Proposal Submission Guidelines
A thoughtful book proposal provides us with a frame of reference for your work. Please review the guidelines below and share your vision with us.
GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING A BOOK PROPOSAL FOR A NEW BOOK FIRST EDITION
Your proposal should be divided into the following six sections:
1. THE BOOK
In one or two paragraphs, describe the book you plan to write, your rationale for writing it, and your approach. Briefly list what you consider to be outstanding or unique features of the book. Prepare at least a brief table of contents listing chapter titles. Where possible, expand upon the topics that you plan to address. List the pedagogical features (learning tools) that you plan to incorporate in your book. Estimate the page count of the printed book. Specify what supplementary materials, if any, you plan to prepare to accompany your book.
2. SAMPLE CHAPTER
Prepare one complete chapter that includes all the elements you are planning to incorporate in your book. Please do not choose Chapter 1 as your sample; most often it is not a good representation of other chapters.
3. MARKET AND COMPETITION
Describe the course, level, year, and discipline for which the book is intended. It is critical that you be as detailed as possible. Where feasible, specify course names, approximate enrolments, course prerequisites, and whether the course is intended for honours or pass courses. Analyse the existing texts in the subject area (local as well as imported) and discuss their individual strengths and weaknesses. Indicate how your book will be different from and similar to each of these competing texts.
4 . S TAT U S O F T H E W O R K
Indicate how much of the first draft of your manuscript you have currently written. Taking into consideration your existing teaching, research, and other commitments, estimate when you would expect to be able to complete the first draft of your manuscript. If you have any market research of your own, we would appreciate receiving a brief summary of your findings.
5 . A U T H O R I N F O R M AT I O N
Provide a current copy of your curriculum vitae that includes your academic degrees (and graduate advisers where relevant), as well as a list of your publications.
6. SUGGESTED REVIEWERS
Provide the names and addresses of 3 or 4 possible reviewers whose opinion you think you would find helpful. We will try to use your suggestions along with our own selection of outside reviewers.
(We do not reveal the names of reviewers without their permission. By the same token, we usually submit material to reviewers anonymously. erefore, please do not include your name and affiliation within the text of your proposal.)
GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING A BOOK PROPOSAL F O R A F I R S T E D I T I O N O F S O U T H A S I A N A D A P TAT I O N
Your proposal should be divided into the following six sections:
1. THE BOOK
In one or two paragraphs, describe why the existing work’s rationale and approach lend themselves to adaptation for the South Asian market. Briefly list what you consider to be outstanding or unique features of the work, focusing on those that would be particularly useful to students and instructors when properly adapted. Assess the table of contents of the existing book. Specify any chapters or topics that should be added, expanded, deleted, or condensed for the South Asian market, with your reasons. Assess the pedagogical features of the existing book. Specify any pedagogical features that should be added, modified, or deleted for the South Asian market. Assess the writing style, level of explanations, and type of assignment material in the existing book. Indicate to what extent these elements are suitable for the South Asian market and describe the sort of changes you would propose making to these elements. Estimate the page count of your printed adaptation. Assess the supplementary materials that accompany the existing book. Specify any items that should be added, modified, or removed for the South Asian market.
2 . A N N O TAT E D C H A P T E R
Select one existing chapter (not Chapter 1) to annotate in detail. Using page references, indicate the sort of changnot es you would make to content, organization, pedagogy, writing style, and assignment material to successfully adapt the text for the South Asian market.
3. MARKET AND COMPETITION
Describe the course, level, year, and discipline for which the new adaptation would be intended. It is critical that you be as detailed as possible. Where feasible, specify course names, approximate enrolments, course prerequisites, and whether the course is intended for honours or pass courses. Analyse the existing texts in the field (local as well as imported) and discuss their individual strengths and weaknesses. Indicate how your adaptation will be different from and similar to each of the competing texts.
4. WORK TO BE DONE
Estimate what percentage of the existing text you think would need to be changed in order to adapt it for the South Asian market. Taking into consideration your existing teaching, research, and other commitments, estimate how long it would take you to prepare such an adaptation.
5 . A U T H O R I N F O R M AT I O N
Provide a current copy of your curriculum vitae that includes your academic degrees (and graduate advisers where relevant), as well as a list of your publications.
6. SUGGESTED REVIEWERS
Provide the names and addresses of 3 or 4 possible reviewers whose opinion you think you would find helpful. We will try to use some of your suggestions along with our own selection of outside reviewers. (We do not reveal the names of reviewers without their permission. By the same token, we usually submit material to the reviewers anonymously. erefore, please do not include your name and affiliation within the text of your proposal.)