In our most recent "how can we help you?" thread, Ross Campbell writes:
I wish to write a book on philosophy but I'm not sure what topic would be a good one to get it published. I want to write a book about philosophy in a broad sense covering a range of different fields within the subject. Also it's a popular work aimed at the general reader. The title I have in mind is "Why Philosophy Matters: Asking the Big Questions". Does anyone know if this sounds like a good theme or not. I welcome your comments.
This is a pretty odd query. I doubt the world needs another "Why Philosophy Matters/Big Questions" book, or how receptive good presses would be to a proposal like that, unless it's from a very well-established person in the field. But, in any case, the reader's comment reminds me of some questions I've had myself about publishing popular books. In a recent guest-post, Emily Thomas (Durham) gave a few helpful tips on publishing books of this sort. But I'd like to hear more. For example, Thomas is an Associate Professor. In general, does one need to be at a more advanced stage of one's career for publishers to be receptive to proposal for popular books? When I was invited to meet with a couple of presses early in my career, the representatives told me outright that they were looking for a specialized research book from me, not a book for a general audience. Could this be because while research books sell to university libraries, books for a general readership don't--thus making it crucial (from the press's perspective) for the book to be written by established name likely to generate sales?
Also, what kinds of proposals do presses take seriously for popular books? I'm just curious to hear more from people who have published popular philosophy books (or tried to) how things work. Many thanks in advance to anyone who chimes in!
What I have heard (in thinking about this question myself and talking with editors) is that to publish a trade non-fiction book, which is what this person is asking about, usually requires an agent and a very focused proposal, to that agent, who sends it on. There are books dedicated to this process, like Thinking Like Your Editor (https://wwnorton.com/books/Thinking-Like-Your-Editor/) which I've had recommended by some editors. One could also hire a developmental editor to help with the process.
It involves a good sense of what one's audience is, and why the book you're writing is one they would read AND buy. Just wanting to write a "book on philosophy" without an idea of its argument and why it's important is definitely not enough.
Posted by: Malcolm | 05/14/2020 at 03:38 PM