For all the aspiring authors in the audience, a book proposal can be a powerful tool. It will shape your agent query, your elevator pitch, your jacket copy, and ultimately, your sales pitch.

Last weekend, GalleyCat prowled the floor of the Self-Publishing Book Expo. Along with 450 attendees from all corners of the country, we picked up some book pitching tips to help readers prepare for our ongoing Book Pitch contest–a chance to win a free ticket to the eBook Summit.

At the Expo, we found some helpful tips for crafting a great proposal from the Consulting Editors Alliance. If you have more book pitch advice, share it in the comments section for a future post.

The Alliance outlined the ideal pitch: “Your cover letter should provide an overview of the book and be no longer than one page. Don’t try to be clever (unless your book is humor). If the book is nonfiction, describe, briefly, what else is out there and how your work differs.”

The advice continued: “Think of a proposal or a synopsis as a resume you are sending out hoping to get a job. It should show you and your work at their best. It is your primary selling tool.”

The Alliance advice concluded with some sobering advice about writing scams: “If an agency wants to charge you for reading your manuscript, stay away from them.”