Academic & Professional Books

The book publishing process for academic, professional, and higher education books

The editorial and production process

Commissioning editors at OUP work with authors at all stages in the publishing process and are the main contact for the author whilst their book is published with OUP. Although our commissioning editors each focus on publishing books for particular sectors of a market they are first and foremost representatives of the Oxford University Press as a whole. You will find that they are knowledgeable about their lists and subject areas and are keen to initiate discussions in your chosen field.

Once a manuscript is delivered, OUP staff will work closely with the author and the production department to ensure that copy-editing, design, typesetting, and proof-reading move ahead swiftly and that high standards are maintained.

The marketing manager will be in touch once a manuscript is delivered, detailing the broad marketing plan for the work, with information about catalogues and mailings, conferences and review lists, and inviting comments and suggestions.

The Production departments are responsible for the physical appearance and manufacturing of the books. We use professional copy-editors and proof-readers and have specialist jacket and text designers in-house. OUP no longer has its own printing house but works with the very best printing houses from around the world.

International sales and marketing

OUP uses its international structure to market its books to as wide a readership as possible. Each OUP office or branch carries out a range of promotional activities.

Worldwide distribution

We market and sell our titles all around the globe. Our two major distribution centres, at Cary in North Carolina, USA, and Corby in Northamptonshire, UK, hold some 60 million volumes at one time and employ all the latest logistics technologies. Orders can be placed by telephone, fax, post, or email, or ordered online; all orders are dispatched rapidly from available stock. Our branch offices also hold a wide selection of OUP titles.

Rights and permissions

Our publishing divisions each have their own specialist rights departments who are responsible for selling translation and co-edition rights, and negotiating any subsidiary rights available for your book. Further information can be found in the Rights and Permissions section.

Working with authors

We value our relationships with our authors; we consult authors at every stage of the editing and production process and we are constantly looking to improve the way we work.

Development

We are willing to work very closely with our authors and we can offer detailed and constructive advice at various stages of the commissioning and writing process, when this is helpful. We also provide detailed advice on submitting typescripts and on any stylistic questions.

Continuing commitment

Our interest in your book does not stop once it is published. We are committed to keeping Oxford books in print, wherever possible, and are investigating the use of new digital print on demand technologies to keep academic books in print where a normal print run is uneconomical.

Terms and conditions

In addition to the services outlined above, we offer favourable contractual terms to our authors, as well as author discounts on all OUP titles. Your Commissioning Editor will be able to assist you with order requests.

Submitting a proposal

Please note that Oxford University Press is obliged to ensure all books are ratified by the University before publication. We don't as a rule publish works of fiction, unless they form part of an educational course or examination.

All proposals should be submitted directly to the Editor or editorial department responsible for the subject area and market that your book is aimed at. A list of contact names can be found here.

Depending on the type of book you wish to write, you may expect to submit a proposal containing some of all of the following items:

A synopsis - setting out the purpose and approach of the proposed book,

Contents outline - a list of chapters including the main subheadings of each, with an estimate of the number of words or printed pages in each chapter. For books written by a team or edited volumes, this should include the name and affiliation of the suggested author(s) for each chapter, and a note of whether they have agreed to contribute.

A draft preface - this should be about 500 words long and summarize your aims, scope, general approach, and intended audience.

A covering letter or note - setting out details of: the author's suitability and motivation for pursuing the project; the proposed readership; the ways in which the proposed book fits in with and/or improves upon the existing books and information resources on the market; the manner in which the writing would be approached; any special points of style, structure or presentation; the proposed writing timetable and completion date; any plans for keeping the book up to date after publication; in the case of a book to be written by a team, an indication of the way in which the writing process will be managed to ensure a consistent and coherent outcome in terms of the finished book.

A curriculum vitae - including details of any relevant experience and a list of any previous publications (books and/or articles); in the case of a writing team, similar details for each contributor.

Other supporting materials - this is not always essential, but if there are other materials that can be put forward to illustrate the proposed approach or demonstrate the author's previous writing experience, they can be helpful (e.g. draft chapters of the proposed book; list of competing titles, articles written by the author on the same or a similar topic, storyboards or demonstrators).

For further information on some specific disciplines, follow these links: Medicine, Law, Linguistics.

For general enquiries contact webenquiry.uk@oup.com