May I . . . ?

(Proposal)

A proposal is a document that seeks permission.

Prior to writing this book, I submitted a proposal to the publisher, trying to convince it to publish this book in exchange for money.

It worked! In order to convince Penguin to part with its money and put the necessary time and resources into producing and distributing this book, I had to answer several questions (and subquestions) to its satisfaction.

1. Is this a book worthy of publication?

1. Does it look like it will be a good book?

2. Is it sufficiently different from other books targeting similar audiences?

3. Is this a book we specifically should publish?

1. Is it the kind of book we can successfully market and distribute?

2. Is it a book on which we can reasonably expect to turn a profit?

3. Is the person who is proposing to write this book capable of writing this book and engaging in other activities necessary to ensure a reasonable chance of success?

1. What is the background the author brings to the task?

2. What sort of author “platform” does the author possess that may help promote the book?

To answer these questions, I had to present an argument as to the necessity and relevancy of a book like this as well as my background and qualifications. I submitted a sample of the book I intended to write. When submitting a proposal, all the power rests with the audience, as it has the authority to say yes or no to what the author is proposing.

It’s nerve-racking, to be honest, but highly gratifying when someone says yes to a proposal.

Being able to convince someone to say yes to something you want to do is a highly valuable and adaptable skill you are going to practice with this experience.

I often ask for proposals from students who are working on researched writing. They write to me to tell me what they’re planning and how they’re going about their work. This also gives me an opportunity to offer some advice as we’re on the journey of the assignment.

And even more important, it gives the students a chance to prove to themselves that they’re ready to take the next step. Finishing the proposal was the only way I knew I could start to write this book.

AUDIENCE

A proposal is generally written for a person with the power to make a decision. A grant proposal is written for someone who gets to decide whether to fund a project or person. A pitch to a publication is looking for a go-ahead to write a piece in exchange for compensation. Maybe you want to convince your significant other to take a vacation in a specific locale. Maybe you want to convince an employer to change a policy at work.

A successful proposal is a prerequisite for moving forward. In some cases, a proposal may undergo several rounds of revision prior to approval, as the person with the decision-making power requests additional information in order to be reassured that yes is the correct answer.

Whoever your audience is, you’ll want to be sensitive to what it’s going to take to convince them to say yes to what you’re proposing.

PROCESS

1. Determine goal and audience.

What do you want to propose and who do you want to propose it to? Make sure what you want and your audience are appropriately matched. You should only propose something to an audience that has the power to make it happen. I can show my book proposals to my mother and get a yes any time I want, but she doesn’t own or run a publishing company.

2. Analyze audience and occasion.

To be persuasive you will not need to convince your audience that saying yes will be good for you; you have to convince them that saying yes is good for them. Why is it in their interest to say yes?

Understanding this requires in-depth analysis of their needs, attitudes, and knowledge. Think of the questions they have about what you’re proposing and how you can answer those questions to their satisfaction. A proposal is an argument with claims and evidence.

3. Create an outline.

If you are writing a specific proposal for a specific audience, you may be able to find a template online. Grant proposals, in which you ask for money, often require you to follow very specific guidelines, and any deviation can result in being disqualified.

If there isn’t a specific template, go back your audience and their questions. The outline for my book proposal followed a series of questions.

1. What is the book being proposed?

2. Why does the book meet the needs of the marketplace?

3. Who is the audience for the book?

4. Who is the author of the book? (And why should we trust him?)

5. How will the book be structured and what will it contain?

6. What is an example of the content?

To draft the proposal, list the questions you need to answer for your audience.

4. Draft the proposal.

Once you have a good outline of questions to answer, write the draft, answering the questions. Simple in concept, difficult in execution. This really requires you to put yourself in your audience’s shoes every step of the way. Any objection they might have to saying yes you have to identify and knock down, hopefully before they even think of it.

5. Test, revise, edit, polish, title.

Depending on what you’re proposing, you’ll want to find someone who can help give additional perspective on how you’re doing in answering the questions your audience will have.

In my case, I have the benefit of a literary agent who handles dozens and dozens of proposals per year. If you’re proposing something for your workplace, find someone who has had supervisory responsibilities. If it’s a grant proposal, try to find someone who has successfully secured a grant.

Their experience and perspective will help. If you can’t find a person with exactly relevant experience, find someone who you think is capable of assuming the mind-set of the person to whom you’re making your proposal.

As you likely suspect, a high degree of polish is extremely important in this type of writing. You don’t want someone who is inclined to say yes to tip at the last second toward no because of some typo or other easily fixable mistake.

The title should be straightforward and informative, fitting for a utilitarian document such as a proposal.

REFLECT

The question-based outline is a handy technique to use in a lot of different writing contexts, particularly when you have a highly defined objective and very specific audience.

It can be harder to see how one would work for other, less clearly defined genres, but the questions being answered for the audience can be reverse engineered out of just about anything you write. Take one of your pieces from another experience and see if you can identify the questions you’re answering with each paragraph or section. Looking at the question outline can be a good tool for thinking about structure as you revise. If the sequencing of the questions seems off, switch them around until the flow works to meet audience needs.