Sep 14, 2014 like writing grant applications and journal articles, a book proposal is its own genre in academic writing. Be sure to check the websites of the press where you plan to submit to find out if they have specific guidelines. How much revenue do academic authors make on their published. Congratulations on having written a book good enough andor timely enough to. They might know immediately that your project isnt a. A guide to the practical application of the principles of contract law. Negotiating book contract terms and royalties foner books. Can you get an advance contract for your first academic book. Negotiating a book contract is a lot like buying a cartheres some give and take, not everyone will get the same deal and sometimes you have to pass on the sunroof to get the deal done. I presented at a social movements conference and met one of the cas editors afterwards. This is actually a collection of items, and not just a proposal. We also need to be convinced that you can present what you have to say in a way that will be useful, interesting and important to your readers. Publishing contracts epublishing book 11 kindle edition by benton, dr. Its helpful to have an agent, of course, but not everyone has that luxury.
If you have any questions about american academic press, our services, or our submissions procedures, please feel free to email us at. This is an incredibly unfortunate but common position to be intaking steps to break a publishing contract with a traditional book publisher because, among other reasons, your hard work and dreams of book publishing arent going as expected. University press contracts are, by and large, less complex than comparable trade book contracts. Manuscript delivery your contract specifies the manuscript delivery date, word count, number and type of images, author responsibilities, and all other major aspects of our agreement to publish your book. Getting out of your book contract maybe posted by victoria strauss for writer beware writer beware often hears from authors whove signed up with bad or inexperienced or dishonest publishers, and are desperate to get free. My purpose here is to provide some basic and practical information about the process of getting published by a university press. Securing a book contract for promotion and tenure is a goal in itself for academic authors. Thus, the decision of where to publish your academic book is a crucial one. Landing an academic book contract laura portwoodstacer. Almost all publishers send authors a marketing form, but only for commercial trade books will they try to arrange radio appearances for the author. Jan 21, 2019 in addition to the specific terms the author and publisher have agreed upon for such items as the type of book, the advance against royalty amount, and the delivery date, the standard book contract encompasses a lengthy number of clauses covering important points in a book s life cycle and an authors compensation. So, the academic book proposal you prepare after having revised only two chapters might not accurately reflect what your actual book becomes.
Potential authors should include a cover letter, a copy of their cv or resume, a prospectusproposal, and sample chapters from the work if available. I once signed a contract that, in publishers gobbledegook, meant id. Get tips on how to negotiate and alter a standard publishing agreement to meet your needs as a university of utah author. Its academic publishing division covers the humanities, social. Tales of my book contract with bloomsbury academic press. Editors at various pressespeter momtchiloff, peter ohlin, and lucy randall at oxford university press, stephen latta of broadview press, hilary gaskin of cambridge university press, philip laughlin of mit press, rob tempio of princeton university press, andrew beck and tony bruce. According to the terms of the contract, our only recompense would have been one copy. The publisher shall credit the authors account with a royalty equal to 50% of all net revenues actually received by the publisher for the.
In addition to the specific terms the author and publisher have agreed upon for such items as the type of book, the advance against royalty amount, and the delivery date, the standard book contract encompasses a lengthy number of clauses covering important points in a books life cycle and an authors compensation. Scholarly book contracts tend to favor the publisher, however, and the terms often work against the author over the long term. Typically, an advance academic book contract or a prepublication book contract is a contract that a press issues to an author based on a. Our books and software programs have been used by hundreds of thousands of. The press will also have expectations that may or may not be written into the contract. How to go about getting a contract to publish an academic book. This particular overview is aimed at firsttime authors, but it should be useful also to experienced authors, both as writers and as mentors. How to publish an academic book why choosing a publisher is. Author initials publisher initials maven house press book publishing agreement 060112 page 3 of 11 6. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Bad publishing contracts, dishonest publishers, out of print books, low book sales, mismanaged marketing as unwanted as these things are for an author, these things unfortunately happen. Proposal submission policy oxford university press. Im soon about to receive a book contract proposal from a prestigious university press. This is a great questionand an unusual one, since most academic titles get no advance and make no money.
