Getting Started on Your Proposal
We understand the process of developing a book manuscript to be a collaborative and engaged process between the author, the editors, and the editorial board. For that reason, we encourage potential authors to contact the
editors directly about possible manuscript ideas and to learn more about the publication process. This can be done even prior to going through the formal submission process. The goal is to begin a conversation about the author’s goals and the work of the SWR Series. It is out of this conversation, we believe, that powerful ideas and book projects emerge.
It is useful, however, to first consider how your imagined work fits into our series. All SWR volumes try in some way to inform the practice of writing teachers, students, or administrators. Their approach is synthetic, their style concise and pointed. Complete manuscripts run from 40,000–50,000 words, or about 150–200 pages. Authors should imagine their work in the hands of writing teachers and all who are interested in how we make our ways with language. Click here for a list of current books in the SWR Series.
Submitting Formal Proposals
We are eager to identify influential work in writing and rhetoric as it emerges. We thus ask authors to send us project proposals that clearly situate their work in the field and show how they aim to redirect our ongoing conversations about writing and its teaching. Proposals should include an overview of the project, a brief annotated table of contents, and a sample chapter. They should not exceed 10,000 words.
NOTE: We do not accept unrevised dissertations.
To submit a proposal, please register as an author at www.editorialmanager.com/nctebp. Once registered, follow the steps to submit a proposal (be sure to choose SWR Book Proposal from the drop-down list of article submission types).
The Review Process
Once your proposal is submitted, it will be reviewed initially by the Editor and Associate Editor to explore how it fits into or expands the work of the SWR Series. We might contact you at this point, asking for clarification or some revisions. (We might also have to inform you that another series might be the best venue for your work.) Once the author and editors agree on the scope/goals of the project, the proposal is sent out for review to several members of the Editorial Board. They will recommend whether to ask for a full manuscript.
If this occurs, you will be asked submit your full manuscript, usually within nine months. During the period of writing the manuscript, the Editors and SWR Editorial Board will act as a resource. That is, you will not be abandoned to a lonely tower to write by yourself. We see writing as a collaborative process and want to support you in your work.
Once the manuscript is completed, it is sent out again for reviews and recommendations about whether to grant a publication contract. The Editors contact the authors directly to talk through the reviews and to inform the author of the decision.
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