Acquisitions Editorial

Welcome to Acquisitions Editorial, your introduction to publishing a book with Princeton University Press! Whether you are writing a monograph, academic trade or trade book, art book, nature book, or textbook, all paths toward publication start with conversations with Acquisitions.

Everything from the availability of appropriate reviewers to complex permissions situations can impact the duration of the acquisitions process, so there is no average timeline. The information on this page will give you a general idea of how to prepare your manuscript submission to the Press and how your book will progress through the acquisitions stage. If you are unsure whether something applies to your manuscript, check with your Editorial Assistant.

Tweets by PrincetonUPress

Peer Review

All books published by PUP must undergo peer review by qualified scholars in the book’s field. When you send your Editor a proposal or full manuscript, they will send it out to the appropriate reviewers. The timeline of the peer-review process can vary based on the length of the manuscript, the availability of reviewers, and other factors. For full manuscripts, if the reviewers’ reports are positive and recommend publication, your Editor will begin making arrangements to present your book to our Editorial Board. If one or more reviewers believe that revisions are required before the book can be published, you may be asked to revise the manuscript for an additional round of peer review.

Editorial Board Approval

Once your complete manuscript has successfully passed through peer review, your Editor will present it to the Press’s Editorial Board for approval. All PUP books with a standard contract must be approved by the Editorial Board, who will receive a packet of materials, including a summary of the book, sample material, the reader reports, and your response to the readers’ reports. The Board will assess the project and the materials from the peer review process and then determine whether the book can move toward publication with PUP.

What to Send Your EA Before Editorial Board

• an “author response” letter to the peer reviewer’s reports

Acquiring Permissions

Permissions can be daunting, but they are a necessary part of the publication process. We strongly recommend requesting permissions as soon as possible, ideally while your manuscript is out for peer review. The resources here provide instructions on how to assess permissions, secure licenses, and log the rights received. Please review all of the following resources before beginning the permissions process!

Be sure that your manuscript includes source information for all third-party text and images. As a reminder, United States copyright law protects “original works of authorship” fixed in “a tangible medium,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and other intellectual works.

Keep in mind that copyright law varies by country. Consult your Editorial Assistant if you have any questions.

What to Send Your EA When You Finish Your Permissions

• a completed CIF
• any relevant permissions documentation:
• interview or image releases
• saved rights emails
• scanned receipts or letters

Note: Art book authors should see the Art Log under “Art Preparation” below for a slightly different process.

Art Preparation

General Art Preparation

For most authors who are planning to include images in their book, these guidelines will help you submit illustrations that comply with PUP’s requirements and help to move your book smoothly through the production process. The Press is happy to help with illustrations, but this guide should be a helpful starting point and includes the answers to many frequently asked questions. Please submit a few images to your Editorial Assistant to pass on for a preliminary art review in the early stages of your manuscript preparation. (Please include an illustration from each contributor if there are multiple.)

Art Preparation for Art Book Authors

Here you will find the guidelines for authors of art books and nature books, which includes details about securing both high-resolution images and permissions, as well as style guidelines for preparing captions and photo credits. You will also find PUP’s Art Log, which you will prepare and submit with your final manuscript (in place of the CIF).

Art Preparation for TeX Compositors

Please find a brief art guide for authors of TeX manuscripts here, which describes the file formats we need for various types of images. For figures that will be redrawn, you do not need to provide final high-resolution files. However, we do need electronic scans (preferred), hard copies of hand-drawn sketches, or base figures to be redrafted. Please make sure that all labels and details are clear and legible, and that desired changes are clearly indicated. We prefer image files to be named by figure number. If this is not possible, please provide a document that maps each figure number to each file name. PDF, Word, PPT, JPG, PNG, Excel, and a number of other common graphic formats are acceptable.

Final Manuscript Submission to the Press

General Manuscript Submission Instructions

The resources in this section will help MOST authors ensure that the submission of your manuscript is complete and that its components have been prepared in formats that allow for a smooth transition to Production. Please always refer to your Editorial Assistant or Editor if there is something you are unsure of. What to Submit to Your EA For Final Transmittal to Production manuscript text (in a single Word doc with illustration callouts) captions (in a separate Word doc) any illustration files (as separate files) any tables (in a single Word doc) a complete CIF & any permissions documents a complete Author Checklist complete Copy & Design questions your author photo and credit line please also complete the Author Information Form and ask your Editorial Assistant or Editor if there is anything additional you should submit.

If your book includes figures we strongly encourage you to consider providing image descriptions (aka “alt-text”) to accompany your captions. For information on how to write image descriptions, please see Diagram Center's Image Description Guidelines.
http://diagramcenter.org/table-of-contents-2.html#toc

If would like your title to include alt-text, but do not wish to write the alt-text yourself, please let your editor or assistant know, and the digital production team can arrange for a vendor to write the alt-text for you.

