What information do you need to research for your book? And where will you find it?
Much depends on what you're writing, but any book can be made stronger if you include information from one or more sources other than yourself.
This is so even if you’re writing a memoir, biography or some other book based on your professional or personal experiences. You can use these to enhance your own knowledge and experience.
Your sources might include historical records that need to be checked, interviewees who can illustrate, corroborate or add deeper insight to what you’re writing about or published research to back up your claims or ideas. You may like to include those with entirely different views to your own.
So, where will you find this information? Who can help you to tell your story? Your book proposal should explain this.
Some example sources could include:
Personal experience
Interviews (case studies, stories – for and/or against)
Experts
Museums
Archives
Libraries
If you feel unsure about what to write here, it could be because you need to carry out some initial research. The purpose of this initial research is to help you work out the finer details for your book, like your angle, current or historical perspectives, who to interview or whether sufficient interest for the topic exists. This will help you to decide WHAT write and will also give you at least a starting point for the sources you can draw from. You have a greater chance of writing a strong and successful book proposal if you do this work first.
And just to note: it isn’t unusual for the course of a book to change as further information becomes available. You might end up writing an entirely different book in the end. Nothing in the book proposal is set in stone—just as with a business plan, things can change!