Arcadia Proposal – Let’s Go!
So, you’ve got an idea for a book. You’ve seen all those Images of America books with the sepia-tone covers at the bookstore. You’ve decided you can do this.
Are you ready to sit down and fill out the proposal package? Let’s find out.
Which Series/Imprint?
Where does your concept fit best?
- Images of America
- Sports (Images of Baseball, Football)
- Legendary Locals
- The History Press
Do you have a focused subject?
While you may know a lot about your town, your neighborhood, your school, perhaps your church. Can you turn that knowledge into a coherent story for a book?
Do you have 300 images?
This is the general standard for the various Arcadia series. The books are usually 128 pages. You’ll need 180 to 200 images to fill those pages. Therefore, you need a starting universe of around 300, since some won’t fit the story when you sit down to create it. Some of your images may not be of a quality that’s suitable for print publication. You may discover you don’t have the rights to publish others. If you start with 300, you can confidently narrow down that to 200 that will fit.
Is there a market for your book?
Your church is near and dear to your heart, but can you sell 600-1000 copies of a book on its history? Same with your high school or college. Is your town large enough to sell that many books? Will you get help from local historical societies and other clubs? If the answer is no, can you expand your topic to include other churches/schools/towns/etc, to widen the book’s reach?
Can you commit the time to complete the project?
The end result of the proposal process is a contract to write your book. It’s a contract, legal and binding. Are you able to commit to the project? Can you complete it? It’s going to take hours of effort to make this happen. “I got sick” may work for why you haven’t updated your blog for a month, but it’s not what a publisher wants to hear. If you’re not the type who finishes things, don’t sign a legal document saying you will, unless you actually will.
Let’s Go!
Did you answer “yes” to all of these? Let’s fill out the Arcadia Proposal package.
