This guest blog post is an interview I did with my friend, Chad Allen, about my winning book proposal and the impact his Book Proposal Academy (BPA) had on me. If you are a writer I strongly suggest you enroll in BPA. Registration closes tonight at midnight (EDT).

How One Writer Got His First Book Contract

Today I’m excited to share my friend Chuck Tate’s story with the following interview.

Chuck, would you mind telling us a little bit about yourself?

I planted a church seventeen years ago called RockChurch in central Illinois and could probably write a book on how not to plant a church. We did, however, learn to fail forward and are currently in our most successful and fruitful season.

I attended the Re:Write Writers Conference in 2013, began crafting a book proposal, enrolled in Book Proposal Academy, entered the Re:Write writing contest in 2015 and won the contract. My book will release with Tyndale Momentum in 2016.

OK, thanks, tell us about your book. What’s the current title and what’s it about?

My current working title is #41WillCome: Seven Ways To Slay Your Giants. The book unlocks the biblical meaning of the number forty-one and illustrates what it represents: It rained for forty days and forty nights. Day forty-one came and the rain stopped. Moses committed murder and hid in a desert for forty years. Year forty-one came, Moses was given a second chance, and was commissioned by God to rescue Israel. The children of Israel wandered through the wilderness for forty years. Year forty-one came and a new generation entered into their Promised Land. Jesus fasted and prayed in the desert for forty days and was tempted by the devil. Day forty-one came, Jesus spoke the Word, the devil fled, and Jesus launched His epic ministry. Goliath challenged Israel for forty days. Day forty-one came, David accepted the challenge and slew Goliath.

How did you come up with the idea?

It began as a sermon. I preached my very first message on David & Goliath in 5th grade! “Forty-One Will Come” was a song I heard during my teenage years that I turned into a sermon. It became a life-message. Fast-forward to 1999. I was the chaplain of a professional indoor football team and delivered my “41 Will Come” message at the pre-game chapel service before a playoff game. We won that game 41-40! The book idea was birthed on the drive home.

It’s one thing to have a book idea, it’s another thing to get a book contract. How did you do it?

I approached an agent at the Re:Write Conference and asked her for one minute to pitch my concept for constructive input. Her response was, “I love the idea, but I don’t know if you can write. Do you have a proposal?” Honestly I barely knew what a proposal was. Her feedback motivated me to get started. I followed you, Chad, via Twitter, saw the advertisement for Book Proposal Academy and enrolled. BPA gave me the knowledge and confidence to craft my proposal. I entered it into the Re:Write writing contest and the rest is history.

What advice would you give to someone who has this dream of writing a book and seeing it published?

I’m the guy who talked about my concept and dream for yearswithout actually writing. I talked about it, dreamed about it, preached about it, prayed about it, but didn’t work on it. Faith without works is dead. My advice is start writing. Start working. Start preparing. If you do your part, God will do His part.

How did Book Proposal Academy help you? Was it worth it?

BPA helped me by walking me through the entire book proposal process step-by-step. Information. Resources. Examples. Samples. Details. Feedback. Coaching. Inspiration. Motivation. Having you share your personal experience and communicate what you look for when reviewing proposals was full of revelation. Not only did you and BPA help me – I’m convinced I would not have won the contest or the contract if I had not completed Book Proposal Academy. For me personally, it was priceless.

To learn more about Book Proposal Academy, CLICK HERE.

This is what’s included in BPA:

• Over 35 videos of the best training available on how to write a compelling book proposal
• Access to a private Facebook group where you can ask Chad (as well as your fellow students!) anything you like
• Sample book proposals
• A bonus course on the basics of building a platform
• A bonus course on making the writing journey sustainable

It’s well over $2000 of value for $247.