Demystifying the Book Proposal Process: From Idea to Contract

Presenter/Facilitator: Al Hsu, Associate Editorial Director, InterVarsity Press

Description: You have an idea for a book. How do you turn that idea into a book proposal that will lead to a contract and a published book? In this workshop, IVP associate editorial director Al Hsu provides a step-by-step guide through the book proposal process, from discerning the right project through the nuts and bolts of proposal components. He will describe how acquisitions editors and publishing boards review and evaluate book proposals and what you can do to improve your proposal’s chances of acceptance for publication. We will walk through case studies of actual proposals to look for best practices. Participants are encouraged to bring their own potential book ideas and proposals to a “shark tank” pitch session time. Whether presenting your own or listening to others, participants will benefit from Dr. Hsu’s questions and feedback designed to refine the proposal.

Al Hsu (pronounced “shee”) (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is associate editorial director at InterVarsity Press, where he acquires and develops books in such areas as church, culture, mission, apologetics, and social issues. In over twenty-five years at IVP, he has worked with over 300 authors and published more than 400 titles, including award-winning books by Michael Card, Mark Charles, Andy Crouch, Makoto Fujimura, Dominique Gilliard, Os Guinness, Tara Beth Leach, Soong-Chan Rah, Sarah Shin, Rachel Marie Stone, Nikki Toyama-Szeto, Richard Twiss, Sandra Van Opstal, and Terry Wildman. He has published books in partnership with such organizations as the Billy Graham Center, the Christian Community Development Association, International Justice Mission, Lutheran Hour Ministries, Missio Alliance, Operation World, the Urbana Student Missions Conference, The Veritas Forum, and World Relief.

Al has served as a columnist for Christianity Today magazine. He has taught writing workshops and seminars for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, Frederick Buechner Writer’s Workshop, Publishing in Color, Writing for Your Life, Christianity & Communication Studies Network, Oregon Christian Writers, Missio Alliance, Write to Publish, and Churches for the Sake of Others. He is the author of three books: Grieving a Suicide, The Suburban Christian, and Singles at the Crossroads. He lives in the western suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two sons. Connect with Al here: https://www.ivpress.com/albert-y-hsu