We sat down with Revell Books editorial director Andrea Doering to get you the inside scoop on pitching a book proposal at a writers’ conference. Andrea has been on the receiving end of countless pitches over the course of her career at Revell, and she shared with us what makes a proposal — and an author — stand out from the rest. We’ve boiled down her wisdom to three key takeaways that you can study, share with others, or even repeat to yourself mantra-style as you walk into your next writers’ conference, proposal in hand and a smile on your face. 

1. Be prepared.

Show the editor that you’ve done your research. She wants to know that you’ve studied the business of writing as well as the art. One of the best ways to communicate this is with a well-researched, organized book proposal.

Maybe in the past you’ve been told to bring a one-sheet — a shiny professional printout with one sheet’s worth of...