How to write and submit a book proposal
Submitting your book proposal to Elsevier
Advice on preparing your proposal
Proposal assessment and approval process
Submitting your book proposal to Elsevier
As well as reaching out to potential authors in the market to write on particular topics, Elsevier Acquisitions Editors are always pleased to hear directly from those with book ideas relating to science and technology subjects or industries. If you have a book idea you'd like to share, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
The form below is intended to guide you through the key information we need regarding content, scope, and audience to consider your book idea for publication:
Please visit the Find your Elsevier editor page to identify the appropriate Acquisitions Editor to direct your completed proposal form to.
If you are unsure of the correct contact, please send your form to our proposal mailbox including the following details in the subject line of your email:
Book proposal in [subject area] / [author name: working title]
E.g. Book proposal in mechanical engineering / Smith: Advances in Applied Mechanics
Advice on preparing your proposal
We recommend you keep the following in mind when preparing your proposal:
- Your intended audience and its needs – Tailoring the content and features of your book from the outset to address the needs of a particular audience will help to make it a success.
- Competing resources – If competition to your proposed book exists, responding to the strengths and weaknesses of that competition in what you include will help us to position the book clearly for our reviewers and customers.
- Clarity and discoverability – Help our reviewers to understand your planned content—and later in the process, potential readers to discover your content—by choosing a working book title and chapter titles that clearly describe the material you are covering using the most relevant terms.
Proposal assessment and approval process
We have a rigorous proposal assessment and approval process to maintain the quality of material published by Elsevier, with steps that include:
- Editor review – The appropriate Acquisitions Editor will consider the content, approach and timeliness of your book idea, as well as its fit with their publishing program.
- External review – Feedback by experts and potential readers is sought on proposals of interest to validate the market for the book idea and gather input on content and structure.
- Proposal development – The appropriate Acquisitions Editor will work with you to incorporate valuable reviewer feedback as appropriate and further define the scope of the work.
- Presentation to publishing committee – A formal project proposal will be put together and presented by the Acquisitions Editor for approval by key Elsevier stakeholders.