I knew a couple of people who networked their way into a book contract without actually filling out a proposal. Five book contract terms authors should know career authors. Author initials publisher initials maven house press book publishing agreement 060112 page 4 of 11 advise the author by written notice, and the author shall have the opportunity to cure any defects and generally revise, correct, andor supplement the manuscript, artwork, frontmatter andor. Here i provide generic suggestions for what should go in an academic book proposal, and then suggest a method for writing such a proposal. In my field, it is very rare for people to have a book contract with a good press before they defend. If you have a lot of illustrations or if the quality of them is crucial, many publishers ask you to secure a subvention to underwrite part of the cost. Prior to writing the book proposal, the whole process was incredibly murky to me. May 01, 2002 my purpose here is to provide some basic and practical information about the process of getting published by a university press. Thats reasonable, given that they cant afford to lose money on your book. May 28, 2015 two weeks ago i put up a post soliciting questions for academic publishers. Posted in book proposals and contracts, landing your tenure track job, promote yourself.
Why and how to negotiate with academic book publishers helen. For academic books there are few marketing opportunities. How to break a publishing contract with a traditional book. Book club rights be sure royalties are fair dont become a free or lowcost giveaway rights not exploited by publisher within reasonable period e.
Because academic publishers traditionally have focused on publishing important works irrespective of profitability and there rarely has been any money involved for the authors, the need for allencompassing contracts simply has not existed heretofore. How a successful book contract led to an academic careers. A book proposal for an academic press has seven basic components. That said, its increasingly possible for authors to negotiate more favorable terms with. When presented with a publishing contract, remember that you are a professional writer and author even if your title is professor, librarian, researcher, or academic. By all accounts, the arrival of the book contract in the spring of 20 from a major academic publishing house should have been a moment of. Academic press has been a leading publisher of scientific books for over 70 years. Why and how to negotiate with academic book publishers. In preparing your proposal, bear in mind that the mit press needs to know as much as possible about your book, including its scope, its intended audience, and how we can promote the book to that audience. If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please follow these guidelines.
Getting published by a university press perspectives on. Best known throughout the international scientific community for the superior quality content of its publications, academic press extensive list of renowned authors includes leading experts in the scientific world, nobel prize winners, and honored scientific researchers. Best known throughout the international scientific community for the superior quality content of its publications, academic press extensive list of renowned authors includes leading experts in the scientific world, nobel prize winners, and honored scientific. Congratulations on having written a book good enough andor timely enough to make this. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the publishing agreement. It is not intended as legal advice first, my advice to all commercial authors is, get a good lawyer with book contract experience. In a traditional book publishing agreement, the author retains the and the book publisher purchases. This section of the template includes general terms common to business contracts. Why you should take your book publishing contracts to a lawyer. Negotiating a book contract is the best book ive read on the subject. Jun 23, 2011 getting out of your book contract maybe posted by victoria strauss for writer beware writer beware often hears from authors whove signed up with bad or inexperienced or dishonest publishers, and are desperate to get free. Dec 04, 2014 be sure to check the websites of the press where you plan to submit to find out if they have specific guidelines. Few university presses that i know of will give an advanced contract to a firsttime book author based on an academic book proposal.
For more than forty years, carolina academic press has published successful coursebooks and monographs in diverse subject areas. Textbook contracts vary significantly based on curricular level. The publishing process from contract to finished book. As a rights holder and professional author, you have significant bargaining power. Writer mark levine provides a comprehensive, clear and concise overview of every element found in a publishing contract, including royalties, advances, subsidiary rights, manuscript delivery obligations, termination rights, and options. As i explained, there were quite a few complexities about these stages of the process that were together new and unexpected to meand, as i will now explain, the same was true of receiving. Oxford university press is a department of the university of oxford. Our current list includes more than 2,000 unique and engaging titles written by professors and practitioners in numerous academic fields. The press did not send the book on to an external reader, as they said they would, and there were no actual reports on the ms, just the short and vague email. I submitted a manuscript to a university press months ago. It will usually also dictate terms such as authors deadlines and word count. From neuroscience to earth science, academic press is committed to publishing a wide variety of superior quality content from todays.
