Writing Course Review: Courtney Maum’s Book Proposal Writing
I believe that learning from someone who has been there before is one of the best things you can do for your personal development. It doesn’t matter what your career path is, learning from people who have been where you now help you see it is possible.
The writing industry is full of coaches and mentors; people who have been in the query trenches or who have struggled through a first draft. Every published author once upon a time didn’t have a rough draft to their name.
I love learning from writers and none are more open with their knowledge than Courtney Maum. A novelist and memoirist, Maum is the author of Touch, Before & After the Book Deal, The Year of the Horses, and more.
She writes fiction, nonfiction, and memoir. Her newsletters offer a ton of valuable publishing information and she has several courses, most of which I’ve taken.
The one we’re going to talk about today is her Book Proposal Writing course, hosted on Domestika.
What does the course cover?
In this course, Maum covers the basics of writing a book proposal. While fiction writers sell a book based on a complete and polished manuscript, nonfiction writers do it a little differently.
Most nonfiction is sold on proposal. This is a 50+ page document that explains what the book is about, who it’s for, why it matters, and how the author will market the book. There are also sample chapters included for reference.
While it may seem easy to write, don’t be fooled. Book proposals can take as long to write as a fiction manuscript.
This is because you need to convince an agent and publisher why the book is important without a full-length book to show for it. You’re only relying on the proposal. A poorly written proposal will get ignored while a thorough and well-researched one will shine.
Maum’s course is divided into five units. They are:
About Maum where she shares her writing journey and influences.
Book proposal basics and working on your chapter summary, hook, and platform.
Writing your overview, finding comp titles, and coming up with your marketing plan.
Submission practices, finding agents, and dealing with rejection.
The final project.
Every Domestika course comes with a “Final Project” which is where the student incorporates everything they learned and shares it with the students. More on this below.
What’s expected from you in this course?
As I just mentioned, Domestika encourages student participation. In every unit, the instructor gives some “homework” or action steps they want you to take.
Do you have to do them? No. You’ll still get access to the entire course even if you don’t participate. But it helps. Especially since Maum pops in a few times a week to give her personal feedback.
Throughout the course, some of the “homework” Maum asks you to do includes:
Sharing your influences
Sharing your book’s “hook”
Platform building worksheet
Listing comp titles
And more
Again, these are not required to keep going with the course, but you should definitely consider them. They help you take everything you learned in the unit lessons and apply it in real time.
What I learned…
Before taking Maum’s course, I bought a book about proposal writing that is considered the quintessential title on the topic. It’s called How to Write a Book Proposal by Michael Larsen. And while I highly recommend that book, that paired with Maum’s course is a beautiful match.
Maum helped me understand the author platform in a whole new light. She offers insightful tips that many writers may not know about that help their proposals stand out. And she provides real-time examples of her own work to show you how to compose certain sections.
But the main takeaway was the platform.
Platform is a dreaded word in the publishing industry, particularly in the nonfiction field. It’s 90% of the reason publishers will reject your book. This happened to me when my agents and I pitched my first book proposal. Over half of the rejections were because of my “low platform.”
Maum helps you see that platform is not just social media followers. Platform covers way more and the worksheet she provides is super helpful in showing you that your platform may be bigger than you think. She also shows you how to leverage that in your marketing plan.
Why you should take this course
This course is essential for anyone writing nonfiction and needing to prepare a book proposal. Maum is known throughout the publishing industry and many agents and publishers recommend her books and courses for aspiring writers.
However, fiction writers can take just as much from this course as nonfiction writers. For starters, the chapter summary lesson can help with outlining your future novels and platform is a good thing to learn on all sides.
Maum’s humor and candid nature make her a marvelous teacher. She pulls no punches, tells you like it is, but encourages you to keep moving forward. Because she knows what it’s like to be a writer with a dream. She’s been there, and she’s using what she’s learned to help other writers through.
That, to me, is someone worth learning from.
Where can you find this course?
You can find the course over on Domestika. Watch the trailer and read a breakdown of everything you’ll learn and do. The course is self-paced and grants you access to a community forum where you can talk with other students and hear from Maum herself.
Be sure to check out Domestika’s curated list of courses from world-renowned writers, artists, musicians, and more. You can purchase courses individually or sign up for a Plus plan that includes their entire library. Their writing catalog offers everything from memoir writing to crafting compelling characters.
I should note that the book proposal I wrote after taking this course is the one that landed me my literary agent.
I can’t guarantee this will happen to you, but it shows that when you take the time to learn, apply it in real time, and never give up, it’ll happen.
And if you need some more help in crafting your own book proposal, check out my Book Proposal Workbook over on Etsy. It’ll help you draft a solid book proposal that will be ready for querying after a few more drafts.
To learn more about Maum and her available books, courses, and services, check out her website here. You can also follow her on social media for publishing tips or join her newsletter.
