Guidelines for Book Proposals

For more than 40 years John Benjamins has been serving the international academic community by producing high quality research materials. As publishers we are fully independent, flexible, with short lines of communication.
These guidelines are for authors/editors of manuscripts submitted for publication with John Benjamins. A prospectus prepared along these lines will help us to assess your proposal in terms of intended readership, the market, and suitability in our publishing program. In order to guarantee the quality of our publications, proposed manuscripts are subject to peer reviewing and a decision on publication will be based on referee reports, series editors assessments, and market expectations. When a proposal is under review we kindly ask you to grant us the first option on publication. The reviewing process is aimed at providing constructive comments. All information supplied will be confidential and only for internal use.

About the book

1 The manuscript in question
  1. Author(s)/Editor(s)names
  2. Title (tentative) of the book
  3. Estimated length (in number of words and pages)
  4. Number of tables
  5. Number of figures and/or plates
  6. Number of contributions (in collective volumes)
  7. Other special features
2 Outline of the book

It is important for the evaluation process and later for promotional purposes to know the exact nature of your book. For this reason we would like you to focus on the following aspects related to the outline of your book:
  1. What type of book is it (e.g., research monograph, collection of articles, reference work, text book)
  2. What do you see as the main selling points? Emphasize the unique aspects regarding origin, content, style, and methodology. We would appreciate it if you mentioned your motivation and particular qualifications to write/edit the work.
  3. Include any new findings of fact, statements, theory or viewpoint that the book contains.
  4. In case the book is a textbook you should clearly mention the intended level of its audience, and if it has been field-tested in the classroom please let us know how (with details). Are you going to use the textbook yourself for a course, and do you know of other places where the book may be used?
  5. If your book is based on a Ph.D.thesis, explain how you have revised this into a research monograph.
  6. If your book is a revised edition of an earlier published book, please list the main differences between this and the previous edition.
  7. Please send a copy of the table of contents and a concise description of the volume.
  8. Please indicate the intended readership of your book.
  9. List any publications your manuscript is related to or will directly compete with. Please include author(s)/editor(s), year of publication, title, publisher, and price if known.
3 Possible reviewers of your manuscript

Please list up to three professionals in your field (with their addresses) who are qualified to objectively read and evaluate your manuscript. Please provide names, addresses, fax numbers and/or e-mail addresses. We may or may not approach the suggested reviewers as we may be using our own network of reviewers, or those suggested by our series editors.

About the authors(s)/editor(s)

4 About the author/editor

Full name (male/female)
Academic status
Academic affiliation
Date of birth

5a Home address

Street
City &Postal/Zip code
Country
Phone/Fax
E-mail

5b University address

Department
University
City &Postal/Zip code
Country
Phone/Fax
E-mail

Please indicate which address you prefer for correspondence: home / university.

6 Personal profile

Please include your degrees, former academic affiliations, etc., or attach your cv.
Please list titles, publishers, and publication dates of any previous books, journal articles, or presentations you have (co-)authored or (co-)edited that do not appear in your cv.
Please list your fields of academic interest.

Submission instructions

If possible, please submit your book proposal as attachments by e-mail, either directly to one of the editorial staff at our Amsterdam office, or to our customer services department. Please label attachments clearly with the name of the (first) author/editor (rather than “benjamins-proposal.doc”, which would not distinguish them from other proposals at our end).
Should your manuscript be accepted for publication we will get in touch concerning contractual matters, submission guidelines and a further marketing questionnaire.

We thank you for your cooperation, and look forward to receiving your proposal at either of the following addresses:

John Benjamins Publishing Company
P.O. Box 36224
1020 ME Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Fax: +31.20.6739773
patricia.leplaebenjamins.nl

North-America office:
John Benjamins Publishing Company
P.O. Box 27519
Philadelphia PA 19118-0519
USA
Fax: (215) 836-1204
servicebenjamins.com