This information is based on my personal experiences and confidential communications from others. Taa offers two forms of grants to assist members and nonmembers with some of the expenses related to publishing their academic works and textbooks. Whether the book is in cloth or paper depends on who the press sees as the market for the book. An advance academic book contract, which signals a presss interest in a project, can carry some weight for fellowship applications to. Yale university press manuscript preparation guidelines. For me it was a good move to hire a lawyer to look over my book publishing contract, for these two reasons. I can think of exactly two cases and both of them were stars. Im going to start by speaking in general terms about what you must submit to a press to get a contract. Such contracts oblige scholarly publishing houses to publish the. It furthers the universitys objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Like writing grant applications and journal articles, a book proposal is its own genre in academic writing. University presses academic publishers humanities journals. A closer look at university press contracts helen stephenson apr 1, 1991 in 1869, a press was founded at cornell university for the sole purpose of publishing scholarly works by faculty members who were unable to find trade book publishers because of the limited commercial value of their work. What advice do you have to someone who recently received a book contract draft and is wondering what things might be changed.
Once you agree the royalty figures, the publisher will issue a draft contract. May 24, 2017 by all accounts, the arrival of the book contract in the spring of 20 from a major academic publishing house should have been a moment of celebration, with my wifecoauthorbusiness partner and i opening a bottle of prosecco and sending gleeful emails to all of our friends. Yes, i had a contract in hand, but it was with a hybrid academic commercial press continuum, which became bloomsbury academic, on a list outside of my field my book is on bloomsburys. Homeblogbook proposals and contracts how to write a book proposal. Why choosing a publisher is important and how to choose one. Should either party cancel this book publishing contract, all rights granted to the publisher shall revert to the author. You have more to lose than to gain from submitting proposals too early. The chicago distribution center is a stateoftheart distribution and fulfillment operation, providing a full range of services to its client publishers and their customers worldwide. How do you go about getting a contract to publish an academic book. Jan 11, 20 negotiating a book contract is a lot like buying a cartheres some give and take, not everyone will get the same deal and sometimes you have to pass on the sunroof to get the deal done. By all accounts, the arrival of the book contract in the spring of 20 from a major academic publishing house should have been a moment of celebration, with my wifecoauthorbusiness partner and i opening a bottle of prosecco and sending gleeful emails to all of our friends. How to publish an academic book why choosing a publisher. Oct 17, 2016 securing a book contract for promotion and tenure is a goal in itself for academic authors.
How is the process different from getting a contract for a collegelevel or k12 textbook. I knew she would have a better idea about the royalty rates, for example, but. This book publishing contract represents the entire agreement between the author and publisher. Hence the need for a termination and reversion rights clause in your publishing contract. This week the daily nous website has a marvelous post, answers from academic publishers, devoted to advice on publishing an academic. Publication grants provide reimbursement for eligible expenses directly related to bringing an academic book, textbook, or journal article to publication. The publisher does not warrant that this list is complete and uptodate. An advance academic book contract, which signals a presss interest in a project, can carry some weight for fellowship applications to research and write said book. What to look for in a book contract with an academic press. How a successful book contract led to an academic careers end.
I mentioned that i was considering submitting my manuscript to the cas series, hoping. Should we decide to publish your book, we will contact you regarding contract terms. At this stage, they will decide if your book is something their press might possibly be interested in publishing. Jul 02, 2015 how to write a book proposal posted on july 2, 2015 by karen kelsky you all know that the book proposal is the cornerstone to a successful tenure track career in most areas of the humanities and social sciences. A book contract is a legally binding agreement between an author and their book publisher that dictates assignment of rights, obligations, and money earned. A university press adjusts the mix of books on its lists in two main ways. Academic press has been a leading publisher of scientific books for more than 65 years. Oxford university press oup welcomes submissions of book proposals in the core areas in which we publish. A closer look at university press contracts helen stephenson apr 1, 1991 in 1869, a press was founded at cornell university for the sole purpose of publishing scholarly works by faculty members who were unable to find trade book publishers because. Essay on how academics should negotiate with publishers. For scientific and medical researchers, academic press provides high quality scientific reference and academic content. How to publish an academic book why choosing a publisher is important and how to choose one.
Bear in mind that a successful first book with a good university press. Home how to negotiate a publishing contract ulibraries. Search our repository of 42,000 academic and university press titles to see if we can point you to the book. Nov 05, 2012 the press will also have expectations that may or may not be written into the contract. Negotiating book contract terms and royalties warning. As rights holders, individual faculty members can negotiate the terms of a publishing contract. Steve gillens guide to textbook publishing contracts is not just reading material, it is an indispensable reference, whether you are a firsttime or experienced author.
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