If you plan on publishing a *nonfiction book with a commercial or academic press,** you will likely need a proposal to convince acquiring editors that your book has legs and that they should be the ones to publish it.

A proposal usually contains 5 main parts:

• An overview/introduction (the idea, how it meets the moment, and who’s going to buy your book)
  

• A marketing section and comparative title list (there’s a hole in the market your book will fill it)
  

• An author biography (your credentials, why you’re the one to write this book)
  

• Chapter summaries (you’ve thought about the arc of the book and there’s enough material to go beyond a magazine article or blog post)
  

• A sample chapter or two (to show you can write with the best of them, especially when you have a ghostwriter :-)

*Fiction books generally need to be fully written upon submission. **Self-publishing doesn’t require a proposal.

It’s really just a collaboration and can be what you need it to be, depending on your writing expertise, how fleshed out your book is, and what you’re looking for in a teammate. Sometimes you don’t know until you’ve started the project, and my role can shift as time goes along. I’ve collaborated with clients who lean on me mostly as a thought partner and editor, whereas others need and trust me to write for them—always with an eye toward ensuring it’s their tone, style and word usage on the page.

Just like actors inhabit a role, I try to embody a client’s written voice. This starts with simply having conversations about their book and passions. I also read material they’ve written—articles, blog posts, even IG posts—and absorb any media such as speeches, TikToks or podcasts. The most important thing is to establish and build upon an authentic connection—not every author and ghostwriter are the right fit.

Admittedly, I can’t write about quantum physics, but collaborating on topics I don’t have a lot of experience in can actually be a benefit: If I don’t understand it well enough to write clearly about it, the reader won’t get it either. “Beginner’s mind” can be a great thing because it allows me to ask questions and tease out points that might seem obvious to an expert but that need a deeper dive for a lay audience. That said, I specialize in health, science, nutrition, fitness, and public policy, so if you’re looking for someone with a foundation in those topics, let’s talk. I’m also a good storyteller.