Trade Publishing for Scholarly Authors

Many scholarly writers want to publish trade books or crossover books that will reach readers outside of academia. This post answers the most common questions academic authors have, debunks some myths and misconceptions about trade and scholarly publishers, and tells you what you need to do if you want to pitch a trade book to a publisher.

Royalties and Advances in Scholarly Publishing

Royalties and advances against royalties are payments that publishers make to authors. This post explains how royalty and advance payments are calculated and disbursed. It also offers some key points for scholarly writers to consider when negotiating book contracts.

Out-Of-Pocket Costs for Academic Book Authors

Sometimes there are out-of-pocket costs associated with publishing your academic book. An author may want to invest in hiring an indexer, a copy editor, a developmental editor, a proofreader, someone to assist with image permissions, or a publicist. Even if you take on most of the work yourself, you may incur some costs. This post breaks down some of them so you can plan and budget accordingly.

Podcast Episodes About Academic Book Publishing

If you like listening to podcasts, check out these episodes where I talk about academic developmental editing, book proposals, and general information about publishing for first-time scholarly authors.

Book Acknowledgments: 10 Tips for Authors

What are you supposed to put in your book acknowledgments? Are there certain people you’re required to thank? Is there anything you shouldn’t say? This post has ten things you should know about writing acknowledgments for your scholarly book.

10 Steps to an Effective Book Proposal

Writing a scholarly book proposal can be intimidating. Here is a breakdown (plus a free downloadable checklist) of the 10 steps involved in putting together an effective book proposal to submit to university presses and other scholarly publishers.

10 Problems with Scholarly Book Manuscripts (and How to Fix Them)

This post includes a list of the top 10 most common problems I’ve encountered in scholarly book manuscripts along with suggestions for addressing them. Feel free to use these items as a checklist for revising your own draft for publication.

Should You Publish Your Book in a Series?

Many authors wonder whether they should consider publishing their scholarly book as part of a series at a university press. This post includes information that can help authors decide whether a series is the right fit for their next book.

Pitching a Digital Project to Scholarly Publishers

I often hear from authors wondering how to pitch their digital research. This post includes some opportunities for digital publication at university presses.

How to Publish a Book from Your Dissertation

Publishing a book based on your dissertation can be a great way to revisit your research and produce the piece of writing you most want to share with the world. My free webinar demystifies the process of turning dissertations into book manuscripts that appeal to both publishers and readers.

How Not to Burn Bridges with Publishers

Sometimes an author finds themselves in a situation where they want to extricate themselves from a publishing process they have begun at a particular press without burning a bridge. Here are some considerations for communicating with editors in these tricky scenarios.

How to Handle Early Interest from Publishers

It can be exciting when a publisher expresses interest in your book project, but many authors are unsure how to respond when it happens before a manuscript is ready to submit. This post includes my responses to common questions about engaging with publishers early in the publishing process.

Should You Revise Your Dissertation or Start Over for Your First Book?

Many first-time scholarly authors struggle to decide whether to revise their dissertation for publication as a book or start an entirely new book project. This post offers some considerations for making the decision that is right for you.

Sample Chapters — What Publishers Really Want

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about when to send sample chapters with a book proposal, which sample chapters to send, and how long they should be. This post also covers how to revise journals articles for inclusion in a scholarly book.

How to Come Up with Comparable Works for Your Academic Book Proposal

It can be difficult to understand what publishers mean when they ask for “comps” or “comparable and competing titles” in their book proposal guidelines. This guide demystifies this part of the book proposal process and offers some tips on how to effectively position your book in relation to other titles.

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