Choose a publisher that can reach the right readers, support the quality and integrity of your work, and make the book discoverable, accessible and usable.
Start with audience and purpose
Identify whether your primary readers are researchers, professionals, practitioners, students or the wider public. Consider whether the project is best suited to a scholarly monograph, edited collection, textbook, professional book, crossover title, trade book or open scholarly work.
Prepare a strong proposal
Follow each publisher’s proposal requirements. A scholarly proposal commonly explains the book’s purpose, audience, contribution, structure, competing titles and market and may include sample chapters. Trade publishers may require submissions through a literary agent.
Evaluate potential publishers
Review subject areas, recent titles, peer review and editorial processes, reputation, distribution, pricing, discoverability, formats, preservation, publication timeframes, rights, royalties, open access options, and fees. Clarify who will provide copyediting, proofreading, indexing, design, permissions support, marketing and production.
Assess distribution through Western Sydney University Library catalogue, Trove, and WorldCat.
Use Think. Check. Submit. checklist for books and chapters to assess publisher credibility.
Confirm with the publisher whether they assign the International Standard Book Number (ISBN), the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) or both.
Compare publishing pathways
Open access book publishing
Open access can extend a book’s reach beyond readers with library or purchasing access. Compare peer review, Creative Commons licence options, fees, production support, distribution, preservation and print availability.
Browse peer-reviewed open access books through the Directory of Open Access Books.
Eligible Western Sydney University authors may consider publishing open textbooks and open scholarly works with the Library and Western Open Books.
Commercial scholarly publishing
Commercial scholarly publishers may suit monographs, collections, textbooks, professional books, and works intended for academic or broader markets. Western Sydney University does not operate a commercial scholarly publishing pathway.
Publishing a thesis as a book
A thesis generally requires substantial revision before book publication. Reshape the structure and argument for a defined audience, remove examination-focused material, update the literature, reconsider quotations, images and other third-party content. Further guidance is available from How to turn your PhD into a book, (The Thesis Whisperer), Eight Tips for Turning Your PhD Thesis into a Book (Sydney University Press),https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book-authors/your-career/early-career-researcher-hub/revising-the-dissertation Reworking your thesis for book publication (AIATSIS), and How to revise your thesis into a book (Springer Nature).
Before you commit
Compare several publishers and review the contract carefully. Confirm services, retained rights, formats, territories, royalties, licence conditions, permissions, deadlines, publication schedule and arrangements if the book becomes unavailable. Check whether an eligible version may be shared through Research Profiles and Repository.
Next step