Manuscript Development

Your contract will state the date that you and your editor have agreed for delivery of the final complete manuscript. This date allows us the best chance of meeting the ideal publication date. We use this date to decide when and how to promote your book to maximise sales. It is vital that you adhere to your delivery date. 

We will keep in regular contact with you for updates on your progress, to remind you of the necessity of delivering your manuscript on the agreed date, of writing to the contracted length, and of following closely the guidelines on preparing the text and illustrations. Nearer to the final delivery date, we will check that work has begun on clearing permissions and researching illustrations.

Production

Your manuscript will be assigned to a desk editor/production editor, whose job it is to over-see the editorial processes from unedited manuscript to corrected proofs. This is done either by in-house staff or freelancers. 

The first stage is copy editing where your script is edited to our house style and checked for sense and inconsistencies. It is then sent to the typesetter with a design specification for the text layout. Illustrations are checked and prepared and halftones sent for scanning. 

Page proofs arrive from the typesetter for checking and to compile an index from. During editing you will have been reminded of your responsibilities with regards to proofreading and indexing. Once you have returned your proofs, all corrections will be collated onto one set, which is returned to the typesetter for correction. The index is also sent for setting. We then ensure that all corrections have been accurately made. 

Sales and Marketing

The quality of the authors, content and production of our books is carried through into our approach to sales and marketing. Each title has its own individual marketing plan and is promoted with thought, attention and expertise. Your book won't get treated as 'just another title' on an undifferentiated list. Marketers work with commissioning editors, their expert specialist knowledge informs all our marketing plans.

We welcome your input into our marketing and you will receive an author promotion questionnaire to fill in so that you can contribute at an early stage.

Download a copy of the author questionnaire here.

Bookshops and Libraries

Our sales representatives work closely with major bookstore chains and library suppliers, to offer them excellent customer service and to maximise sales through their high street and campus bookshops. We also work with Internet bookstores as these outlets continue to grow, to ensure that they keep up-to-date information on all our books.

Global Marketing

We have a global network of offices offering international and regional marketing expertise. If you are an author based outside of the UK feel free to contact our agents and representatives in your local area with ideas for sales and marketing.

The Internet

Our company website and our subject-specific websites ensure that Earthscan books are easily available for sale via the Internet. We also run e-mail marketing campaigns and customers are encouraged to register with our e-mail alerting services.