this comprehensive yet inspiring class, I will take you by the hand and lead you step-by-step towards a compelling proposal for YOUR book idea. It doesn’t matter if right now all you have is a deep yearning to write a book, or just the vaguest of ideas. The course will show you how to shape that into a book that a publisher wants to invest in, and readers will want to read.

WHY IT MATTERS

Video: Matt Austin

DOES IT ACTUALLY WORK?

Yes! The Book Proposal Masterclass absolutely works. An extraordinary proportion of course graduates who have pitched their finished proposals have secured agents and book deals, and we are proud of supporting a diverse range of students from all sorts of backgrounds, with a huge variety of book ideas.

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. Scores of Masterclass graduates have gone on to land agents and book deals with publishers all over the world.

A number of people who take this class and go on to land book deals prefer to remain anonymous, and of course we respect their wishes, but here are some examples of books written by Masterclass graduates:

Books pitched as proposals written following the guidance in the Book Proposal Masterclass have been published by a wide range of publishers in the UK, USA and beyond including:

WHAT’S INCLUDED?

The course includes

• A carefully constructed four week curriculum of audio lessons with interactive worksheets that will help you crystallise your idea, outline your book, plan your chapters, and nail your marketing plan (as this is an instant access class you can choose your own schedule)
• Everything you need to know to turn your non-fiction idea into a compelling, commercial pitch for agents and publishers.
• Industry insight from a host of experts 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.
• Visualisations and meditations to help you blast through your blocks and connect with your book
• Diary of a Book Deal – a money-can’t-buy inside track showing the evolution of one of my recent books from idea to proposal in four weeks plus what happened next (the book deal and publication!)
• A vault of recorded sessions on workshopping titles and sub-titles, pitching your book, industry Q&A 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…

Designed specifically for non-fiction (including memoir), this course is everything you need to bring your book dream to life, with a whole lot of support and encouragement. Don’t miss out on realising your book dream.

YOUR TURN NEXT?

Imagine holding a finished book proposal in your hand by the end of the course.

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 dreamed of.

All that is absolutely possible – it has happened to me time and again, and I still marvel at it all. 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.

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

This course is led by Beth Kempton, a bestselling self-help author and writer mentor, whose six non-fiction books have been translated into nearly 30 languages and recommended by the likes of TIME Magazine, British Vogue, the Sunday Times and Psychologies. Her most recent book Kokoro: Japanese wisdom for a life well lived won a Nautilus Award and missed the Sunday Times Bestseller list by just 25 copies! She is also a qualified yoga teacher and Reiki Master, trained in the Japanese tradition in Tokyo.

More than 40,000 people have taken Beth’s online writing classes, which complement her book The Way of the Fearless Writer. With more than 55,000 subscribers, Beth has one of the UK’s most popular author publications on Substack @bethkempton.

As a mentor, Beth offers support and inspiration to writers and dreamers, teaching how words and ideas can heal, inspire, uplift, connect, and help us make the most of our time in this beautiful world. She has mentored scores of authors to publication, including with some of the world’s most well-known publishers.

WHO ELSE 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)
• Hana Murrell, International Rights Director at Hardman & Swainson (who sells the foreign rights for my books)
• Therese Coen, formerly International Rights Director at Hardman & Swainson Literary Agency, now at Susanna Lea Associates
• 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 Pennsylvania (UPenn) and author of ‘Handling the Truth: On the Writing of Memoir’ and over 30 other fiction and non-fiction books
• PLUS authors Dr Ali Foxon, Laura Pashby, Michelle Mackintosh and Tamisha Anthony who share their experience pitching proposals, landing books deals and getting published. (Ali and Laura are graduates of the Book Proposal Masterclass)

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 (at the top of this page) and get to work!

FAQ

(1) My idea is very vague at the moment. Is it a good fit for me? 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.

(2) My manuscript is not finished. Is it too soon for me? You do not need a finished manuscript to submit a non-fiction book proposal (unless you are writing memoir). 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 (unless you are working on a memoir) – instead put 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!

(3) 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!

(4) 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.

(5) If I have a question can I ask it to someone? As this is a self-paced class it does not include access to me for asking questions, but it does include a vault of recordings from earlier editions of this class when it was run live. These include Q&A with me and with my agent and international rights director (the person who sells the foreign rights for my books) which cover all common questions.

(6) I am 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, The Way of the Fearless Writer is published by St Martin’s Essentials and Kokoro is published by Storey in North America. All 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 US-based graduates of the Masterclass have landed agents and book deals off the back of the work they did in class.

(7) 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. You might also be interested in my live writing immersions River of Words and Ink+Flame which help with platform building.

(8) Do you offer individual feedback on our proposals? No, you would need to book 1:1 mentoring separately with me (for an additional fee). Please note mentoring is ONLY available to graduates of the Book Proposal Masterclass, to ensure your proposal is already well developed before I review it, to ensure we make the most of the time.

(9) 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!

(10) How long will I have access to the class?

You will have access to all the class content until October 31, 2027.

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

MORE LOVELY TESTIMONIALS FROM GRADUATES OF THIS MASTERCLASS

Images: Holly Bobbins Photography