Welcome to the second video in
our BiteWISe series
looking at the process of turning your PhD
thesis into a monograph.
This video provides a step by step
guide to choosing a publisher
and highlights some of the things
you might want to consider.
Subsequent titles in the series
will look at other key areas
such as writing a proposal and
managing your relationship with your publisher.
For an overview of
the process see the first
guide in the series, turning
your thesis into a monograph.
Particularly if your PhD is
part of a larger research project,
you might already
know how and where your PhD
will be published. However,
if you are planning to turn
your thesis into a monograph
and you're not sure where to start
you may find it useful
to work through these 5 steps
Step one, firstly you need
to decide what you want from your publisher.
Before deciding which
publisher to approach
it may be helpful to consider what
you would like to get
from any potential relationship.
Reputation - how important is your
publishers reputation?
In some disciplines, you may find there
is an expectation
that you will publish with a very select
number of highly regarded
commercial publishers or
University presses.
But if your subject is very niche, a
smaller University Press
not-for-profit or specialist publisher
may be a better fit. Bear in mind a
prestigious publisher is more
likely to reject your proposal.
Reach - does your book have a
specific geographical locus
or would it appeal to an
international audience?
Do you need a publisher who can sell
it into more than one market?
Or would an in-depth knowledge of a
particular publishing landscape
be more valuable.
Timeliness - in some disciplines
things move on very quickly.
Do you need to find a publisher who can turn your monograph
around in the shortest time
possible? Or can you afford to
wait for the right offer?
Step two - identify which publisher
or publishers to approach.
Once you know what your own
priorities are you can start to
think about which publishers you
should be approaching.
In addition to the questions. you've already answered around
reputation, reach and timeliness
there a number of other areas,
you might want to consider.
Suitability - does the publisher
have a strong track record
of publishing in your particular
area? If so, they are more
likely to be interested in your
proposal. It is also important
that your publisher understands
your audience and
how best to market your monograph to them.
If your work fits into an existing series this can also
work to your advantage.
Format - how are their books
formatted and does that work for your topic?
You might want to
look at things such as standard lengths,
how they handle
diagrams and illustrations and
if you need it whether they
offer color printing.
Model - will your book be
available electronically
in print or both? Some publishers
may offer a print on-demand service
where a book is available
electronically, but can be
provided in printed form if
requested.
Because of the difference in production methods
print on-demand titles may be of inferior quality,
particularly when it comes to images so if this
is the publishers preferred model
consider whether they are
right for your book.
As an additional aside, do be wary of
publishers approaching you,
particularly if they are asking
you to pay to publish with them.
So called vanity publishing may
appear tempting,
particularly if you are looking to publish your
book quickly.
But there is usually no quality control
or review process, and because the publisher
makes their money from author fees,
they will often have
little interest in marketing your book.
Publishing with a
vanity publisher may even damage
your reputation with other
scholars in your field.
Step 3 - do your research. Once you
have identified a publisher
that matches your criteria the main
areas to consider are:
author relations - use your network of
contacts to find out as much as you can
about the way the
publisher likes to work with their authors.
Remember that not
everyone's experience will be positive,
but if all the feedback, received is negative
this might set off alarm bells.
Upfront costs - there are some
costs that usually won't be
covered by your publisher such
as acquiring and paying for
Copyright clearances for third
party materials. However, some
publishers will also ask for
direct payments or publications subsidies
to cover such things
as design costs, copy editing and
typesetting and indexing.
This may be something you need to take into account.
Advice and guidelines - most
publishers will have guidelines
for authors and prospective
authors, which should provide
clear instructions as to how to
layout a book proposal and
how to submit it. Make sure you know
what the publisher needs from you
and gather as much
information as you can before making an approach.
You may find
at the end of this process,
that one publisher emerges as an obvious
frontrunner.
However there is still a chance they may reject
your proposal so it's worthwhile
making a short list.
Step 4.
Make initial contact.
Most commissioning editors are
happy to talk to prospective authors,
so unless the
publisher's website indicates otherwise,
it's worth making
informal contact before sending
a formal proposal. If they're
really not interested they
should let you know at this
stage and you can move on to the
next publisher on your list.
Before you make contact choose
your method - approaches don't
always have to be made by email.
If you know a particular
publisher is going to be
represented at a conference you
may be able to make your first
contact in person.
Find your target - whenever possible find
out the name of the person you
need to contact and address them
directly. They are more likely
to respond to something that is personally
addressed and it shows that you have done your homework.
Tailor
your approach - make it clear
why you have chosen this particular
publisher and why
the book you are pitching would suit their
portfolio. Although you can
approach more than one publisher
at a time avoid sending generic emails
to lots of different
publishers and don't submit
multiple proposals at the same time as
this can cause
unnecessary complications.
Step 5 - finalize your proposal as
soon as possible
If the publisher indicates an interest
in your proposal it's best to
follow it up as quickly as you
can while your conversation is
fresh in their mind. If you've
done your research in advance,
you should already have the
information you need to finalize
your proposal incorporating any
feedback you've received from the publisher. We will look at
writing a proposal in more depth
in the next video in the series.
Thank you for listening to
this short guide on choosing
a publisher and look out for
more videos in the BiteWISe
Thesis to Monograph series.
