You—the author—have the ultimate insider’s perspective when it comes to your book. You know everything about each object you analyze and how your ideas develop over the course of your …
Finding a Publisher for Your Academic Book: Series Overview
Finding the right publisher for your academic book involves two principal factors. First, you must identify academic publishers that publish books like yours. You see, academic publishers—like …
Continue Reading about Finding a Publisher for Your Academic Book: Series Overview →
Can Your Academic Book Reach “A General Audience”?
You might know that your book will need to speak to scholars in your discipline(s) and have heard that it's unwise to describe your book's audience as "a general audience interested in [topic]" on …
Continue Reading about Can Your Academic Book Reach “A General Audience”? →
Academic Book Proposals: All Your Questions, Answered (Revised)
Writing and submitting an academic book proposal can seem like a daunting task. Below, I answer some of your most common questions and offer the best resources to consult to prepare your academic book …
Continue Reading about Academic Book Proposals: All Your Questions, Answered (Revised) →
When Should You Submit Your Academic Book Proposal? (Updated in 2021)
Nothing seems to stress authors of first books more than this question: when should I write and submit my academic book proposal to university presses? When I was writing my own first book, the …
Continue Reading about When Should You Submit Your Academic Book Proposal? (Updated in 2021) →
Acquisitions Editors vs Series Editors: Who they Are, What they Do, and How that Affects your Book
You know that you will eventually work with an "editor," on your book's path to publication. But did you know that, beyond developmental editors or copy editors (people you or the press hire to help …
The “Competing Works” Section of an Academic Book Proposal
Of all the parts of an academic book proposal, the "competing works" (sometimes called "competing titles," "competing books," "market competition," or simply "competition") section is probably the …
Continue Reading about The “Competing Works” Section of an Academic Book Proposal →
Should You Talk to an Acquisitions Editor at a Conference? What to Consider.
When I was writing my own book, the whole publishing process felt opaque and high-stakes. I erroneously associated speaking with editors at a conference with formally "pitching" my book. Because I was …
What to Ask Authors Who’ve Recently Published with Your Target Presses
Prestige aside, from the outside, it might seem like all university presses (and editors) are identical. You write your book, it goes through peer review, you revise it, and eventually it's published. …
Continue Reading about What to Ask Authors Who’ve Recently Published with Your Target Presses →
The Top Resources for Writing Your First Academic Book (Updated in 2021)
The first time you publish an academic book, it feels like you need to master both a process you've hardly been trained to navigate and a style that's quite different from your dissertation. In this …
Continue Reading about The Top Resources for Writing Your First Academic Book (Updated in 2021) →
Assembling Your Book Reviewers List: Everything You Need to Know
Some university presses ask hopeful book authors to list scholars who can serve as peer reviewers for their academic book proposal or full manuscript. In this post, I help you determine whom you …
Continue Reading about Assembling Your Book Reviewers List: Everything You Need to Know →
5 Myths about Academic Book Proposals
1. Your book proposal will only be read by academics in your field. Reality This is only partly true. Your proposal will be read by several audiences, only some of whom will be academics in your …
Continue Reading about 5 Myths about Academic Book Proposals →