Two book proposal courses for scholarly writers

Plus a free resource for dissertation revisers

Hello Manuscript Workers,

I hope you’re having a good weekend. Since we’re entering the home stretch of 2023, I thought it would be a good time to share a quick announcement about the book proposal courses I’ve been working on behind the scenes here that will soon open for enrollment in the new year. If you have a scholarly book project you’d like to land a publisher for in 2024, these courses are for you. Mark your calendars!

Book Proposal Accelerator

Running since 2019, the Book Proposal Accelerator is my signature interactive course that walks scholarly writers through every step of landing a publisher for their books. This course takes the guesswork out of identifying the best publishers for your book, writing an outstanding book proposal that will impress acquiring editors, and formulating a personalized submission strategy that fits your unique goals.

Over 500 scholars have participated in the Book Proposal Accelerator to date, and there are lots of success stories of people who have landed contracts from their top presses, sometimes receiving interest and offers from multiple publishers.

I’ve spent the last three months updating the curriculum to make it even more efficient and accessible, in hopes that completing your book proposal inside the Accelerator will feel hopeful and fun, rather than like an anxiety-riddled slog. As a participant, you will get access to a series of brief lessons (in video, audio, and written formats), a library of successful examples from previous participants, a community of others working toward similar goals, and live support from me, including Zoom Q&As, coworking sessions, and direct feedback on your drafts.

The next cohort of the Book Proposal Accelerator will begin January 8th and run through February 16th. Enrollment will open officially on January 1st, but if you need to route your enrollment payment through your institution, please do reach out as soon as possible so we can get any paperwork started.

You can find out more about the Book Proposal Accelerator, including costs and what previous participants have said about it, here.

Book Proposal Shortcut for Busy Scholars

While the Book Proposal Accelerator provides a unique opportunity to get direct feedback and work alongside a group of fellow book-writing scholars, I know that not everyone is looking for that kind of commitment.

If you like the idea of a structured curriculum to help you stay on track as you identify target presses, draft your book proposal, and make a submission plan—but you prefer to work independently and at your own pace—the Book Proposal Shortcut is the course for you.

The curriculum inside the Shortcut is identical to the Book Proposal Accelerator, but it’s entirely self-paced. You can start and finish at any time, so you’re not bound to the Accelerator’s six-week schedule. You will be able to ask me questions about anything inside the program, but you won’t be sharing your work for feedback. There will be a few live Q&As throughout the year, but no weekly check-ins.

I’m still getting everything set up behind the scenes with the updated curriculum, so the Book Proposal Shortcut is not quite ready to launch. It will officially open for enrollment here on January 1st, but I’m planning to do a soft launch in the next couple weeks with special pricing. I’ll definitely be announcing that in this newsletter, but if you know you want to sign up in December—maybe you’re planning to power through your book proposal over the holiday break, or you just want to lock in your enrollment at the special price—reply to this email and I’ll make sure to send you an extra reminder.

How to Publish a Book from Your Dissertation

If you read Wednesday’s newsletter, you already know that I’m offering a free webinar on January 3rd for anyone who wants to publish a book based on their dissertation research. The webinar will also include general tips about communicating successfully with scholarly publishers, so truly anyone who wants to publish a scholarly book is welcome to attend. You will learn something whether you’re revising a dissertation or not.

Live attendance is encouraged, but everyone will receive a recording of the webinar regardless of live attendance. You do need to register in order to get the recording and supporting materials.

Questions about these programs?

You can always reply to my emails if you have any questions. If you tell me a little bit about what you’re working on and what your personal/professional goals are for your book, I’ll be happy to give you an honest answer about whether I think my programs will be helpful or not.

One question that sometimes comes up is whether my courses are only for first-time authors. My mission is to demystify the hidden curriculum of scholarly book publishing, and I can tell you from experience that first-time authors are not the only ones with disparities of access and knowledge. If you’ve been through the book publishing process before, you probably know very well how much of it still feels opaque and confusing. Of course I welcome first-time authors, but I also love working with returning authors who want a greater sense of control and confidence the next time around. Anyone who wants to have a better experience publishing their next scholarly book is welcome.

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you in one of my courses or webinars soon!