author's guidelines and reviewer's guidelines

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1 Thanks so much for your interest! Don’t hesitate to give me a holler if you have any questions. Take a look-see at the info below and see what you think... Book Proposal Guidelines We find the following information useful, but not always essential, when considering a project for publication: Need Why are you developing this project? What need does it address? What developments, trends, and issues will cause the reader to want to/need to read your book? Purpose What is the work designed to accomplish? What kind(s) of problems does your book address and what solutions does it offer? How does it meet the need you have identified? What would the work help the practitioner or student do, understand, or improve? In what ways would the work add to current knowledge and practice? Distinctive Selling Points What are the distinctive selling points of your book? Are there any special materials or electronic/online components (checklists, sample forms, case studies, practice opportunities) that should be mentioned? How do they make the book clearer or more helpful? Target Market /Audience Please identify the primary and secondary markets for your book. If appropriate for the general interest market, what area would your book fit? If appropriate for the professional market, what professionals would your book fit? If appropriate for the college market, what course would your book fit? Would your book be the central text, or one of several required readings? Does your book have any ancillaries (ex: instructor manual, power point slides, end of chapter questions, etc.) for the college market? Table of Contents and Chapter-by-Chapter Descriptions Provide a draft table of contents. Provide a few sentences about the purpose and contents of each chapter, giving specific details and examples as well as general statements. Also explain the logic of the work's organization.

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Page 1: Author's Guidelines and Reviewer's Guidelines

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Thanks so much for your interest! Don’t hesitate to give me a holler if you have any questions. Take a look-see at the info below and see what you think... Book Proposal Guidelines We find the following information useful, but not always essential, when considering a project for publication: Need Why are you developing this project? What need does it address? What developments, trends, and issues will cause the reader to want to/need to read your book? Purpose What is the work designed to accomplish? What kind(s) of problems does your book address and what solutions does it offer? How does it meet the need you have identified? What would the work help the practitioner or student do, understand, or improve? In what ways would the work add to current knowledge and practice? Distinctive Selling Points What are the distinctive selling points of your book? Are there any special materials or electronic/online components (checklists, sample forms, case studies, practice opportunities) that should be mentioned? How do they make the book clearer or more helpful? Target Market /Audience Please identify the primary and secondary markets for your book. If appropriate for the general interest market, what area would your book fit? If appropriate for the professional market, what professionals would your book fit? If appropriate for the college market, what course would your book fit? Would your book be the central text, or one of several required readings? Does your book have any ancillaries (ex: instructor manual, power point slides, end of chapter questions, etc.) for the college market? Table of Contents and Chapter-by-Chapter Descriptions Provide a draft table of contents. Provide a few sentences about the purpose and contents of each chapter, giving specific details and examples as well as general statements. Also explain the logic of the work's organization.

Page 2: Author's Guidelines and Reviewer's Guidelines

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Knowledge Base What is the research or experience base for the information in the project? Title Possibilities Along with your current working title, please suggest several alternative titles. We strive for a title that clearly communicates to all audiences the topic, purpose, and utility of a work. Length How many double-spaced, typewritten pages do you anticipate the manuscript to be? Competition What books compete most strongly with your book, and what are their rankings on Amazon? If there are no direct competitive books, make the argument how you know there is a market/readers for your book. If there are no direct competitive books, list those books that people are now reading that fill the need that your book will fill when published. What features make your book better? Timetable What schedule is envisioned for preparing the complete draft manuscript, and revisions of the manuscript? Background Information Please attach your vita detailing your professional and educational background, including prior publications. Please attach a biography that is supportive/relevant to your book proposal. Helpful Tip Keep in mind that proposals are circulated to a number of people throughout Praeger (marketing, publicity, sales people, etc.) who may not be familiar with your area of expertise. Thus, good proposals focus on WHO will want to read your book, WHY it will be important for them to read it, and what is NEW or UNIQUE about your presentation.

Page 3: Author's Guidelines and Reviewer's Guidelines

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Here is the exact format if you formally submit:

PRAEGER Project Proposal Memo

To: From: Date:

Project Summary ***Please return along with your full CV

Title and subtitle:

Author/Editor: (name and bio of about 150 words per author/editor. Please include publishing/media experience/awards, if any.)

Keynote: (One line summing up the content)

Selling points: (Write 3-6 lines presented as brief bulleted items, explaining why this book, why

now, and why you are the author to do this. Include an item citing endorsers and their titles if you

have any lined up already or are fairly sure a person will endorse)

Brief Description: (Two substantial paragraphs describing the content in as complete, concise

and compelling a manner as possible. Be sure to make clear the main point the book will address

and why it is/should be important to a general readership.)

MS Length: (Total word count for planned manuscript. 90,000 words is average = 225 book

pages. This may range up to 110,000 or so, and longer on handbooks. *Please use word count, not

page count. And please do adhere to the cited estimate when the manuscript is written, within

4,000 words or so either way, unless you have discussed a variation from that total with your

acquisitions editor at least four months before manuscript due date.)

MS Due Date: (When you will submit the manuscript. Most are between 6 and 12 months after

contract)

Book Details

Table of Contents: (be sure to annotate any chapter heading where it is not immediately obvious

from title alone what the content will be. Best one paragraph (2-4 lines) description per chapter

title.

Include the information if you have a prominent foreword or preface author.

Additional Author Info: (If you have authored/edited previously published books, please cite their

titles followed by publisher name and year. If you have authored/edited more than 10 books, you

need only list the most recent 10, or the most similar 10.)

Market Assessment

Audience: (describe who this book will appeal to, both in the general audience and the academic

community/student body)

Competition and Comparisons: (List any similar or related books you are aware of with author

name, book title, year, publisher, and price, then briefly explain how your book is different/better)

Page 4: Author's Guidelines and Reviewer's Guidelines

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Here is what a reviewer will use to evaluate your proposal:

GUIDELINES FOR MANUSCRIPT EVALUATION

The kinds of questions we would particularly like you to answer are:

1. Exactly what has the author accomplished? A very brief summary of

the content and argument of the manuscript would be most helpful.

2. Do you know of any other important book(s) on the subject? If so, how

does the manuscript compare with it?

3. Is the author’s work entirely original and is the scholarship sound?

4. Is the work of real value and importance in its field? Excluding from

consideration the matter of cost, would you buy it or recommend that

your university buy it for the library if it were published as a book?

5. Please comment on the focus, logical development, clarity, and

accuracy of the manuscript in general; then comment on particular

passages in the manuscript, especially problem areas, citing page

numbers for reference.