In the comments section of my post on John Turri's (illuminating) self-report data on papers he's published, Sam Duncan asked, "Could you guys ever run a post on publishing a book here?" Sam also asked several questions about book proposals, namely:
- Just what are the respectable presses in philosophy? (I know huge question and more than a little subjective too).
- How much of the book should you have written before you even shop the proposal?
- How long do presses take to get back to you?
- Is it acceptable to send out proposals to multiple presses at the same time? Is it a good idea? I know Leiter had a thread on this a while back and absolutely no one could agree.
- Is it a good idea to send informal emails asking about interest in the book before sending in a formal proposal?
Given that I went through the book proposal process for the first time a couple of years ago, and have been going through the book writing, revising, and publishing process ever since, I'm really glad Sam asked! I'm going to put together a new series of posts on book publishing, and hope readers find them informative.
Here, then, are my answers to Sam's specific questions:
1. Just what are the respectable presses in philosophy?
As Roman Altshuler pointed out in response to Sam's comment, Brian Leiter put together a helpful poll ranking philosophy book publishers several years ago. By my lights, just about all of the presses listed in the top-20 are considered respectable in the field. I had to choose between pursuing the equivalent of a revise-and-resubmit with Routledge (#4) and a contract-offer by Palgrave (#13), for instance, and everyone I asked said they were both good presses.
Still, things are not so simple. The kind of press you should go with depends on a lot of things: your personal aims, employment situation, visibility in the discipline, etc. Allow me to explain.
First, if you are working at an R1 school, or are looking to get a job at one, then you should presumably shoot as high as possible (since it plausibly matters to tenure and promotion committees there). On the other hand, if you are not at an R1 school, then aiming for something lower might make sense.
Second, which type of press you should go with plausibly depends on your visibility in the discipline. It is hard for me to imagine someone wanting to go through the process of writing an entire book only to see no one buy or read it. As such, if you have very little visibility in the field, publishing in a lower-ranked press might be a big risk (you might write a book that no one reads--a big bummer!). Publishing in a top-ranked press might be necessary for your book to make any impact. On the other hand, if you are a visible presence in the discipline--if your work is widely cited, people know who you are, etc.--then publishing in a lower-ranked probably won't run the same risk.
Finally, one thing I should probably also mention here is that I have heard (from a number of sources) that it can be very difficult to publish in a "top" press without an established reputation in the field as something of a research star. This is for one major reason. Book publishers are interested in sales and adding to/retaining their prestige. This is, among other things, why the book proposal and manuscript review processes are not anonymized (quite unlike peer-reviewed journals). Since books cost a lot to produce, publishing houses are looking for things that will sell--and a book by a "no name" is, unless it is absolutely extraordinary, unlikely to sell like a book from a "top name."
2. How much of the book should you have written before you even shop the proposal?
I have gotten the same answers to this by everyone I've consulted. If you are not a well-established, visible figure in the field (someone with a bunch of well-cited publications), you basically need to have an entire book drafted. This is for a very simple reason. Publishers will be willing to offer contracts to established authors after a proposal and (perhaps) review of a sample chapter or two. Publishers will not offer a contract to a less well-established person until after they put your entire manuscript under review and get good (enough) reviews on it. Thus, publishers will not bother with a book proposal from an unestablished person unless you have a full-manuscript to send them for review if they like the proposal (note: it is standard in actual book proposals to note precisely how much of the book you have drafted).
This is, among other things, what makes publishing a book a rather harrowing experience for a person who is not that well-established in the field. You do, quite literally, have to write an entire book before you even approach publishers with a proposal.
3. How long do presses take to get back to you?
There are two answers to this. The first time you approach a press, you typically send them a "query letter" (a cover letter telling them in a paragraph or two what your book is about) along with a "proposal." Many publishers have their own proposal form you need to fill out, though some do not--and for those who do not, I sent in a generic proposal in PDF (the contents of which I will talk about in a future post). In my experience, you tend to hear back on these initial queries really fast, in several weeks at most. Typically, your proposal will be rejected on the spot, or you will be invited sample chapters or (more likely) an entire manuscript for review. And this is the part that takes super long. I've heard presses taking well over a year to review a manuscript (yes, even rejections). Not only that. Many (but not all) presses will not review your manuscript while it is under review elsewhere--so basically, you can wait an entire year (or more) to hear that your manuscript has been rejected before you can even approach another publisher.
4. Is it acceptable to send out proposals to multiple presses at the same time? Is it a good idea? I know Leiter had a thread on this a while back and absolutely no one could agree.
I struggled (as Sam did) to find good answers to this online, but actually in my experience it has a very straightforward answer: each publisher has their own policies. Some publishers will not consider a proposal under review elsewhere, others will. The important thing is to be communicate clearly with whomever you are dealing with. In your query letter, for instance, you might say, "My proposal is currently under review at other presses." In many cases, editors simply sent me an email telling me to try again later. In other cases, they were happy to look at the proposal even if it were under review elsewhere.
