Writing the Outline

A proposal outline generally consists of a table of contents with two or three paragraphs under each chapter title.  You need to take the reader through the chapter in as interesting way as possible.  In some cases, you explain what the reader is going to get out of that chapter.  You just describe all the chapters in the book that way.  Below is a sample to show you how to put each chapter together. The average online runs 15 to 20 chapters

Partial Sample Outline:

The Oceanographic Detective

CHAPTER 1:  SUDDEN DEATH IN NAVY SEA LIONS

Three California sea lions that had been in training at Pt Mugu, California for the US Navy, for an undersea recovery project, had started losing weight and died suddenly. The Navy needed to know why the sea lions died and what caused it. The pathologist found the lung surfaces covered with small yellowish pustules that yielded worms. The Navy had disinfected these animals of these worms, why had the worms come back?

I headed for San Nicolas Island to collect the mysterious intermediate host.  In a small fish called the “opaleye” we found “lungworm like” larvae in the intestinal wall just behind the stomach. This fish is a scavenger that feeds on sea lion fecal material in the contaminated pools

The next step was to find them in the area where the sea lions lived. Below the cages we found a crescent fish that carried the lung worms. We then proved that this worm would infect a sea lion For the first time we had unlocked the secret of how this infection is transmitted. We could also tell the navy why the animals fell prey to this worm after so many years in captivity and died. By keeping the sea lions of the water below the cages, the problem could be solved.

CHAPTER 2:  THE EARLY DAYS  

Growing up on a lake in a small town in northwestern Iowa, I was the typical bug and bunny kid that tormented my long-suffering mother by bringing a never-ending stream of bugs, snakes and whatever to the house. I never outgrow this affliction and  majored in zoology in college. I took all the “ology” courses ( insects - entomology, fish- ichthyology, amphibians and reptiles-herpetology, birds-ornithology, mammals- mammalogy and so forth. In my junior year at the University of Nevada I found the answer – parasitology! By choosing parasitology as my discipline, I could work on all the animal groups.

 While following the adventures of Jacque Coustau, like everyone else I found myself fascinated with the underwater world.

Marine parasitology branched off of human medicine in the 17^th century with early studies on fish.   After graduation in 1961, I took some time to search for a good graduate program in parasitology.

CHAPTER 3: OFF TO THE MIDDLE EAST AND HYDATID DISEASE

The World Health Organization (WHO) offered a scholarship program for a masters degree program in parasitology at the American University of Beirut (AUB) in the School of Tropical Health  The only restriction was that I had to do my research on a specific parasitic problem called “hydatid disease”. I knew that tapeworms caused it. Unfortunately man picks up the eggs in contaminated food and suffers the same malady as grazing animals. There is no cure for this disease other than surgical removal of the cyst and this is no easy task. Hydatid disease is an old disease reported by Hippocrates as early as 397B.C., and occurs on all major continents of the world.

 After months of waiting I was notified that I had been selected for a scholarship.  They also selected a student from 6 middle-eastern countries (Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan) and me. I was elated at the news I borrowed $1000.00 from my mother, packed a book entitled “An Introduction to Tropical Medicine”, from the museum board of directors, and headed off for my adventures in Lebanon.

CHAPTER 4: DEATH BY STEALTH

 Dr. Calvin Schwabe, the chairman of the Department of Tropical Health, met me at the airport. In Lebanon, tapeworms were a national crisis.  The problem: a number of false negatives in tests were showing up among people who had the disease and who later died with cysts in their brains.  I wanted to discover why false negatives occurred and what could be done to save the lives of misdiagnosed patients.

Most of the grazing stock used in Lebanon were sheep, goats, cows, camels and donkeys, yet the source of infected animals were pigs.  I intended to examine the animal population, identify the tapeworms and carry out experimental infections on dogs, foxes, badgers and cats using material from domestic animals including camels and man. Once infected, I would feed the eggs back to uninfected sheep, camels, donkeys and monkeys. I would wait for the cyst to grow and do a comparative skin test to differential the positive or negative readings. Perhaps I could find a solution to the problem.

To recap.  The proposal consists of an about book section, a marketing section, a book comparison section, information about the author and an outline.  By all means take as much time as you need with the outline and make sure it and gives the editor a good look into the book.