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Books and Digital Products
Do you have a good idea for a book or study guide? Are you considered “the expert” for a given VMware product? Have you had great success in training others? Are you a good communicator? Have you ever dreamed of authoring? If the answer is yes, then we’d love to hear from you. As a new and quickly growing series, VMware Press is looking for new books and talented authors to add to our series family.
Our product family includes:
• Technical Books
• Certification Books
• Business Books
• Study Guides
• Video Training
• Flash Cards
The Benefits
Writing a book is no small feat. In fact it is a lot of work, so why do it at all? Many authors say that writing a book has helped them with their careers, but following is a short list of benefits that come from authoring a book:
• Credibility in a given topic area
• Credibility to potential employers
• Credibility to potential customers
• A book can serve as a calling card for new clients
• Worldwide recognition as an industry expert
• Networking opportunities with other authors and people in the community
• Speaking opportunities
• Free books
• Opportunities to write articles
• Some financial compensation (although this should not be the primary motivation)
Submission Guidelines
To ensure that each project receives the fairest possible review, we request three items for evaluation and consideration:
• A prospectus
• A detailed table of contents
• The author's curriculum vitae or a brief bio
Download our proposal guidelines and template (46 KB .zip containing two Microsoft Word documents), and follow the instructions for emailing the completed template.
After reviewing these materials, we will decide whether or not to seek outside peer review of the proposal prior to a decision to publish the work. Should we decide to seek further review, we may request additional material (such as a sample chapter) or ask for changes in the proposal to ensure that your ideas are presented in the most favorable manner. External reviewers of your proposal will come from VMware and the VMware community.
A note about feedback: Properly-done reviews take time, depending on the amount of material in your proposal and the target audience. Pearson's reputation is built on publishing quality books, and peer reviews are an important quality control tool for both author and publisher. In almost all cases we will share with you any peer reviews commissioned, but give us a few weeks to get them back to you.
Prospectus
Your prospectus should include the following information:
A Brief Description
In several paragraphs, but not more than one page, describe the work, its rationale (what problem is this work solving?), its approach, and the target audience. Begin with a one to two sentence summary of the book. As appropriate, follow this with a short explanatory paragraph on the topic to put the book in context for non-technical readers of the proposal. (Ex: software testing deals with X and is useful for Y. All programmers should test their programs but many don't for Z. This book will address overcoming Z.) You should then elaborate on these ideas individually and at greater length making sure you address the following items.
Outstanding Features
Supply a brief listing (at least five points) of what you consider to be the outstanding, distinctive or unique features of the work. These are items that you would use to sell the book to a bookstore buyer. Who is and why this author? What problem does this book solve? What's unique about the book? What's different compared to other books on this topic? (Include: organization, examples, case studies, software included, experience of author, ties to leading products, etc.) What is going to grab someone's attention and encourage them to examine the book more closely?
Competition
Consider the existing works in this field and discuss specifically their individual strengths and weaknesses. This material is written for reviewers and not for publication, so please be honest and direct. You should describe what advantages your book has over the competition, and how your book will be similar to, as well as different from, its competition, in terms of level, style, topical coverage, and depth. If significant books are now available, you should explain why you chose to write another book in this area. Please mention all pertinent titles even if they compete with only a portion of your book.
Include a more specific discussion of the pedagogical elements. Will the book include examples, cases, learning objectives, questions, problems, glossaries, a bibliography, references, or appendices? Is the book primarily descriptive or quantitative, elementary or rigorous, etc.?
Audience/Market
- Who is the book's intended audience (end users of applications, software architects, application developers or designers, project managers, IS managers, CTOs, CEO's, theorists, undergraduate/graduate students, etc.)? Provide example affiliations, disciplines, titles and responsibilities of this audience.
- List at least five benefits the target audience will gain from reading the book and learning the material. What can they do with this knowledge? How are they better off with it? (Ex: code more concisely or solve problem X)
- What prior knowledge or skills will the audience need to understand this book? What other books should they be familiar with?
Promotion/Sales
- If you are aware of professional organizations, user groups, or mailing lists that would be useful in promoting the book, please list them.
- Would this book be appealing to corporations as an item to bundle and sell with their products or for use in training programs? Why or why not? (Please include any potential sales leads or special sales opportunities.)
- Estimate the size of your target audience. Describe for a non-technical person (such as a bookstore employee) why this topic is of considerable market interest and why the book will sell well.
- Under what category would this book be shelved in the bookstore?
Support Material
If the work is for a professional audience, do you plan to provide supplementary material to accompany it? (For example, program code, figures or diagrams, software or discounts on other products.) Please provide a brief explanation of the content/functionality and rationale for each item. Consider how such material might be made available. Is it suitable for posting on a (secure) FTP site or website? Would this be a free supplement or do you see it as a revenue item? If software is to be included, please state the minimal hardware and software requirements necessary to operate such software. If the software comes from a third party, please provide background information and contact information for the source.
Status of the Work
- What portion of the material is now complete?
- When do you expect to have a completed manuscript?
- How long do you plan for the book to be? Specify if this page count is the number of double/single-spaced word-processed manuscript pages or a final published length target.
- How many and what type of figures do you plan to include? Specify separately the number of photos, screen captures, and the amount of line art (diagrams, tables, charts, etc.
Reviewers
We will use reviewers of our own choosing, but we will also try to include individuals whose opinions you feel will be valuable. Can you suggest any? If the book has several distinct markets, try to recommend at least one reviewer from each.
Naturally, we do not reveal the names of our reviewers without their permission. If you desire, we will submit the material to the reviewers anonymously.
Table of Contents
The TOC is the blueprint for your work and should be given full attention. It needs to be complete and detailed (two sub levels). Explanatory notes should be included as necessary. This enables the reviewers to understand the structure of the manuscript.
Curriculum Vitae
What are your qualifications?
Please include a vitae with your submission. We would like to know about your professional experience including organizational memberships, certifications, education, awards/honors, and previous publications.
Sample Chapters
If you have a sample chapter to share, please provide a link (via Windows Live, Google, ftp site etc.). The material you submit should reflect your writing style and the book's pedagogy. Although the sample chapters need not be in final form, they should be sufficiently polished to allow for a valid assessment of your abilities.
Download our proposal guidelines and template (46 KB .zip containing two Microsoft Word documents), and follow the instructions for emailing the completed template.
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