Things are very different, however, when it comes to the review process for entire book manuscripts. In my experience, most (but not all) presses will not permit you to have your entire manuscript under review elsewhere while they are reviewing it. There is one exception to this I encountered myself, and which you might ask about. Some publishers will allow you to have your manuscript reviewed at other presses if you confer to them a "right of first-refusal"--which is basically a binding agreement that you will publish the book with them if they accept it, even if another (possibly better) press wants to offer you a contract. The editor at Routledge offered me this, and I was very thankful, since I was able to have my entire manuscript reviewed by multiple places simultaneously (many other presses would not review the manuscript while it was under review with Routledge, but some did!). This sped up the entire book publishing process for me immeasurably. I placed the entire manuscript under review with several presses all at the same time, and a few months later I heard from all three of them at roughly the same time.
5. Is it a good idea to send informal emails asking about interest in the book before sending in a formal proposal?
This one also has a straightforward answer. Typically, book publishers have a webpage telling you precisely what they want you to do!
Let me share my experience. 10 years into my career I decided to write a book. I was relatively well published, especially for someone teaching at a 4 year college. I was tenured. So I was aiming to publish because I had a larger extended project that I wanted to complete (though it was based in part on my previous publications on the topic).
Though the publisher welcomed my proposal, I was not able to secure a contract without the complete manuscript. I was told by a very senior person that a contract counts for nothing anyway.
My book is published with Cambridge University Press. They were very professional, and the staff worked with great care to produce a beautiful book. I was extremely happy with it.
There were two rounds of revisions required. And Cambridge has a system where the publication must be approved by the Syndicate (an arm of the University).
I have subsequently been invited to a number of places to speak on topics related to the book, including a number of well respected research universities.
Posted by: my experience | 05/17/2015 at 06:45 PM
Marcus, I can't thank you enough for what you (and others) are doing here at the cocoon! The information and discussion taking place about all of these facets of the profession is EXTREMELY helpful for folks like me who are at small unranked programs and whom do not have a deep network of real-life friends or family in the academy to ask these sorts of questions.
Posted by: Justin Caouette | 05/18/2015 at 01:46 PM
Marcus, thanks once again! I'll second what Justin said. This is already helpful, and I gather it's only your first post on the book publishing process. Everyone here is really providing a service to the profession, and more importantly the people in it.
Posted by: Sam Duncan | 05/18/2015 at 02:35 PM
Sam & Justin: Thanks for your kind words. I'm happy to hear that you're finding these posts helpful!
Posted by: Marcus Arvan | 05/19/2015 at 08:38 AM
Marcus, thanks for this great article. Can you tell me whether it's necessary to include chapter summaries in your book proposal if you've got your whole manuscript written and ready to be included in the proposal?
Many thanks!
Posted by: Jennifer Hawthorne | 09/27/2015 at 03:15 PM
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for the question! Yes, book proposals should always include chapter by chapter summaries. It's universally expected, and editors will typically read and/or send out the proposal for review before requesting the rest of the manuscript.
Posted by: Marcus Arvan | 09/27/2015 at 03:20 PM
I have looked all over the internet to try to find an answer to my question. I hope that you can help me. Six years ago I published my book. The contract that I signed gives the publisher the right of first refusal. They must response with 30 days after I submit a new work to them.
I have just completed a manuscript for a new book. I plan to send a copy of the manuscript to my old publisher. However, I also plan to send book proposals to other publishers but negotiate with my old publisher first. Would this violate my contract? Thank you.
Posted by: D. | 05/28/2016 at 04:51 PM
I would think you are violating the contract if you send something to other publishers before the 30 days. All you are required to do is wait 30 days. That is not asking for much. I think you should honor the contract you signed.
Posted by: Righteous author | 05/29/2016 at 01:14 PM
Righteous author, Have you ever published a book? I would not be tied up for 30 days, I would be tied up for 3 months +. If my publisher wanted to publish my next book, then I would have to negotiate for 60 days. Then I would have to negotiate a deal with another publisher and can only do so if I am able to get a better deal with another publisher. All of this would take much longer than 3 months.
Posted by: D. | 05/30/2016 at 01:02 PM
Hi D.: When I was looking around the internet and asking around about this kind of stuff prior to publishing my book, I kept coming across conflicting information. Different people seem to have different views on what is right/not right. But, out of the disagreement, one general line of agreement emerged--and I think it was the single best piece of advice I received: "Always communicate clearly and openly with publishers--and, if at all in doubt about something, ask!" At the very least, this seemed to serve me well. When I asked my publisher how they understood the right of first refusal, they were very clear--and, when I asked other publishers whether they were open to reviewing a manuscript already under a right of first refusal, they were clear as well. Indeed, my sense is that editors really appreciate open communication. It helps them see that you respect them, and want to foster an open, positive relationship with them. Anyway, that's my experience.
Posted by: Marcus Arvan | 05/30/2016 at 02:27 PM
Dear D.:
Marcus' advice is sensible.
I have published a book, and am currently dealing another manuscript myself.
Given what you said in your first message, READ LITERALLY, the publisher has 30 days to either commit to publishing or to relinquish the hold they have on your manuscript.
Send it to the publisher, with a nicely worded note that if you do not hear from them in 30 days you will begin to send the manuscript for consideration to other publishers.
Posted by: Righteous author | 05/30/2016 at 03:11 PM