How to get your book published – Issue #2: Writing a strong proposal

By Emma Milman, Assistant Books Editor

We are always looking for new book authors here at SAGE. Once you have found inspiration and decided on the basis for your book project, the next step is to send a proposal to one of our commissioning editors. Our full book proposal guidelines are available here.

Here are some tips to bear in mind when you are completing the proposal:

Give us a simple, straightforward synopsis of what the topic is about and how you intend to approach it. Keep this concise, so around 700 to 1,200 words.
Let us know what the market will be for your book – this will be very important for your commissioning editor. Is this topic compulsory study on an undergraduate course? Is the booked pitched at researchers who are expanding their knowledge? If you can give us an idea of the number of people that will be interested in the book, that will be helpful.
Pedagogical features. If you are proposing a course textbook, then please tell us what type of learning features you will be including in the book, such as further reading, practice questions, case studies, etc. These help readers to engage with the material.
Competing titles. It is great for us to know if any other books have been published on the topic. Let us know how your book will be different: will it be suitable for a different market, approach the subject from a different angle, or expand on ideas that have been previously published?

Our commissioning editors are there to help you with every stage of the process, so do contact them for their advice!

About SAGE Publications

Founded in 1965, SAGE is the world’s leading independent academic and professional publisher. Known for our commitment to quality and innovation, SAGE has helped inform and educate a global community of scholars, practitioners, researchers, and students across a broad range of subject areas. With over 1200 employees globally from principal offices in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, and Washington DC, our publishing programme includes more than 640 journals and over 800 books, reference works and databases a year in business, humanities, social sciences, science, technology and medicine. Believing passionately that engaged scholarship lies at the heart of any healthy society and that education is intrinsically valuable, SAGE aims to be the world’s leading independent academic and professional publisher. This means playing a creative role in society by disseminating teaching and research on a global scale, the cornerstones of which are good, long-term relationships, a focus on our markets, and an ability to combine quality and innovation. Leading authors, editors and societies should feel that SAGE is their natural home: we believe in meeting the range of their needs, and in publishing the best of their work. We are a growing company, and our financial success comes from thinking creatively about our markets and actively responding to the needs of our customers.

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