Essential knowledge about scholarly book publishing that every author should have. Get weekly tips on writing and publishing your scholarly book from developmental editor and publishing consultant Laura Portwood-Stacer, PhD.
The Manuscript Works Newsletter 🔧 Submitting to multiple publishers
Published 3 days ago • 6 min read
The Manuscript Works Newsletter
Essential knowledge on scholarly book publishing that every author should have
Hello Manuscript Workers!
As I mentioned in my last newsletter, I'm trying out a new format for this newsletter in 2026. Each issue will be packed with practical advice, upcoming events, free resources, and answers to frequently asked questions. Whenever possible, I'll also be sharing new book announcements and publishing tips that come directly from acquisitions editors at your dream presses. You'll receive newsletters like this twice a month. In between the regular issues, you'll get brief, timely announcements as different workshops and courses approach. I hope you enjoy this new direction for the newsletter and find it provides as much value as it always has.
What's in this edition:
Quick tip: Submitting your book proposal to multiple publishers
Frequently asked question: How do I write a response to my peer review reports?
Keep scrolling for all the good stuff. As always, if you have a question or suggestion for a future newsletter, you can reply directly to this message. Thanks for reading!
This newsletter is coming to you from Laura Portwood-Stacer, PhD, professional developmental editor and publishing consultant. I help scholarly writers navigate the book publishing process with more ease and agency.
I hope you'll stick around for practical tips on writing and publishing your scholarly book, but if you'd like to adjust your subscription settings, you can do that at the bottom of this message.
Quick tip: You can submit a book proposal to multiple publishers
Today's quick tip is inspired by me recently hearing from a few scholars who were told by senior mentors that submitting a book proposal to multiple presses is “a big no-no.” Maybe you’ve been told this yourself.
In fact it is permissible to submit a scholarly book proposal to multiple publishers before you commit to one and sign a contract. This does not contravene any rules or norms, unless the publisher you want to submit to explicitly forbids simultaneous proposal submission. Such a prohibition is quite rare in my experience, but you can check your target publisher's publicly posted submission guidelines if you're not sure. I submitted to several publishers when pitching The Book Proposal Book (and received multiple offers) and I can say the same for countless scholarly clients I've worked with, too. In all cases, the publishers knew there were multiple presses involved and raised no objections.
Maybe the misconception about multiple submission is a carryover from journal publishing, where multiple submission is not allowed. It's also important to understand the distinction between submitting a full manuscript to multiple publishers versus submitting a proposal. Even with a full manuscript, it's often okay to submit to multiple publishers as long as you've gotten the go-ahead from all presses involved (and you should never send a full manuscript until you've been invited to do so after submitting a proposal, so you will have the opportunity to confirm that multiple submission of the manuscript is acceptable). At the proposal stage, there's really no problem with sending it out to more than one publisher and comparing the responses you get before making a final decision on where you want your project to move forward.
Now, just because you can submit your book proposal to multiple publishers, that doesn't settle the question of whether you should. When I work with individual authors in my programs, I help people make nuanced decisions about how many publishers they’ll contact and when. And for some authors, “one publisher” is the right answer, based on a variety of factors including their career stage, the nature of their project, the specific publishers they are considering, and even their unique personality. I can't give a blanket answer to this question without knowing a given author's situation.
If you decide that you want to share your book proposal with multiple publishers, there are some best practices I would advise you to observe:
Keep the number manageable. You'll need to keep track of your communications with each acquiring editor and you may receive responses from different editors at different times. Juggling these conversations can be stressful, so I recommend keeping your list as short as possible (while still covering all the options you want to seriously consider).
Try to submit to all the publishers at roughly the same time. If you're going to ask multiple editors to devote time to considering your work, it's only fair to give each of them an equal opportunity to respond. And let them know in your query letter that your proposal is under consideration at more than one press so they can act accordingly.
Only submit to presses you would seriously consider publishing with. It's fine if you learn things during the submission process that affect your desire to publish with a particular press. Maybe you'll learn that a particular editor's communication rhythms are incompatible with yours or the press doesn't really align with your vision for the project after all. But don't submit to a press with the sole intention of using their interest as leverage with the press you really want to publish with.
Do some homework to narrow your list of presses before you get to the proposal submission stage. If you attend an academic conference (like you may be doing this weekend?), that's a great opportunity to have informal conversations with editors to gauge how well your project might fit at their presses. This will help you stick to point one: keeping the number of presses you formally submit to manageable and realistic.
I'm trying to keep these quick tips quick, so I can't go as deeply into the above points as I wish I could (trust me, I could talk about this topic for days). If you'd like to learn more, you're welcome to attend my workshop on Friday about how to write an outstanding book proposal. I'll happily take questions about the submission process during the Q&A period. Either way, I hope this quick tip settles the question for you once and for all: yes, you can send your book proposal to more than one press.
Read my books 👉 publish your book
Request Make Your Manuscript Work and The Book Proposal Book from your local library or purchase on Bookshop to support indie bookstores (and me, by using my affiliate link). Once you've got your copies, you can download free worksheets to go with them!
Upcoming events
Workshop happening this Friday, 10am–12pm Pacific (1pm–3pm Eastern, 6pm–8pm UTC)
Updated training course for editors and aspiring editors who want to work with academic writers. This is the last time I will be offering this as a live, instructor-led course.
Watch this space for brief interviews and tips from working acquisitions editors at scholarly publishers who want to hear from you about your book projects!
If you're an acquiring editor who'd like to share a tip for a future newsletter, get in touch by replying to this email!
New books by Manuscript Works clients and readers
Want your book release featured in a future newsletter? Send your cover image and publisher webpage to support@manuscriptworks.com. Bonus points: tell us which Manuscript Works resources helped you along the way!
Looking for professional support with your academic book or article manuscript, but not sure who can help? When you fill out my referral request form, you'll be sent a curated list of trusted editors—matched to your specific field and needs—whom you can contact right away.
Keep in mind that experienced developmental editors may book up months in advance, so if you're even starting to contemplate working with someone, now is the time to reach out.
Frequently asked question
How do I write a response to my peer review reports that will convince my press to publish my book?
Answer: This blog post explains it all (and I've heard from several acquiring editors over the years who regularly share it with their authors, so it's been rigorously vetted).
An even more thorough template and an actual response memo written by a real academic author can be found in The Book Proposal Book.
Do you have a question you'd like to see answered in a future newsletter? Reply to this message!
If you have a friend, colleague, or student who might enjoy the Manuscript Works Newsletter, I'd be grateful if you could you forward this email to them and encourage them to subscribe at newsletter.manuscriptworks.com. Thank you for reading and sharing!
P.S. Registration is now open for the next Manuscript Development Workshop (March 2–31) and the next Book Proposal Accelerator (May 18–June 30). I don't typically open registration this early, but I figured this year people might need a little more time to plan. If you have questions about any of my programs, you can always reach out to support@manuscriptworks.com.
Essential knowledge about scholarly book publishing that every author should have. Get weekly tips on writing and publishing your scholarly book from developmental editor and publishing consultant Laura Portwood-Stacer, PhD.