Pick a specific niche or focus on information not found in other guidebooks. Research potential topics by asking friends, local residents, business owners, or tourism affiliates what kind of information they wish they had on hand. Getting local residents' perspectives can be valuable for shaping the content of the guidebook and for uncovering hidden gems that broad-strokes guidebooks may miss.
Create a proposal for a printed book; publishers want to be involved in the beginning stages so the staff can provide feedback and help shape the guidebook. Include a proposed table of contents, three sample chapters, and a marketing plan. Include copies of accompanying photographs or artwork if the guidebook will contain these items. For electronic submissions, merge these items into one PDF document. For mailed submissions, make copies and make sure your name and the page number is on each page of the document in case the pages get mixed up.
Create a query letter. Some publishers and agents only accept query letters to start and will ask for the full book proposal if they are interested. For contacts that accept book proposals immediately, the query letter will serve as the cover letter for mailed submissions, or the body of the e-mail for electronic submissions. The query letter has three parts: a hook paragraph giving a quick overview of the book, the title and proposed word, page and image counts; a biographical information paragraph about the writer and his or her credentials; and a paragraph explaining why this guidebook is better and/or different from previously published works.
Pitch guidebook publishers, agents who represent travel books, and regional publishers. Along with pitching, keep track of contacts names, e-mail addresses, addresses, and the date the query and/or proposal was sent. This way, an appropriate follow-up date can be determined (no sooner than two months), and the writer will avoid pitching the same agent or publisher twice.
