So You Want to Write About American Indians?: A Guide for Writers, Students, and Scholars

9. Submitting Your Work to a Book Publisher

BOB — University of Nebraska Press / Page 97 / / So You Want to Write about American Indians? / Devon Abbott Mihesuah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 [First Page] [97], (1) Lines: 0 to 56 ——— 0.0pt PgVar ——— Normal Page PgEnds: TEX [97], (1) chapter nine Submitting Your Work to a Book Publisher Submitting your manuscript about American Indians to a book publisher is much the same as submitting an essay to a journal, but there are important differences. Keep in mind that no matter what kind of work writers produce, they generally go through the same process. Sending your very best work is a must, but whereas journal editors want to see a finished product, sometimes (especially if you are an author with an established track record) book publishers will award an author an advance contract based on a well-developed idea for a book. That idea is presented in a proposal, which can be subject to the same review process as a normal book-length manuscript. An advance contract is attractive since it gets a publisher to commit to your work early on during the planning and research stage and it certainly strengthens one’s curriculum vitae (cv) or résumé. Do keep in mind, however, that your eventually completed manuscript will still be subject to review and that an advance contract will not guarantee publication if the finished manuscript is found lacking by press staff or reviewers. The review and contract processes in book publishing are more complex and lengthy than they are in journal publishing. For example , after reviews of a manuscript have been completed and received at a university press (for an explanation of what that is, see below), the editorial staff usually meets to discuss, evaluate, and endorse or reject each other’s book projects. Sometimes the press director and staff from other departments such as marketing are present and have a vote. At this internal press meeting, some book manuscripts likely will be rejected. Furthermore, most university presses are governed by an advisory board, which has the final say as to whether a manuscript will be published. A press’s advisory board is usually made up of faculty and administrators from the press’s host university. Editors of a press 97 BOB — University of Nebraska Press / Page 98 / / So You Want to Write about American Indians? / Devon Abbott Mihesuah submitting your work to a book publisher 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 [98], (2) Lines: 56 to 65 ——— -0.29977pt PgVar ——— Normal Page PgEnds: TEX [98], (2) meet regularly (the frequency of meeting varies from every month to four times a year) with the advisory board, who read and consider the reviews of book manuscripts, the author’s cv, and the author’s written response to suggestions made in the reviews. The advisory board then votes on whether to offer a contract for the project. So,remember,even if your acquisition editor supports your work, the ultimate fate of your manuscript at a university press is in the hands of the press’s boss, the advisory board. How to DetermineWho Might PublishYourWork There are four general types of presses that potentially would be interested in publishing your work on American Indians:
1. University presses are nonprofit presses, each of which is af- filiated with a host university (or consortium of universities), such as the University of Pennsylvania or University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Some university presses have built strong, in-depth, and nationally recognized lists of publications on and about American Indians. Their original and still primary goal is to publish scholarship, collections of historical documents, and, for some, textbooks for college classes. But the types of books they publish are changing. Given an industry-wide decline in library sales and reduced university and state funding in recent years,university presses are increasingly seeking alternate forms of publication to subsidize their missions. Consequently, most university presses today, while still academic, are also open to books that appeal to a broader audience than only scholars. Why publish with a university press? If your work is academic, then such presses will best recognize the value of...