Book Proposal Handout

Contact publishers
Examine recent lists of new titles, and check which publishers recur
frequently in your bibliography. Check out the book display at conferences.
Talk to editors, colleagues, advisers, about their experience (which may not
be relevantyou!ll need to discriminate". #f you think your work is a
plausible $t for list strengths of particular presses, send a description of your
book, a table of contents, a brief c.v., and information about length (a
wordcount", target audiences, and plans for illustrations.
%o the same with several plausible publishers. Each website will say
something about what the particular press wants. &ome refuse to accept
proposals by email. #f you!re in 'orth (merica, # want hardcopy) if you!re
elsewhere, #!ll accept a pro*ect description as an email attachment.
Submit a proposal
The description can be in a letter or as a more formal prospectus. Either
way, the editor wants a brief account of the argument and the
evidence+research on which it!s based. ,hat!s new and exciting here- ,hy
should we invest scarce capital in publishing it- ( letter or proposal provides
us something to evaluate. #t also gives you a chance to think about the
readerships for your work, to describe your manuscript!s strengths and
unique features, and to explain why we would be the right publisher. .ou may
$nd that the exercise of condensing your thoughts into proposal form is
helpful. The proposal does not need to be long / in a letter, a couple of
pages) in a more formal proposal, 012 pages. 3emember, the more
engagingly written the proposal, the more likely we are to engage with it.
,e do not expect that you will submit your proposal to only one press. (t
this stage you!re surveying the landscape, $nding out which of the publishers
in which you!re interested are actually interested in your work. Eventually
you!ll have to decide where to submit the complete manuscript for review.
4any presses won!t be willing to commission formal reviews in competition
with another publisher. 5ut that step comes later.
What to include in your proposal
(ddress your proposal to the correct editor at the 6ress.
%escribe your research in a page or two, eschewing academic *argon
and presenting the main thrust of your work clearly and simply.
%escribe any similar books. 7ow does yours stand apart- ,hat
conversations does your work engage-
4ention any books on our list that are complementary to yours.
#dentify your audiences. #f you imagine course use, list a few actual
courses at di8erent universities and their enrollment $gures where
possible. #f you think that the book is an important scholarly
monograph, explain its contribution. #f it!s 9general interest,: be
prepared to back up that claim.
#f the pro*ect started life as a dissertation, when did you defend and
who was on your committee- #mportant; what ma*or revisions have
you made or are you going to make-
<ive a word count for the current version of the manuscript and
indicate other apparatus; photos, tables, graphs, $gures, maps, etc. #f
the book includes illustrations, why are they necessary-
(re parts of the manuscript previously published- 'ote how much, and
what ma*or changes you intend to make. The more that has appeared
elsewhere, even in somewhat di8erent form, the less attractive the
book will be.
&ay when the manuscript will be ready for review. &et a realistic
deadline11there is no point in o8ering a tighter deadline than you can
handle.
#nclude an annotated table of contents.
#nclude a summary c.v.
%oes your college or university have a subvention program to support
scholarly publications by its faculty members- #f so, note the fact.
What happens next
.ou should expect a response in a few weeks) the shorter the description, the
quicker the response should be. %on!t be devastated by a 9no thanks: letter.
The editor may invite submission of the complete manuscript for formal
review) perhaps you!ll get a request for a sample chapter) have one ready to
send. '5 if the editor o8ers you a contract on the basis of the pro*ect
description, be very, very suspicious.
(ssume, if the editor o8ers formal review of the whole manuscript, that you
should '=T send the manuscript to another publisher. #f you want to do so,
askand don!t be surprised to be told no. The other side of this coin;
expect to be told (or ask" about the period of time you!ll be o8ering the
pro*ect on an exclusive basis.
(sk about how the particular press makes its decision whether to publish. #f
you don!t ask, you have no recourse when surprises happen. There will be
surprises. 'ot all will be pleasant.
#f you are o8ered a contract, congratulations> 5ut please read it carefully
before you sign it.
3oger 7aydon, Executive Editor
Cornell ?niversity 6ress
2@A East &tate &treet
#thaca, 'ew .ork @0B2C
DCE AEE AFFB ext AA2
rmh@@Gcornell.edu

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