Category: Books & Publications

Re-framing Rejections  by Denise St. Arnault, Ph.D. 2010.  All rights reserved.

We all feel like rejection letters are, well, rejection.  However, there is a huge opportunity in a rejection letter if we can “get over ourselves” and really “hear” what the reviewers are saying.  Sometimes, they are commenting on the quality of our thinking, but usually, they are commenting about the quality of our argument, or how the argument fits into the field, or how important things are missing from the argument.

However, when we add the stuff that was missing, or position the argument differently, it can change the focus, making the article better for a different journal.  Usually, when we change the paper, it makes it a lot better, and it also helps us really figure out what we mean and where we belong.

Here are an example:  My dissertation was qualitative and quantitative.  My first effort felt really good to me, but it was rejected because they said it was as if there were two articles in one…good feedback!  So I broke it into two, and submitted a reworked qualitative paper.  A different journal rejected that one because I didn’t argue for how this data contributed to the field.  When I answered that question, I discovered it belonged in a  different journal.  After that re-write, it was accepted “as is!”

My final thought is, I always shoot for the top tier journals, and because of that, I get lots of rejections.  However, what I also get is top tier reviews!!  How cool is that?!  Then, if I re-write, and find a slightly lower tier, I get in right away…an interesting trick.

By Patricia Monaghan, Ph.D.  2011.  All rights reserved.

Most publishers today require you to send them a proposal, as well as sample chapters or (in certain cases, notably fiction) the full manuscript, before they will consider a book for publication. Doing the book proposal professionally and comprehensively will increase the likelihood of your book’s receiving a positive response. This short article will guide you through the major parts of a book proposal, which are the overview, market analysis, chapter-by-chapter outline, and bio/timeline. (The order of the last three may vary, but the overview naturally always comes first.) The proposal is virtually always accompanied by approximately three sample chapters; in the case of creative writing, publishers expect to see the entire novel or book of poetry. (Note: many poetry publishers do not expect a proposal, but almost all nonfiction and fiction publishers do.)

The elements of every successful proposal are the Overview, Market Analysis, Chapter-by-Chapter Outline, Timeline/Bio, and Sample Chapters.

Continue reading “Crafting a Book Proposal”