What goes on behind the scenes? 1. The Proposal stage

What is going on when you send your book idea to a publisher?

As part of a new mini-series, I thought it might be useful and perhaps enlightening if I share what's going on at Pearson at each stage of the book publishing process. What am I doing, thinking, or working on, when commissioning or publishing books, in case it either confirms your expectations or surprises you. So I’ll start at the beginning - book ideas and proposals.

First contact - I receive anywhere from 20-40 proposals a week so get a lot of emails?from authors about their book ideas. The email usually gives some information and sometimes a proposal document or manuscript is attached. In terms of how I work, I file these in a folder and dedicate time to look at batches together so I'm in the right headspace. If a lot come in at once, or if I'm out of the office then it can take some time to respond to these emails, but if it's been a few weeks (which is I hope unusual), I'll let the sender know it's in my to-read pile.

I reject many of these emails, a lot of the time because they're something that Pearson doesn't publish. When I can pass something on to a colleague if it's a textbook or computing book, I do, but it seems like a lot of the emails at this stage are irrelevant.?I do sometimes reach out to authors first, but it's usually a very selective process and I'll suggest a particular topic or angle.

Assuming I don't reject your proposal, which happens most of the time, I probably reply with some feedback and suggestions. I don't think I've ever not asked some questions or made some suggestions at this stage - I'm looking to improve the saleability, usability and readability of what we publish, so there are usually some improvements to be made. And so there will be a lot of book ideas on the boil where I'm waiting for the author to get back to me with their improvements.

Proposal work -?Once that feedback email is sent, and I start working with an author, we're building a relationship and it's my intent to get the proposal and book idea into a form that could go to the editorial board. This can be a process with many iterations and usually, there's a lot of back-and-forth tinkering. It could be the title, the structure, asking for more information, and these days pushing a lot on the author's marketing and promotional plans. It can feel painstaking and perhaps overly involved as we're still talking about the proposal and not the manuscript, but it's essential we both understand what the book will be like and I am prepared to pitch it to the editorial board.

So it happens occasionally that authors may reject my ideas, or find the revisions too difficult, and so some do drop out at this stage. It could be that another publisher has accepted their ideas without any feedback and it seems easier. Also, there's no fixed timeline. Sometimes it proceeds fast and takes a few weeks, but some book ideas can take years. There are also occasions with some authors where we come to a dead end with one idea, but then pick up on something else.

When I share feedback, I try not to edit the document too much as at this stage, authors might find that too interventionist. Instead, I'll use comments to provide feedback and make suggestions. What can happen at this point is that authors start to reply through the comments, leaving the main document untouched. They'll agree to change something but not update the document. This is not what I'm after as we want to provide the improved, clean document to the board. There's no point agreeing on a new Table of Contents if it's not reflected in the document. So I am trying to be clear on this when I respond to authors.

Sometimes, like many of us, authors can suffer from 'expert blindness' - something is so clear to them, that it doesn't occur to them to spell it out. Maybe it's defining a term, or being clear on the type of content. It's my job to make sure everything is super clear because when it goes to the editorial board, the decision makers will be approaching it fresh and need to make a decision on the content provided. You want to put your best foot forward, and hope it gets approved first time, rather than going back more than once.?If authors look back from the first document to the one going to the board, I hope they'll see that it is improved, it's clearer, and it feels like a solid plan and structure for their book.

I'll let authors know when I think the book is ready to go to the board, and the date, and that's when I might start to ask some specific dates: when would they deliver the manuscript, pieces of artwork, third-party material, etc, which is useful for the next stage.

Does this meet your expectations as an author? Does it chime with what you’ve experiences? Do you have any thoughts on the above? Let me know! Next week, more on the information I have to prepare to take the nook to the editorial board.

The Pearson Business Book Club

The Pearson Business Book Club is open to all who would like to learn more about our business books or learn something about a particular topic, and the webinars are completely free to attend. You can also view the on-demand videos of previous sessions on the Book Club website.

February's Business Book of the Month is The Financial Times Guide to High Impact Negotiation by Prof. Kasia Jagodzinska, and her masterclass is "The strategy and psychology of how to negotiate successfully". To attend the webinar on Tuesday 28 February 2023 at 2 pm (UK time) please register at?https://www.pearson.com/en-gb/book-club.html, where you can also download a sample chapter of the book, and find the video on demand after the session.

The Financial Times Guide to High Impact Negotiation will help you strategically prepare for negotiations so you can reach successful, long-lasting agreements. A negotiator who has a clear understanding of the objective and a step-by-step guide on how to reach that objective gets better results. Most negotiators fail because they allow emotions, lack of clarity and strategic confusion to cloud the negotiation process.

Covering negotiation from preparation to execution of the negotiated terms, this book bridges tactical preparation with self-management. You’ll be guided through how to prepare strategically using the Negotiation Matrix, how to secure executable high-stake agreements while securing the longevity of the business relationship, and how to develop a negotiation mindset so you’re better prepared for future negotiations.

Prof. Dr. Kasia Jagodzinska serves as a Senior Adviser to the United Nations on matters concerning multiparty negotiations. Her repertoire of experience also includes working as a Professor at several universities in Switzerland, France, Italy and Poland. She is the Founder of Negotiation Booster and an International Consultant for the Schranner Negotiation Institute. She brings a wealth of international business experience from the EU, the US and the Middle East, which she combines with an academic career.

“Better than any other I’ve seen, this book identifies the psychological factors underlying each of the major stages of the negotiation process and describes how to harness them for success.” Robert Cialdini, Author of Influence and Pre-Suasion

Just Published / Noteworthy books

Project Management Step by Step 2e by Richard Newton

You’ve been given a project to run. You know you need to get it right, but you don’t know what you need to do and in what order to make sure it all runs smoothly and you come out of it looking great. You need Project Management Step by Step.

Almost every manager and businessperson finds at some time they need to complete a task that has sufficient complexity and importance that an ad-hoc approach to getting it done is just not enough.

Managers in this common situation need the structure and rigour of a project management approach, yet very few managers are formally trained in project management or have the inclination, time or finances to become trained. They need an approach they can feel confident is sufficiently robust to ensure their success, but also simple enough to be immediately applicable. Project Management Step by Step provides the solution to this problem; a practical and immediate way to become a competent project manager.

“This practical guide will help you master the essentials of project management and apply them in almost any context. It delivers impressive results.” Victoria Pearson, Senior Director, Strategic Planning and Corporate Communications, CNIB

What am I reading?

I finally read Mindset by Carol Dweck after hearing about growth mindset for so long. It's a great book, and I will be putting these ideas into practice but once again, I think I’ve come to the party too late reading this book 6 years after publication. Mindset has been so prevalent in business and personal development that I was aware of these ideas for years before reading. I probably would have enjoyed this book a lot more if the ideas were new to me. It’s great if you like reading a lot of examples for different fields but I would have appreciated a bit more practical content or questions to ask myself.

Finally

Do you have any ideas or suggestions for future newsletters? Did I strike a chord with anything in this newsletter? Is there a business book you've enjoyed recently that you'd recommend? Add a comment or email me at?[email protected].