Hi!
I’ll keep this brief because I know so many of you are plugging away at proposals. And for that I am so grateful. I’ve read some killer proposals so far and I’m sure there are more to come. Your hard work work is not lost on me, so thank you. It’s a joy to read each and every one of these proposals. I will certainly be in touch if I have any questions about your proposal.
I’m sorry that I can’t respond to every email especially in these last frantic days leading up to the deadline but I will do my best to answer your questions here (I’m only one person!). If you have a burning question that you need answered before 7/27 (deadline is 11:59pm EST Monday night) please leave it in the comments here and I will try to respond.
Open call post can be found here.
FAQ Update
Q: When will I be notified if my proposal is selected?
A: As of today, there are close to 200 proposals in. I expect many more to come in over the weekend. I will be reading non-stop over the next month and will aim to have a short list of 100 or so by the end of August. That of course is EXTREMELY wishful thinking and it could be a bit longer than that. From that shortlist, the next volumes in the series will be selected and authors will be notified individually and offered contracts. I’ll be posting updates as often as I can here on this blog.
Q: There’s just no way I can have a proposal I’m happy with ready for Monday’s deadline, can I have another month?
A: Very sorry but the deadline is firm. I’ll select a small number of these proposals to become volumes in the series and authors will have a short manuscript deadline of about one year.
Q: When is the next open call?
A: I am trying to establish an annual open call going forward but that is of course tentative. As of today, July 22, 2015 I don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t have another open call around this time next year.
Q: How should I format the citations in my proposal?
A: The Chicago Manual of style is a good guide; it’s what we use in house.
Q: How strict are the word counts for the chapter descriptions? What if each of my chapter summaries is 600 words instead of 500?
A: I won’t discount your proposal for going a few words over. These are guidelines so I can get a sense of what the book will look like but please try and be reasonable.
Please post further questions in the comments below (we’ll have to approve them so thank you for your patience).
-Ally-Jane
Are you going to post a big long list of all the proposals you have got this time? Or are you going to keep that all a secret this time?
We’re going to post as soon as possible! Likely today or tomorrow!
I very recently sent an email in regards to my proposed album/book, and I appreciate you being too busy to answer personally. My initial question – when will the next open call be? – has been answered (July 2016). The 2015 deadline was too soon for me to complete the proposal requirements, and as such I am still collating materials. However, would it be an incentive for me to submit my proposal as soon as possible, in case someone else sends through one for the same album (they might have already, I realise that)?
Next open call will likely be in July 2016 and we can’t accept proposals until then.
I sent a proposal at 11:57pm, then realized I hadn’t added the last piece and resent the PDF right at 12:00. On the original proposal instructions, there’s a reference to submitting “by” 12:00 and also “before” 12:00, and here in this post you say 11:59. Hoping you can confirm that you received my second updated proposal at 12:00, and that I’m not going to be disqualified for sending it at 12:00 instead of 11:59. Thanks!
Quick question for you. I’m slimming down my introduction’s word count. But I think it’s still a bit too beefy. What’s the upper end of the word count you’d be willing to allow….? Thank you!
Aarggggh, Like the old meme says. ” I do my best proofreading just after hitting send…” Oh well, it is out there in the ether now.
I take it that the blurb is what would appear on the back of the book between the excerpted paragraph & the ‘About the Author’ piece?
There should be a book written about Grace Jones’ Nightclubbing, but it would have to be written by people with access to the major players (Grace Jones herself, Chris Blackwell, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Barry Reynolds, Jean Paul Goude and Wally Badarou). I’ve read anecdotal stuff over the years, and the story behind the album is really interesting, on a number of levels. There was Blackwell’s conception of how it should sound, the input of musicians from pretty disparate backgrounds and the use of material that seemed pretty out of place, or was dramatically reworked in order to fit into “the sound”. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I think that a book like that would be more about a musical revolution than just an album. I mean, would we have had Massive Attack without the early Compass Point Grace Jones albums? And, of course, there’s the Compass Point studio to talk about too. The list goes on…
There should be a book about Grace Jones’ Nightclubbing, but it should be written by people with access to all the major players (Grace herself, Chris Blackwell, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Barry Reynolds, Jean Paul Goude and Wally Badarou). A book like that would be about so much more than the album itself, it would really be about a cultural revolution. Would there have been, f’instance, a Massive Attack without the early Compass Point era Grace Jones albums?
Do you have a regular schedule of open calls? Are they an annual thing or do you do a few per year?
Going to try for annual.
Freakout time! I completed a 331/3 proposal for the Mothership Connection by Parliament, but clicked “send” before loading it up. I now have a “confirmation” email for an empty proposal submission!
The re-sent one did not return a confirmation. I don’t want to cause clutter and re-send with another name or another email. Is there a way that you or another human being can confirm that proposal is in your hands, or at least on your computers? thanks!
Hi Rickey. Got it! Thanks.
How many books will you publish in the next year? I.e. what are the chances of getting a contract? (you’ll probably have 300 submissions to wade through; you’re a saint!)
Not sure to be honest! In 2012 we picked 18 from 470 and in 2014 we picked 14 from 410.
Wow, them’s small odds! People really do send subs in at the last minute, if you have 200 you’ll get over 200 more in the next 3 days. I hope someone is helping you read them! I guess you know, fairly quickly, if something is going to make it at least onto the shortlist.
Is it possible for one to enter a proposal both in the current (regular) open call and, assuming one isn’t picked the first time around, the 22 and under open call later on? And, assuming it’s possible to enter both, can one utilize the same proposal again for the 22 and under open call if it isn’t chosen in the regular one? Thank you.
That sounds fine.