2017
Best Book Proposal Contest for the Beta Phi Mu Scholars Series
Contest Sponsored by Rowman &
Littlefield, Publishers
Please provide detailed answers to the following prompts,
along with required documentation, for a chance to win $250.00 from Rowman
& Littlefield and the opportunity to pursue a book contract. To be
eligible, proposals must be submitted electronically to Andrea Falcone, Editor,
at bpmseries@gmail.com by
11:59 p.m. on November 15th, 2017. Submissions will be evaluated by the Beta Phi
Mu Scholars Series Editorial Board. The contest winner will be contacted in
December 2017.
About the Series
Books published as part of the Scholars Series
advance knowledge in the discipline and profession of library and information
science. More information about the series can be found here.
Book Proposal Outline
- Why is this book needed? Who will want to read it or use it and why? How is it different from other books on the same topic?
- Imagine that your book is in our next catalog. Begin with a title that captures the tone and spirit of your book. What would the catalog description be? Emphasize special features or sections using bullets where appropriate.
- Identify titles on the same topic published in the last 5-7 years. These will be your book’s competition. Can you give a sentence or two that would make us want to publish your book even though those other books are available? If there are not books on this topic, why is that?
- Construct a 1-3 paragraph biographical statement and submit a copy of your curriculum vitae including information on your previous experience presenting, writing, teaching, conducting research, or other professional activities relevant to the proposed book. In the biographical statement, emphasize the relevance of your education and experience to this book topic. Please include information about other articles or books you have published.
- Provide a tentative table of contents that includes page number estimates for each chapter. Please also include for each chapter an estimated number of photographs, figures, tables, or other graphic elements you think you would want to include in the chapter.
- Present at least one example of your published professional writing. This can be a journal article, a poster abstract, a book chapter, or another sample publication.
- What is your target date for completing the manuscript?
