Submitting Book Proposals and Manuscripts
The proposal you submit will be the basis on which we determine if Transgress Press is the best home for your book. Thus, your submission packet should be organized in a way that provides the most useful information.
We suggest you send a written proposal (three to six pages), accompanied by the introduction, two sample chapters and a curriculum vitae. If you have completed a draft manuscript, please indicate this in your proposal. Please do not send in an unsolicited draft manuscript as your initial correspondence. After reviewing your proposal, a commissioning editor will determine whether you should submit a full manuscript. If possible, please send your proposal and any accompanying material by email to: Trystan@transgresspress.org
Your proposal should address the following areas:
1. Focus, Aims, Rationale
The proposal you submit will be the basis on which we determine if Transgress Press is the best home for your book. Thus, your submission packet should be organized in a way that provides the most useful information.
We suggest you send a written proposal (three to six pages), accompanied by the introduction, two sample chapters and a curriculum vitae. If you have completed a draft manuscript, please indicate this in your proposal. Please do not send in an unsolicited draft manuscript as your initial correspondence. After reviewing your proposal, a commissioning editor will determine whether you should submit a full manuscript. If possible, please send your proposal and any accompanying material by email to: Trystan@transgresspress.org
Your proposal should address the following areas:
1. Focus, Aims, Rationale
- What or who is the focus of your book?
- What are the main themes, objectives, and/or arguments?
- Are there other books on the subject or with a similar focus? What makes your book different from others?
- If it is a critical or academic book, how does it advance current knowledge and understanding of the topic?
- Include a table of contents with your manuscript. (If you are submitting a proposal, provide a paragraph of explanation of what you intend to cover in each chapter.)
- Will your book have illustrations, tables, or diagrams?
- How many words is your manuscript? (If you are submitting a proposal, give a rough estimate of word length.)
- When will you deliver the completed typescript? Please be realistic and consider all your responsibilities and commitments when determining a delivery date.
- To whom is your book aimed? Who will buy it? Who will want to read it? Is there more than one audience?
- Is your book aimed at the general public, academia, young adults, etc.?
- If it is aimed at an academic audience, what disciplines and courses will want to teach it?? Is it aimed at undergraduates, graduate students, or both?
- Is the subject area of the proposal widely taught, or researched?
- Would this subject have appeal outside your home country? If so, where?
- Are there other books already published that are similar to your book’s focus or themes?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of these competing titles in comparison to your book?
- What makes your book better than the competition?
- Are the chapters of a consistent quality?
- Should some of the weaker chapters be excised?
- How is the collection organized? Do the chapters cohere around a central theme(s)?
- Is there and introductory chapter?
- Are all of the chapters newly commissioned, or have some appeared in print previously?
- If your book is for an academic audience, is there a balance between theoretical/methodological and empirical chapters?
- Will the case studies (if appropriate) appeal to an international audience?
- Provide a CV and short bio that helps us understand your relationship to the book or subject matter.
- List any organizational or institutional affiliations, professional (or personal) experiences, and/or institutional roles or capacities that will help us understand your relationship to the book.
- Evaluation by managing editor
Your proposal will be considered carefully by the managing editor who will be concerned with several questions. How strong is the proposal? How well does the book fit with our publishing scope and standards? Is there a market for a high-quality book on this subject? What evidence is there for this market? If there is a gap in the market, is this the right book to fill it? What is the need for the book internationally? This process takes approximately six to eight weeks but can take longer, depending on our production cycle. - Contract, Desk editorial and Publication
If your proposal is approved, we will then issue you a draft contract. Once we reach an agreement on terms, you sign and return the contract with an agreed date for the delivery of the manuscript. Once your book has been written and delivered, your manuscript will be sent to a copyeditor and enter the production phase of publishing and marketing it for distribution.
