Nine Do’s and Don’ts of Book Proposals

May 5

Book proposals! These are the documents that authors share with scholarly publishers in order to try and get them interested in publishing their books. They are the place where you share what your book is about, make a case for the importance of its argument, and lay out who might read it. When I was writing my first book, I was really, really intimidated by the book proposal. It felt like a big mystery to me: What were comparative titles and why did they matter? What were important elements to include? How should I be interacting with editors? I read some sample (successful) book proposals from colleagues, but they all were so different.

The good news for those of you who are currently writing book proposals is that there is a great new resources out there: The Book Proposal Book: A Guide for Scholarly Authors (Princeton University Press, 2021). The author, Laura Portwood-Stacer, has worked with hundreds of authors as a developmental editor and, more recently, as the leader of workshops and classes that focus on book proposals. So she knows a lot. I highly recommend this guide for anyone who is writing a scholarly book proposal, and that includes people who aren’t first-time authors. Each chapter takes you through one step of the process, complete with exercises to help you get your proposal done. It’s clearly written, easy to follow, and completely demystifies the process.

For today’s blog, I’m going to highlight some of the points of the book that stood out to me as particularly helpful. Again, read the whole book, but I hope that these help you to better understand this genre of writing.

1

Do understand the role of the acquisitions editor. Generally, this is the person at the press who you will be sending your proposal to (sometimes you might also be working with a series editor). Not only will acquisitions editors be evaluating your proposal, they are also the people who will, if your book moves on, be advocating for it at their presses. Portwood-Stacer reminds us that acquisitions editors tend to view themselves “as recruiters and brokers who advocate for both authors and readers in order to bring quality scholarship to attentive audiences” (12). So you want to make sure your proposal has the information in it that they will need to make a compelling case for your book at the press. You also want to keep readers in mind as you write, making sure that you are crafting a book that people will want to read and, therefore, one with a clear audience in mind.

2

Do make a case for why your research matters. Be careful not to get too bogged down in dense theoretical arguments in your proposal or forget to explain the importance of your research. Pitch the proposal to an intelligent reader who is curious to hear what your research reveals about an interesting topic and why it matters. What does your book help readers better understand about a topic that they care about? How might it help them understand something a bit more clearly? A book proposal is not written like a dissertation, which you pitch to experts (your committee) who are extremely knowledgeable in your field. You certainly hope that those people will read your book, but you also need to make it readable beyond this small group. For more on turning a dissertation to a book, see this post.

3

Don’t be overly critical of other works. In book proposals, presses want you to discuss competing or comparable works (comps). It is tempting to tear apart other books, partly in order to demonstrate your own intelligence and how much better your book is. However, the goal of the comps section is to help the press understand a book’s audience and market. The press wants you to list examples of books that are similar to your book to help them get a handle on who will read your book, how well it will sell, and how they might eventually market it (and to whom). In this section you should discuss recently published books (though not all have to be recent) that are related to yours, with ideally a couple titles published by the press itself. It is helpful to the editor if you highlight how your book is similar to these and what it adds (different methodology, topics, writing style etc.). You can speak broadly here and don’t have to go into a lot of detail. Again, the press is trying to figure out how your book might sell and who might read it, so being overly critical of books is not helpful to them.

4

Don’t be vague about your audience. When I wrote my book proposal, I’m pretty sure I claimed that people in many, many disciplines would read my book (people in anthropology, gender studies, African studies, Islamic studies etc.). Portwood-Stacer reminds writers to be more specific about both who their imagined audiences are and how they will reach them. Anthropology is such a broad discipline that it doesn’t help editors to get a sense of who the book will appeal to just by naming it (and they won’t be fooled that most anthropologists will want to read it!). It’s better to think more specifically as to who within a discipline might be interested in the book. For example, are there special interest groups who it would especially appeal to? A more realistic audience for my book would be economic anthropologists, people in slavery studies (especially in Africa), and scholars of gender in Africa and Islam (note: this is still a lot of people!). It’s great to also name groups beyond academia who might be interested in the book but, again, you want to be specific. For mine, I could have made a compelling case that people who work on gender and development in Africa or human rights related to slavery might actually read my book.

5

Do have an argument. That sounds obvious, but it can be hard to do . Try to focus the proposal around the book’s broadest argument. If you don’t have one, spend time figuring it out before you send out the proposal. Think about what you are explaining in the book that people haven’t heard before. What big idea are you planning on leaving the reader with? What major claim are you putting forth that readers might apply elsewhere? Questions like this will help you figure out your argument. As with everything in the proposal, make sure your argument comes across clearly and work on writing with confidence.

6

Don’t overly cite. You will, obviously, cite other literature in the proposal when you are describing your project and showing how it fits into broader scholarly conversations. But don’t overly rely on other literature. Remember that you are the expert on this topic and you want to be sure that the book proposal is clearly getting across your ideas and the contours of what you book will look like. Too much reliance on other literature can suggest that you are not confident in your own work or still are a ways away from figuring out your own argument. It also risks making the editor feel like the audience for your book will be narrowly confined to readers who are also familiar with this literature.

7

Do suggest reviewers. I remember being confused about this one. Should I really suggest reviewers or would this look like I was trying to manipulate the outcome of peer review? Editors do appreciate it when authors provide the names of scholars who would be qualified to review their books. It helps them solicit reviews from competent people and saves them time. Be sure to be strategic about who you put on your list. Ideally, you want people who you think would provide helpful suggestions, but likely be positive and supportive about your book. Don’t put the names of people for whom reviewing your book might be a conflict of interest (advisers and close friends). You might also think about recommending people whose names you would like to see on the back of your book since sometimes blurbs come from these reviews. Do remember though that the most senior scholars generally can’t review all the books that are sent to them.

8

Do ask your editor questions. I am a shy person and always worried about annoying my editor with questions (even though she was lovely every time I asked her one). But Portwood-Stacer reminds us that editors understand that authors (especially first-time authors) do not necessarily understand the publishing process. But editors are also very busy so they might forget this or assume that you know things that you don’t. So do ask when you have questions about peer reviewer feedback, timeline, next steps in the publishing process, contracts, and so on. Having open communication with your editor also ensures that you know what is expected of you so that you can help your book get through the process.

9

Do be clear on your submission plans. Different presses have different rules and policies regarding simultaneous submission. Most don’t want you to submit a manuscript to another press once yours is undergoing peer review at theirs (though this is not always the case). So be sure to be up front and clear with your editor about what you are doing with your manuscript. You don’t have to tell them what other presses you are submitting your proposal to, but do be clear that you are sending it to multiple places if you are.

It's not easy to write a book proposal. But it is a lot easier if you have a good sense of what a proposal is and how the process works. So, again, check out this book, and I’m also happy to answer any questions you might have. Good luck!

*****

Like this post? Consider subscribing to my blog below to receive updates on new posts!