What goes in the overview section, and how long should it be?

Short answer: Kelly Bergh’s advice: The overview is 6-10 pages, written in first person, that compresses everything else in the proposal: what the book is about, why you're the best person to write it right now, who the intended audience is, and what structure you're using.

Answered by Kelly Bergh, Literary Agent, Lucinda Literary.

Create a free LitConnect account and submit your pitch.

The agent’s answer

Relative to its length, Kelly calls the overview the proposal's heaviest lift: six to ten pages in first person that has to distill the entire pitch, so that an editor reading only this section still comes away with the whole picture of the book, the author, the audience, and the market. She anchors the tone advice in something concrete and familiar, telling writers to think back to the five-paragraph persuasive essay from school, since a proposal has the same job of persuading publishers that the idea has market viability. She notes people tend to have polarized experiences with this section, saying it is where writers have the most success writing first, or writing last.

In Kelly’s words

A book proposal needs to persuade publishers that your idea has market viability.
Kelly Bergh, 16:19

Source: How to Develop a Sellable Nonfiction Book Proposal.