A paragraph summary of the your nonfiction book, placed at the beginning of the proposal, gives the editor an idea of what the book is about without him or her having to read the entire About the Book Section to find out.

Not every About the Book Section contains a paragraph Summary, but it should.  It explains what the book is about in one paragraph using selling words: NEW, HOW TO, SUDDENLY, IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT, BEST, AMAZING, SENSATIONAL, REMARKABLE, REVOLUTIONARY, STARTLING, MIRACLE, MAGIC, QUICK, EASY and others.  Many paragraph summaries offer the editor an extra bonus like: Six Steps to a Better Life. Here are some examples:

MIRACLE GARDENING

How to grow bigger, brighter flowers, thicker lawns and huge mouth-watering vegetables using the amazing new scientific miracle substances and methods...plus 10001 tips for today's gardener.

THE PHANTOM OF THE WAR-Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh Trail

Day to day life on the trail through the eyes of the men and women who built it, lived on it, and put it back together after each bombardment. Plus comments from Americans and South Vietnamese whose job it was to cut off the supplies continually pouring into the south.

THE GOOD BUG BOOK

This book is an introduction to the world of beneficial insects.  It is the first complete guide available for identifying and using beneficial insects in the yard, garden, orchard and field.  It includes a description of several thousand predacious and parasitic insects and a basic encyclopedia of plants/insect pests and controls...and a good bugs at a glance chart in each insect chapter.

The trick is to sum up what the book is about in a sentence or two.  Then offer the reader a bonus in the last sentence. The bonus in the first summary is the thousand and one tips.  The second, comments from Americans and South Vietnamese, the third, a good bugs at a glance chart.