Publishing with Sweet & Maxwell - author services
Introduction
As a specialist legal publisher with long-standing tradition of quality and scholarship, Sweet & Maxwell are committed to the publication of pre-eminent high quality texts that meet the developing needs of the academic community. In order to continue this tradition and to deliver this aim we are dedicated to working with leading academics.
We believe our commitment to excellence offers authors and potential authors unsurpassed levels of service through publishing professionalism, specialist market knowledge and understanding of the requirements of our authors.
Among the benefits of writing for Sweet & Maxwell are:
- Over 200 years of history and heritage in legal publishing: your work can benefit not just from this heritage but also from a brand that is synonymous with quality, excellence and authority.
- Personal and regular communication: a dedicated Publishing Editor will be your main point of contact throughout the whole publication process. They will provide you with regular progress reports and are available to guide you through the process and answer any questions you might have.
- Best practice in proposal review: this is central to the continued deliverance of high quality publications. All authors receive a receipt of their proposal from the Publishing Editor and feedback from the peer review process.
- Editorial excellence: we pride ourselves on the product quality of our titles and this is achieved by accepting only the highest standards in copy-editing, typesetting and production.
- Marketing support: in order to ensure that your work receives maximum exposure each title receives its own specific promotion plan. In addition, the marketing team has an established programme of communication with the market through institutional road shows, catalogues and newsletters.
- International reach: as part of the Thomson Corporation, Sweet & Maxwell has representation in over 100 countries providing us with the opportunity to maximise sales of appropriate titles internationally.
- Sales support: a dedicated highly experienced academic trade sales team that concentrates purely on legal titles and their promotion into university bookshops, online vendors and other agents.
- Post-publication care: it is our intention to build long-term relationships with our authors and so our author services do not stop once your title has been published. We will continue to provide you with marketing and sales updates.
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Submitting your title proposal
What should you include in your proposal? This varies for each title but the main areas you should include are:
- Synopsis - This should address the aim and scope of the proposed title. Summarise the approach you will take and the content to be covered. This section should also include a draft table of contents and if you are intending to have contributing authors, any suggestions you may have for them. You should also indicate how in depth you intend the title to be.
This section is the heart of your proposal so ensure that you have shown why your title has the potential to be successful.
- Covering letter - this should explain why you are writing the title and who you think will buy it. Describe who will be the target market for the title and at what level. Which courses would use this title and approximately how large do you think this market is? Why this is a good time to publish in this area?
You may wish to include a brief competitor review that covers other titles in this area. Don't be put off if there other titles, this can simply mean that a subject is popular and proven. We will be looking to see what makes your title unique - what will you do differently?
Think about the time it will take you to write the title and how this will fit into your other commitments. Give a realistic delivery date for the manuscript.
- Curriculum vitae - this is self explanatory but here we are looking to see why you feel qualified to write the title. Include details of any previous publishing and your relevant professional experience. This information will again help to market the title. Don't worry if you haven't had any previous publishing experience, this information will highlight that we need to give you more information and support during the process.
It is also a good idea to include any other supporting material that you think would be useful in demonstrating the market for your title. This could include any sample chapters or further market research.
At Sweet & Maxwell we undertake to consider your proposal professionally and quickly. If we decide to not pursue publication, we will provide feedback and fully explain the reasons behind our decision. If your proposal is accepted you will be contacted and introduced to the team that will be responsible for helping you through the writing stage and onto publication.
If you would like to submit a proposal please send it victoria.giblin@thomson.com. We look forward to hearing from you and to working with you.
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The publishing process
Seeing your hard work come to fruition is a wonderful moment and with Sweet and Maxwell you're in the most capable hands. All authors will receive updates on the progress of their individual title but the below describes the main stages.
Copy editing
The manuscript is first past to one of our experienced copyeditors who will edit your manuscript to the house style, check the grammar and spelling and prepare instructions for the typesetters.
Type setting
Manuscript is typeset by external typesetters who are specialists in this area and enable a quick and efficient turn around.
Proofing
The production editor will tell you the date you should receive your proofs and when any amendments need to be made. It is imperative that these are returned by the deadline to ensure the production schedule keeps to schedule. The proofs are also sent to the tablers and the indexers. Once you have returned your proofs, they will checked a further time by the House Editor.
Publication
Once your title printed it will be released to bookshops and we will fulfil orders received for your title.
Marketing
The Academic Market Manager is responsible for the promotion of your title. Each title will be promoted through a variety of different routes according to what is most suitable but the main areas are:
- Direct mail
- Online promotion
- E-mail marketing
- Inclusion in in-house produced magazines Academic News and Law Student
- Print advertising
- Online promotion
- Institutional road shows
- Review campaign
In addition, we have a very strong Trade Sales Team who work with the Academic Market Manager to ensure all titles are fully sold into the bookshops.
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SMG style guide
Preparing your manuscript
The style guide is available to download or print. It is important that you familiarise yourself with the document before you begin to write. This will ensure that your delivered manuscript can be efficiently processed. If you have any questions about this please contact your Publishing Editor.
Download the style guide (768kb pdf)