Your Career

What to do, and not do, in your quest to publish your scholarly book

If you’re working on a manuscript, you will need, at some point, to reach out to an editor. That may mean pitching your project at a conference or submitting a proposal “over the transom.” In reaching out to book editors, there are some things that you should do (read up on presses), some that you can but don’t need to do (talk directly with an editor), and some that you will have to do to get published (send a book proposal). Graduate school trains you to find a “hole” in the scholarship and assert the novelty of your claims and contributions. But what editors at scholarly publishers look for are “fit,” “idea,” and “topic.” And what makes an idea or a topic a strong fit is shaped by many factors, including the particular editor’s:

• Areas of acquisition and established strengths.
• Sense of a book’s market and of how well-poised the author and press are to reach it.
• Current projects.
• Perspectives and goals for the lists under their purview.

Fit is mutual. Before approaching editors, the first step is to do some research to identify publishers that you think might be a good match for you and your manuscript. The Association of University Presses offers a subject-area grid indicating the different fields in which its member presses publish, along with some other resources. In addition, to get a more detailed picture of their various strengths and foci, it’s always good to spend time on their websites, perusing new and recent titles. Some also include editor bios or vision statements to let you know what they’re looking for.

Continue reading: “How to Approach a Book Editor,” by Rebecca Colesworthy

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What we’re reading

Here’s more on career issues and trends from around the web. See something we should include? Let me know.

• On The Conversation, a report on bullying in the workplace offers advice on “how to recognize and deal with it.”
• The Wall Street Journal takes a look at Sweden’s “secret to happiness at work:" a collective coffee break once or twice a day.
• Advice in the Harvard Business Review on three “types of overthinking, and how to overcome them.”