Academic Book Publishing
The View from Political Science
Jeffrey A. Segal, SUNY Distinguished Professor
Chair, Department of Political Science
QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS
• Book or article discipline?
QUESTIONS
• Book or article discipline?
• If book, which publishers are best?
SURVEY OF TOP PUBLISHERS IN POLITICAL
SCIENCE
RANKINGS
QUESTIONS
• Book or article discipline?
• If book, which publishers are best?
• How to get a contract?
o Write publishers in advance of national meetings to
gauge their potential interest.
o If interested, make appointments to meet at the
meeting.
o Prepare prospectus
• Prospectus
o 10-15 page summary and chapter by chapter outline
o Discuss potential market, including types of courses
that could use the book, and why your book does
things the competition does not.
o Include a timetable for completion.
o A brief biography of the author(s).
o Avoid noting relationship to dissertation.
ESPTEIN AND SEGAL, ADVICE AND CONSENT
PROSPECTUS
PROSPECTUS CHAPTER 3 (EDITED)
TARGET AUDIENCE
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
• If you have multiple offers from fairly equal
publishers, you can negotiate.
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
• If you have multiple offers from fairly equal
publishers, you can negotiate.
o $$$
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
• If you have multiple offers from fairly equal
publishers, you can negotiate.
o $$$
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
• If you have multiple offers from fairly equal
publishers, you can negotiate.
o $$$ (indexing)
o Time to publication (seek right to withdraw if way past
deadline)
o Time to paperback
o Marketing
MARKETING
• Marketing
o # of free copies
o Which conferences they attend
o Journal ads
Questions?