You’ve got a draft proposal and you’re ready for external feedback from an experienced commissioning editor, or maybe you’ve received some desk rejections from publishers but you’re having a hard time translating their feedback into actions.

I’ve read hundreds of proposals for monographs, edited volumes, trade books and series – and, crucially, I’ve been an academic myself and I can spot the gaps between what publishers are looking for and how researchers talk about their work.

This package includes:

• Detailed feedback on your proposal and one sample chapter
• A one-page summary report filled with actionable steps
• A thirty-minute follow-up call

£250

Being a volume editor is all about communication and project management, but there’s little guidance available and things can easily get out of hand if you’re not impeccably organised. From an early stage of the project you’ll need systems for tracking image permissions, contributor contact details, timelines, referencing styles, and much more.

This package offers:

• ready-made templates and processes to take the stress out of managing your workflows
• a project kick-off meeting and three further check-ins at key stages in the process

£400

Academic publishing has an arcane hidden curriculum that can take many years to learn to navigate. Maybe you’ve just finished your PhD and no longer have supervisors or mentors to guide you through writing your first book; maybe you’re a first-generation scholar working this all out for yourself; maybe you just have what feels like an obvious question but no clear answers.

In this one-hour Zoom call we’ll answer any questions – no question too stupid! – and you’ll leave with a clear understanding of how academic book publishing works, including:

• How the process works, from proposal to publication and beyond
• What to think about when choosing a publisher, and what it means for your career
• Open Access publishing
• Managing copyright and permissions for third-party materials
• Keeping track of house styles and referencing styles

£45

2 x free sessions available per month for women of colour and disabled women (trans and femme-identifying genders inclusive)

There’s nothing I love more than finding exciting new authors, bringing them on board, nurturing their projects and building a show-stopping list. With vibrant international networks across the humanities and social sciences, and particular experience commissioning in sociology and higher education, I’m always eager to work with new presses.

I’ve commissioned in Higher Education and Social Sciences at Manchester University Press, and ran the University of Sussex’s Diamond Open Access press, OPUS.

Some personal commissioning favourites:

I’ve got years of experience in non-fiction development editing and, as a former academic myself, an innate understanding of how to communicate publishing needs to scholarly authors.

If you’ve got a promising manuscript in house that just needs a little bit of extra attention, I can take it off your plate and work directly with the author to craft a beautifully readable text ready to go straight into production.

I specialise in helping teams identify and tackle workflow issues, working collaboratively to improve the quality and reliability of your pipeline.

With several years’ experience working in university press publishing, and a decade in higher education as a researcher, research manager, teacher and librarian, I bring a unique understanding of the academic landscape and its challenges.

If something in your team just isn’t quite working and you’re not sure what it is, I can help you quickly work out what’s going on and get your team working happily and productively together.

Bringing on permanent staff isn’t always an option when dealing with short- or longterm fluctuations in your press’s workload. Specialising in editorial and production, I hit the ground running to take some of the pressure out of your workflow, letting you get back to focussing on the bigger picture.

I’m a skilled and experienced educator, certified in Teaching English as a Foreign Language and an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

I’ve taught undergraduate English Literature, postgraduate publishing and creative industries, and many other things besides. I’m passionate about widening participation and access to our institutions.

I would be overjoyed to come and talk to your students, whether that’s as a guest lecturer or as a partner in redesigning modules or setting up a whole new MA programme.