This book provides advice about how to write an NSF pre-proposal. It is written for biological scientists seeking funding from the US National Science Foundation. In 2012, NSF introduced a once-per-year competition based on a four-page preliminary proposal. This new system changes the landscape of the funding competition in many ways. Investigators must now generate enthusiasm for their ideas in four short pages. This book gives you the tools, and background, you need to compete in this brave new world.