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The ideal proposal would contain the following elements, plus background attachments as necessary.
Provide a brief (300 words or less) overall description of the project, including its subject, scope, content, and approach. State what is distinctive and compelling about the project. If proposing a textbook, please also provide the course(s) for which your book would be a primary text. Or, if intended as a supplementary or recommended text, the types of courses it would support.
Note who you are writing to (use job titles if possible) and why they need this work.
Include a one-paragraph biography describing the credentials of each of the authors/editors of the work, highlighting editing, writing, and other relevant experience. Also include a curriculum vitae/resume for each member of the author team.
Compile brief notes on the major print and electronic resources that address your topic or a large part of it. Note the features that distinguish your project and give it a market advantage (for example, size, authority, timeliness, approach, or style).
Please list at least three distinctive and compelling features of your work and how they will benefit readers.
Provide an outline of the major topics or a detailed preliminary table of contents.
Note the projected length of the work in word count or double-spaced manuscript pages (at 275 words per double-spaced page). Also describe the type and approximate number of figures and/or tables you plan to include.
Provide a timetable of the major phases of the project and a realistic date of project completion. Allow ample time for illustrations and materials borrowed with permission to be gathered, edited, revised, and reviewed.
Submit a sample chapter of the proposed work or an article representative of the writing style for the proposed work.
Note any copyrighted material that you plan to include e.g., illustrations, permissions, etc.
ALA Editions | ALA Neal-Schuman will also consider completed manuscripts, but please query before sending them. Send proposals and queries to the appropriate editor below and allow six to eight weeks for evaluation.
Send a proposal or pitch your idea to one of our editors. Proposals on broad topics can be sent to any editor.
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