The outline is in pretty good shape. While out of town I did manage to reread one of Emma Holly's books, Cooking Up a Storm, originally from Black Lace but possibly reprinted by now with some other publisher. From that I knew I needed at least one sex scene per chapter, and I noticed how she tied those in with the characterization of the major pairing and of two subsidiary characters, and how she enlivened plottier sections with erotic undertones. So when I outlined, I noted outcome at the end of each sex scene--outcome in the sense of what the sex had resolved and, more importantly, not resolved. Things left unresolved make the reader want to keep reading, a search for final satisfaction, if you will.
I apparently learned a lot from reading Emma Holly's books in the first place, because when I was outlining, I felt like I already knew what sorts of pairings and actions I could use for variety. All of the scenes do not need to include the main couple; or scenes can include half of the main couple with someone else; or the main couple can have a scene with the addition of another character or characters. I also strove to vary the tone, to have a tender scene here, an exuberant quickie there, a slightly scary unplanned encounter to set up another encounter later.
Even if this proposal doesn't sell, and I never have to finish the book, I've learned a lot from the outline alone.
