Host a book publishing workshop at your institution

Hi Manuscript Workers,

I know that many of my readers are in full-on back-to-school chaos mode this week, so today’s newsletter is going to get right to the point.

If you’re reading this newsletter you’re hopefully familiar with my public online courses and webinars. Today I also want to make you aware of my institutional workshops which can be booked privately for faculty and grad students at your university, college, or professional organization. I mostly run these workshops via Zoom, but in-person visits are possible in some cases, depending on timing and location.

When institutions bring me in for a workshop, they can choose either a one-topic session or a two-topic session with a break in between. The cost is the same either way. For each institution, I provide a dedicated webpage where attendees can download slides and handouts and view the recording for up to 60 days. I place no limit on the number of attendees, so I welcome multiple institutions to collaborate on event planning if they would like to split the cost of a workshop.

I currently offer four workshop topics (any two of which can be combined for a 3-4 hour session):

Topic 1: How to Land a Scholarly Book Contract

This workshop will introduce scholars to the book publishing process and answer key questions that both new and experienced authors should be asking, such as how to find the right press for your current project, how to connect with editors, when is the ideal timing to submit a proposal, how to navigate submission to multiple publishers, and more. Scholars at every career stage are welcome.

Topic 2: How to Write an Outstanding Book Proposal

This workshop will acquaint prospective authors with the key components of the scholarly book proposal, highlight common mistakes that first-time (and experienced!) authors make, and offer concrete tips on how to make your proposal stand out in the sea of submissions at your dream publisher. Even if you have written successful book proposals before, you will learn new information to take your future projects to the next level.

Topic 3: How to Publish a Book from Your Dissertation

This presentation for early career researchers and their mentors will cover how to effectively pitch a revised dissertation project for scholarly publishers. We will discuss what scholarly presses mean when they say that they don't publish dissertations and how to ensure that your submission materials address the major concerns publishers have when considering revised dissertations. We will also address the common advice to “write your dissertation as a book” and when you should start approaching publishers about your project.

Topic 4: How to Work with a Developmental Editor

This presentation will introduce participants to the process of working with a developmental editor to prepare book and article manuscripts for publication. We will cover how to find a suitable freelance editor, when in the writing process to engage their services, and how they can assist you in achieving your publication goals.

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I’m currently booking workshops for the entire 2023–2024 academic calendar, so please get in touch if your department or organization might want to bring me in. All inquiries should go directly to Katie Stileman at Princeton University Press (Katie_Stileman@press.princeton.edu). Katie can answer any questions you may have that aren’t answered above, as well as give you a cost estimate for your desired event.

I’m also contemplating expanding my workshop offerings in the coming year. For example, I’ve been brainstorming about an online Book Proposal Intensive/Retreat where a smaller group of faculty can actively workshop proposal drafts with me as well as discuss personalized submission strategy over the course of two days. Participants would leave with a submission-ready proposal and a plan for discussing it with their top presses.

If the two-day program sounds like something you or your institution would be interested in, I’d love to hear from you! I haven’t done much more than outline it yet but if people wanted something like this, I’d happily develop it further.

If there’s something else you’d like to see me offer under the umbrella of my institutional workshops, please feel free to send me or Katie an email. We want to know what would best meet the needs of you and your colleagues.

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That’s all for today! Next week’s newsletter will feature a conversation with one of my clients about her experience publishing in a university press series dedicated to shorter (~30,000 word) books, so definitely come back for that if you’ve been considering a similar path and want to learn about the pros and cons.

Since next week’s newsletter will be the first one of the month, I’ll also be sharing newly released books by newsletter readers, Book Proposal Book readers, and participants in my online programs. If you have a book coming out in September and would like it featured, just reply to this message with a link to your publisher’s website, an attached jpg of your cover, and any relevant discount codes you’d like to share.

See you next Wednesday!