Starting point
What do you want to achieve and who can help you to do that? Think about the audience you are trying to reach, how you usually find and read information and whether you have any significant external requirements such as funder conditions or university policies. Once you have these things in mind you can start to think about which publisher or publishers to approach.
Which publisher?
The best books come from a good partnership between the author and the publisher so it’s worth considering the following questions about the publishers you could work with:
- Are they experts in your subject area?
- Are people you admire publishing with them or recommending them?
- Are they aiming at the right audience?
- Is the quality of their products high?
- Is their marketing and distribution effective?
- Do they have a good reputation for responsiveness and author support?
- Does their ethos matter to you? Do their values accord with yours?
The publisher’s website is a good place to start, for example the Bristol University Press Author Hub.
Submitting a proposal
A publisher’s website should have all the information you need about what information to send and who to send it to.
Most publishers will have a standard template form or submission system asking for key information about the book project, including a synopsis and chapter abstracts as well as information on your target audience and the competition.
There may be some back and forth if the editor recommends some revisions or clarifications and then the proposal will be sent for peer review.
The peer reviews will be anonymised before they are shared with you and you will get chance to respond to the feedback. This may require revisions to the proposal or just a confirmation of the changes you plan to make, if any. Usually, the editor would offer some guidance on this front and then if the reviews are supportive, prepare the paperwork to present the proposal at their internal approval meeting.
Following that meeting (or an additional board meeting if you are publishing with a university press), you would receive the details of the contract offer.
Top tips
1. Have a clear working title, even if you have some other ideas you include as well.
2. Don’t overstate the originality to try to convince a publisher. Just be clear about what is unique and outline the central arguments and themes. Back up your views and claims.
3. It’s fine to say that your structure is still a work in progress but explain the rationale for the current structure and check it has a clear introduction and conclusion.
4. Don’t suggest the audience is everyone, think about who the main people are who you know will really want to read it. Be clear about whether it’s UK focused or international, which courses at what level might recommend it, and mention secondary audiences you would like to try to reach as well.
5. Even if there is no direct competition, show that you understand where the book will sit in relation to existing literature in the field and how it compares. Remember that someone reviewing the proposal could have written a related book or article.
6. Be clear on copyright – for example, if anything has been published before or will need permission.
7. Sell yourself. Demonstrate why you are qualified to write the book but always include other information about your engagement with the area – for example, other projects you are involved in, your social media profile, your ideas for impact and blogs you have written. Show how you will help to promote the book as that is also part of the partnership.
8. Proof-check the proposal – little mistakes get spotted by publishers.
Victoria Pittman is editorial director at Bristol University Press, a not-for-profit academic publisher based at the University of Bristol.
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