The public assumes the researcher spends the day dreaming up and trying out creative ideas. In reality, proposal development is an invisible but critical barrier over which even a good researcher may tumble. This book is intended to lower that barrier. It should increase first-trial recognition of good ideas and ensure that rejections do not result because a proposal poorly represented either the ideas, the investigator, or both.
Since 2001 William Germano's Getting It Published has helped thousands of scholars develop a compelling book proposal, find the right academic publisher, evaluate a contract, handle the review process, and, finally, emerge as published authors. But a lot has changed in the past seven years. With the publishing world both more competitive and mor...
Distilled wisdom from two publishing pros for every serious nonfiction author in search of big commercial success. Over 50,000 books are published in America each year, the vast majority nonfiction. Even so, many writers are stymied in getting their books published, never mind gaining significant attention for their ideas—and substantial sales. This is the book editors have been recommending to would-be authors. Filled with trade secrets, Thinking Like Your Editor explains: • why every proposal should ask and answer five key questions; • how to tailor academic writing to a general reader, without losing ideas or dumbing down your work; • how to write a proposal that editors cannot ignore; • why the most important chapter is your introduction; • why "simple structure, complex ideas" is the mantra for creating serious nonfiction; • why smart nonfiction editors regularly reject great writing but find new arguments irresistible. Whatever the topic, from history to business, science to philosophy, law, or gender studies, this book is vital to every serious nonfiction writer.
A step-by-step guide to crafting a compelling scholarly book proposal—and seeing your book through to successful publication The scholarly book proposal may be academia’s most mysterious genre. You have to write one to get published, but most scholars receive no training on how to do so—and you may have never even seen a proposal before you’re expected to produce your own. The Book Proposal Book cuts through the mystery and guides prospective authors step by step through the process of crafting a compelling proposal and pitching it to university presses and other academic publishers. Laura Portwood-Stacer, an experienced developmental editor and publishing consultant for academic authors, shows how to select the right presses to target, identify audiences and competing titles, and write a project description that will grab the attention of editors—breaking the entire process into discrete, manageable tasks. The book features over fifty time-tested tips to make your proposal stand out; sample prospectuses, a letter of inquiry, and a response to reader reports from real authors; optional worksheets and checklists; answers to dozens of the most common questions about the scholarly publishing process; and much, much more. Whether you’re hoping to publish your first book or you’re a seasoned author with an unfinished proposal languishing on your hard drive, The Book Proposal Book provides honest, empathetic, and invaluable advice on how to overcome common sticking points and get your book published. It also shows why, far from being merely a hurdle to clear, a well-conceived proposal can help lead to an outstanding book.
This is a revised and updated edition of the UPA 1978 edition. A concise monograph, the book is designed to facilitate the preparation of research proposals in the social science and human services disciplines. Contents: Notes Before Beginning the Proposal; Research Proposal Outline; Guidelines for the Research Proposal; Final Tasks After the First Draft of the Research Proposal is Finished; Notes on Grantsmanship; List of References.
The definitive career guide for grad students, adjuncts, post-docs and anyone else eager to get tenure or turn their Ph.D. into their ideal job Each year tens of thousands of students will, after years of hard work and enormous amounts of money, earn their Ph.D. And each year only a small percentage of them will land a job that justifies and rewards their investment. For every comfortably tenured professor or well-paid former academic, there are countless underpaid and overworked adjuncts, and many more who simply give up in frustration. Those who do make it share an important asset that separates them from the pack: they have a plan. They understand exactly what they need to do to set themselves up for success. They know what really moves the needle in academic job searches, how to avoid the all-too-common mistakes that sink so many of their peers, and how to decide when to point their Ph.D. toward other, non-academic options. Karen Kelsky has made it her mission to help readers join the select few who get the most out of their Ph.D. As a former tenured professor and department head who oversaw numerous academic job searches, she knows from experience exactly what gets an academic applicant a job. And as the creator of the popular and widely respected advice site The Professor is In, she has helped countless Ph.D.’s turn themselves into stronger applicants and land their dream careers. Now, for the first time ever, Karen has poured all her best advice into a single handy guide that addresses the most important issues facing any Ph.D., including: -When, where, and what to publish -Writing a foolproof grant application -Cultivating references and crafting the perfect CV -Acing the job talk and campus interview -Avoiding the adjunct trap -Making the leap to nonacademic work, when the time is right The Professor Is In addresses all of these issues, and many more.
This step-by-step guide begins by identifying and defining the basics of a dissertation proposal. With careful consideration, they explore proposal functions and parts, show how to build your study's chain of reasoning, and carefully review alternate study designs. Chapters are devoted to qualitative studies (sectioned into case studies, philosophical, and historical investigations); quantitative studies (sectioned into experimental, causal modeling, and meta-analysis studies), and mixed-method studies (sectioned into: sample survey, evaluation, development, and demonstration and action projects). Three extensively annotated proposals of former students provide examples of the guidance offered and illustrate common types of studies.
An authoritative how-to guide that explains every aspect of science proposal writing This fully revised edition of the authoritative guide to science proposal writing is an essential tool for any researcher embarking on a grant or thesis application. In accessible steps, the authors detail every stage of proposal writing, from conceiving and designing a project to analyzing data, synthesizing results, estimating a budget, and addressing reviewer comments and resubmitting. This new edition is updated to address changes and developments over the past decade, including identifying opportunities and navigating the challenging proposal funding environment. The only how-to book of its kind, it includes exercises to help readers stay on track as they develop their grant proposals and is designed for those in the physical, life, environmental, biomedical, and social sciences, as well as engineering.
