Assignment Overview

When putting together a document as long as a book (and especially when it involves soliciting entries from others) it is important to be as prepared as you can before sending a proposal to the publisher. In order to compose the strongest proposal you can there several steps that authors should take before sitting down the write the proposal. So, we’ll be going through those steps, as well. The more informed you are about the publisher, the format you wish the book to take, the theme of the book, and your intended audience the more likely you are to have the book accepted for publication.

Assignment Steps

1. Go to Composing with Images Press and learn what you can about the press, it’s goals, and it’s books (there are only two so far, with a third on the way).
2. Go to Blurb.com, and browse through their online book store (note how many categories of books they offer), especially the fundraising bookstore, Blurb for Good. Click on the books that interest you and flip through their pages. Think about why you were attracted to certain books. Note the ones that you think could serve as an influence on the look and feel of your book.
3. Then take a look at the various book sizes that Blurb offers, as well as their various prices. Your books must be between 21 and 80 pages. They will be marked up at least $5.00 per book with that money going to the charity (the rest goes to Blurb to create the book). Think about what would be a reasonable price range for the kind of book we are selling: something to raise money for charity.
4. With this research completed, you are ready to compose your proposal. The proposal should be in the form of a letter, which you will email to Composing with Images Press (you will also post it to your group Tumblr blog). It is your responsibility to find their email address and/or their preferred method of being contacted. Your letter should be formal, contain complete sentences, and the following information:
   1. A proper salutation to the proper people addressing them with the proper title
   2. The first sentence(s) should grab the reader’s attention, but not be hyperbolic and too crazy. Think about the mission of CWiP and write your sentence(s) in such a way that makes make the case for the need for a book to raise money for your particular cause.
   3. The next paragraphs should discuss your specific proposal for the book: the specific charity that will be targeted, the theme of the book, your vision for how the book will look based on the kind of content you’d like to have included, the intended audience, the size and total pages, and retail price (Blurb price plus $5 markup). Include references to 2 or 3 books that you found on Blurb that you think could be a nice model for the book you have in mind.
   4. The next paragraph should include a brief discussion of who you are as a group and why you are completing the book (stating that you are students working on an assignment is fine). Normally in this part of the proposal an author would list their background and if they have any prior publishing history.
   5. Close the letter properly, leave a contact email address, and be sure each name is listed.
5. Send it to CWiP and post it to your group Tumblr blog by 11:00pm, Monday, Sept 26.