What to Send Your EA For Final Transmittal to Production

• manuscript text (in a single Word doc with illustration callouts) captions (in a separate Word doc)
• any illustration files (as separate files)
• any tables (in a single Word doc)
• a complete CIF & any permissions documents
• a complete Author Checklist
• complete Copy & Design questions
• your author photo and credit line
• please also complete the Author Information Form and ask your Editorial Assistant or Editor if there is anything additional you should submit

Author Checklist

Review this checklist to see the full list of documents and components required for manuscript submission. Fill it out as you complete your manuscript, and then send it to your Editorial Assistant with the rest of the materials.

Note: This checklist must be sent to the Press to move your manuscript into Production.

Manuscript Submission Guidelines

These instructions are for authors whose manuscripts are being prepared with Microsoft Word, or some other standard word processing software. The guidelines provide all the information you need to ensure your manuscript’s components are formatted correctly, including the order of the book elements, information on text formatting and art submission, and guidance on style, notes, references, and more.

Copy & Design Questions

These questions (sometimes called the Jacket Design Form) are where you will provide the Press with information such as your author biography and cover design preferences. It is important to take time to think about images you would like to suggest, comparable book covers, and any other relevant information that will help the cover designer.

Note: The Copy and Design Questions must be sent to the Press to move your manuscript into Production.

Author Photo Guidelines

This is a list of instructions on what to do and what not to do when taking your author photo. Please ensure that the photo is a minimum of 2.5 inches wide, 5 inches high, 300 dpi, and in focus. You should provide your author photo to your Editorial Assistant before your book is handed over to Production.

TeX Manuscript Submission Instructions

The resources in this section will help authors with TeX manuscripts ensure that the submission of your manuscript is complete and that its components have been prepared in formats that allow for a smooth transition to Production. Please always refer to your Editorial Assistant or Editor if there is something you are unsure of. What to Submit to Your EA For Final Transmittal to Production for TeX Authors manuscript text for copyediting (in a double-spaced PDF) manuscript text for Design Check (in a single-spaced PDF) your .tex files and any .stv, .cls, or other helper files any illustration files (.eps, .tif, or .tex formats) an illustrations PDF that includes only the figure files one document that shows (for each figure) the image(s), the caption(s), and the filename(s) all together a complete CIF & any permissions documents a complete Author Checklist complete Copy & Design questions your author photo and credit line please also complete the Author Information Form and ask your Editorial Assistant or Editor if there is anything additional you should submit.

If your book includes figures we strongly encourage you to consider providing image descriptions (aka “alt-text”) to accompany your captions. For information on how to write image descriptions, please see Diagram Center's Image Description Guidelines.
http://diagramcenter.org/table-of-contents-2.html#toc

If would like your title to include alt-text, but do not wish to write the alt-text yourself, please let your editor or assistant know, and the digital production team can arrange for a vendor to write the alt-text for you.

What to Send Your EA For Final Transmittal to Production for TeX Authors

• manuscript text for copyediting (in a double-spaced PDF)
• manuscript text for Design Check (in a single-spaced PDF)
• your .tex files and any .stv, .cls, or other helper files any illustration files (.eps, .tif, or .tex formats)
• an illustrations PDF that includes only the figure files one document that shows (for each figure) the image(s), the caption(s), and the filename(s) all together
• a complete CIF & any permissions documents
• a complete Author Checklist
• complete Copy & Design questions
• your author photo and credit line
• please also complete the Author Information Form and ask your Editorial Assistant or Editor if there is anything additional you should submit

Author Checklist

Note: This checklist must be sent to the Press to move your manuscript into Production.

TeX Manuscript Submission Guidelines

These instructions are for authors whose manuscripts are being prepared in LaTeX, AMS-TeX, or other versions of TeX for both of the following production paths: Author-Compositor and PUP-Compositor.

Note: Your project is considered “Author Composition” if you (the author) have in your contract that you will input corrections after copyediting and implement the final book layout as directed by Production. Your project is considered “PUP-Compositor” if the Press will input corrections after copyediting and will design and implement the final book layout.

TeX FAQ

Please find a list of frequently asked questions about TeX here. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please reach out to your Editor and/or Editorial Assistant.

Copy & Design Questions

Note: The Copy and Design Questions must be sent to the Press to move your manuscript into Production.

Author Photo Guidelines

Tax & Banking Forms

Please find here several tax and banking forms for reference. When you receive your contract through DocuSign, you will also receive tax and banking forms based on the residency information you have provided to the Press. Please take care to complete these forms in their entirety—without signed and completed forms, the Press cannot issue you any payments in connection with your book.

• W9 - for U.S. citizens, resident aliens, or permanent residents
• W8BEN - for non-U.S. citizens (anyone outside of the W9 categories)
• W8BENE - for non-U.S. based entities (such as a company; you, as an individual author, will likely not see this form)
• ACH - direct deposit information request for U.S.-based bank accounts
• BACS - direct deposit information request for U.K.-based bank accounts
• Wire Transfer Form - information request for non-U.S. or U.K.-based authors

Note: See the Royalties information on the homepage of this site for more information on royalties payments at PUP