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Different Kinds of Books

This document provides an overview of different types of books and the general procedures for publishing a book. It discusses 7 different kinds of books, from popular science books to individually authored textbooks. It then outlines the steps for finding a publisher, including checking their website for proposal forms, writing a synopsis and sample chapters, and estimating the market size. The document advises submitting proposals to publishers one at a time to avoid annoying commissioning editors or getting feedback to improve future proposals. It also notes that authors may want to make some changes during the writing process.

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24 views2 pages

Different Kinds of Books

This document provides an overview of different types of books and the general procedures for publishing a book. It discusses 7 different kinds of books, from popular science books to individually authored textbooks. It then outlines the steps for finding a publisher, including checking their website for proposal forms, writing a synopsis and sample chapters, and estimating the market size. The document advises submitting proposals to publishers one at a time to avoid annoying commissioning editors or getting feedback to improve future proposals. It also notes that authors may want to make some changes during the writing process.

Uploaded by

Widharmawanta Ginting
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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DIFFERENT KINDS OF BOOKS

1. The popular science book (e.g. texts such as those by Oliver Sacks, CarlSagan,
Stephen Jay Gould):These books are extremely easy to read, but they are probably
much more difficult to write than it might seem.
2. The edited collection of previously published papers by the same author:These
books can only be written by well-established authors who want to show their
contribution to the field.
3. The edited collection of previously published papers written by different
authors:These books require much less writing by the editors, and the task is
perhaps made more enjoyable if there are two or more of them who can share the
debate about what to include.
4. The edited collection of original chapters written by several different authors:These
books take longer to produce – not all of the potential authors deliver their chapters
on time.
5. The conference collection: Here many authors are often involved and consequently
there is more room for delay.
6. The handbook: The handbook combines categories 4 and 5. Here, the book is
usually larger and the multiple chapters are original ones (usually reviews), written by
acknowledged experts in the field.
7. The individually authored textbook: This is perhaps the most satisfying kind of book
for an individual to write but it can be a hard slog. It is easier if you have a number of
previous contributions to draw on.

GENERAL PROCEDURES

In order to publish a book, it is useful to think first about an appropriate publisher. Some
publishers will have books on similar topics in their ‘list’, and others won’t. It might be best to
look to the first kind, for they will know the market better. Then it is a good idea to check
these publishers out on the Web.
Many publishers have actual proposal forms on the Web. It is interesting to compare
them, but they are fairly similar. What the publishers require is a synopsis of the text,
probably one or two sample chapters and, sometimes, some indication of the author’s
prowess in the field. What they also require is an estimate of the ‘competition’ and of the size
of the market: in other words, how many books will sell? For a proposal to succeed, the book
‘needs to be of high quality, original, with no or few competitors, have a clearly defined
audience, and promise to be a product (the publisher) can market at a reasonable price’
(Woods, 1998, p. 129).
Haynes (2001) considers the pros and cons of submitting a book proposal to one or more
publishers at the same time. He comes to the conclusion that it is better to submit proposals
to one publisher at a time as:
a) commissioning editors will be annoyed if they find out that you have
sent the proposal to other publishers behind their backs; and
b) feedback from rejected proposals will help to improve the next submission.

WRITING THE BOOK


An Author in writing a book obviously wants to keep to the contract as far as possible but, by
the very nature of things, may want to change some aspects of it. Some publishers send the
final manuscript out to reviewers for further comments and adjustments before setting it for
publication.

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