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Publishing is a collaborative enterprise. We work closely with our authors in partnership and give every author individual attention throughout the publishing process.  

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Royalty Information for contracted authors

 

Proposal Guidelines

Please check with us before sending a complete manuscript. Please send your electronic proposal to the appropriate editor from the list below: 

Washington, DC, History & Culture: All editors

Religion & Ethics: Al Bertrand, ab3643@georgetown.edu

International Affairs, Intelligence, and Military History: Donald Jacobs, dpj5@georgetown.edu

Languages and Linguistics: Hope LeGro, hjs6@georgetown.edu; or Clara Totten, cls86@georgetown.edu

Global Business: Hilary Claggett, hc793@georgetown.edu

 

Proposal Submission Guidelines (General)

Your cover letter and prospectus should contain the following:

1. A project abstract of no more than 150 words
2. A list of keywords for the book.
3. A description of the manuscript, including:
   1. The argument of your book and what makes it unique
   2. A description of the unique research that has gone into the project
   3. Level of readership or audience
   4. Discipline(s)
4. A table of contents, including a detailed outline that describes the content of each chapter.
5. The total projected length of the manuscript in number of words.
6. A list of the number and type of figures, tables, photographs, maps and other illustrations, including any special design considerations. 
7. Delivery information:
   1. Note on availability of sample chapters or whole manuscript for review
   2. Projected completion date
   3. Word processing system used
8. Author information: Your curriculum vitae, including details of your professional standing, previous books, and other relevant publications, and your preferred pronouns. 
9. Author platform and marketing plan: Describe your existing platform as an authority on your topic and your ideas for promoting your work to potential readers:
   1. Have you been interviewed by the media? Do you have contacts in the media? 
   2. Have you had any op-eds published? 
   3. Which social media platforms do you actively use, and how many followers do you have?
   4. Have you given a book talk for a previous work? If so, which bookstores or organizations hosted you? 
   5. Are you a member of an organization that will help promote the book, buy the book, or host you for an author event? 
   6. Do you plan to hire a publicist?  
   7. Do you belong to a speaker’s bureau? 
10. Suggested readers, including those who might have already read the manuscript. Please indicate which suggested reviewers have already seen the manuscript.
11. Other comments that reveal different, original, or interesting aspects of your project.
12.  A list of competing works:
    1. What books will compete with the proposed book?
    2. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the competition
    3. How will your book differ in content? If your book has course adoption potential, how will it better meet the needs of instructors than the alternatives?
    4. What unique approach(es) to the subject have you taken?

 

If your book is to be used as a textbook, please also answer the following questions and submit one or more sample chapters, along with a sample of any artwork to be included (we can often reach a publishing decision about a project on the basis of a complete proposal with sample chapters, with a strong focus on the chosen market, from the author):

1. What market do you intend to reach?
   1. What courses are likely to use the book? Will it be used as a main or supplemental text?
   2. Will the courses require prerequisites?
   3. What would the estimated enrollment likely be for these courses? How frequently are they offered?
   4. What is the education level of the audience (e.g., college juniors and seniors, graduate students)? Will the course be taken by majors, nonmajors, or both?
   5. What developments (e.g., changes in course content) are likely to affect the preparation and marketing of the book?
2. Pedagogy: Do you plan to use a special pedagogy for this book? Describe its rationale, implementation, and competitive advantages.

 

World Languages Learning Materials Proposal Submission Guidelines

In your prospectus, please include the information below as best as possible. Please also include at least one to three sample chapters with your proposal:

1. Begin with a project rationale or a general overview of the project—the theory behind it and its goals.
2. Content
   1. Describe the goal and features of the project, including what makes it unique and why it is needed
   2. Describe your pedagogical approach and its competitive advantages
   3. Provide the intended number of contact hours or semesters covered by your materials
   4. Describe the intended level of instruction (e.g., based on the ACTFL or the ILR scales). What levels do you expect students to reach by the end of the book?
   5. Include a detailed table of contents, with English translation, showing a detailed outline that describes the content of each chapter/lesson
   6. List the components that you envision will be part of the textbook materials (i.e., textbook, workbook, teacher's guide materials, audio files, video files, interactive exercises, etc.). Explain in detail how each will be integrated into the textbook (i.e., all homework exercises will be on a companion website or each lesson will include three videos), how many you estimate there will be of each kind, and the estimated length of each (number of online exercises, number of minutes for audio/video files, number of illustrations or other ancillary materials, etc.)
   7. Has your material been field-tested, or do you have plans to do so?
3. Media (audio, video, interactive)
   1. If you know, please provide a list of the media formats (MP3, M4V or MP4 video, etc.) and the approximate number of files/tracks of each
   2. If you plan to include some but they are not yet created, describe how you plan to create them. If you are seeking support for their creation, please describe the type of support you are looking for. 
4. Audience
   1. List the courses that are likely to use your material with estimated enrollment
   2. Will it be used as a main text or as supplemental material?
5. Competing works
   1. What other textbooks/materials compete with your proposed project?
   2. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the competition
   3. How will your materials differ from the competition in content and format?
   4. What unique or distinctive approach(es) to the subject have you taken?
6. Description of special features
   1. Estimate the number and type of illustrations (i.e., drawings, photographs, tables, maps, etc.), glossaries, and appendices. Please estimate how many of each type of illustration will be included and their intended sources 
   2. Sources of the reading passages
   3. Estimate the average number of exercises per lesson and describe the types of exercises (i.e., fill-in-the-blanks, multiple choice, etc.)
   4. Any other special features
7. Delivery information
   1. Please include at least one to three sample chapters with your proposal
   2. Projected completion date
   3. Word processing program used and the names of any special language fonts used
8. Author information: Your curriculum vitae, including details of your professional standing, previous books, and other relevant publications and experience, and your preferred pronouns. 
9. Suggested readers: Include those who might have already read the manuscript. Make note of which reviewers have already seen the manuscript

 

Manuscript Submission Information

Download our Manuscript Submission Guidelines [PDF]

Download our Art Submission Guidelines [PDF]

Go to our Marketing Questionnaire page