Publishing

Flatpage publishes nonfiction books written by subject-area experts, thinkers, and journalists who present a strong understanding of historical and contemporary contexts in order to critically analyze current issues. We specialize in helping academics reach a wide audience of general readers, thus broadening the impact of their ideas, and working with journalists who want to tell more in-depth stories through longer-form writing.

We offer an independent, in-house editorial team, comprised of experienced academics, journalists, and published authors. Our editors are qualified professionals who can coach you through the publishing process while still allowing you to stay in control of your text. 

See our call for proposals below for further details and how to submit your proposal.

Now Available

The Art of Academic Editing: A Guide for Authors and Editors

Edited by Cara Jordan and Leslie Castro-Woodhouse

Whether you’re approaching academic editing as an author or an editor, this book will demystify the key stages in the editorial process. The Art of Academic Editing is the first full-length guide to the different types of editorial services and when they happen in the life cycle of a scholarly text. It will facilitate more effective collaboration between authors and editors as the field of academic editing expands.  

The book covers:

  • Developmental editing
  • Book coaching
  • Working with international authors
  • Working with graduate students
  • Line editing
  • Copyediting
  • Indexing
  • Proofreading

Our eight contributing authors—experts in their fields—explain the nuts and bolts of their editing practice using real-life models, sharing their tips and advice for both scholarly writers and editors. The book is written in an engaging, nontechnical style to make it easier for all readers, regardless of their background or editing experience, to understand the academic editor’s methods, skills, and training. With a glossary of common terms and an online resource guide, this is the essential handbook both for scholarly editors and the authors working with them.

Contributors

Co-edited by Cara M. Jordan and Leslie Castro-Woodhouse, The Art of Academic Editing’s contributing authors also include Nancy Burkhalter, Cameron Duder, Pamela Haag, Caroline Malloy, Tess C. Rankin, Elizabeth H. Stern, and Maria Snyder.

Why Publish at Flatpage

Fast

Since we review manuscripts internally, you can expect faster turnarounds for publishing projects than at traditional and university presses.

Experienced

We offer an in-house team of trained and experienced developmental editors, line editors, copyeditors, and proofreaders to work with you on your text.

Current

We publish books about contemporary topics that are relevant to audiences now. Get your ideas out there when they matter most!

Call for Book Proposals 2024

Flatpage is seeking proposals for its 2024 publishing program of nonfiction books showcasing strong ideas expressed in a clear and accessible manner for a broad audience. A renowned editorial agency, Flatpage now offers full publishing services, launching soon with our own book The Art of Academic Editing: A Guide for Authors and Editors.

We are currently commissioning compelling books that explore how the insights gained from research can be applied to effect positive change, challenge conventional thinking, and encourage innovative approaches. We specialize in helping academics reach a wide audience of general readers, thus broadening the impact of their ideas, and working with journalists who want to tell more in-depth stories through longer-form writing.

We are open to submissions of intellectual and engaging books across the visual arts, humanities, and social sciences. Our particular interest lies in topics with significant social, cultural, and political resonance, offering fresh perspectives and a critical reevaluation of contemporary topics.

Publishing with Flatpage:

At Flatpage, we are dedicated to empowering our authors and using our expertise to turn academic research into compelling and accessible stories. We are a uniquely situated publishing house because we offer 1:1 specialized editorial services based on the author’s needs, with our in-house team of highly experienced editors who are former academics and journalists with editing certificates from renowned programs.

As a for-profit independent press without a cumbersome peer-review process, Flatpage offers a faster publishing time than university presses—typically just a few months from the time the content is finalized—and, unlike self-publishing, we provide a guided experience led by experts who are passionate about connecting scholarship to the public. In addition to offering our authors complimentary copyediting and proofreading as part of the publishing process, for a fee Flatpage can assist authors with less experience of writing for a general audience through its editorial agency, which offers coaching to assist in the writing process and developing your ideas, developmental editing to improve the overall story and use of sources, and line editing to address the writing style and tone—services that are not typically offered by university and nonacademic presses.

We will produce high-quality print and/or e-book formats and, while the author plays a pivotal role in marketing their own book, we have a growing marketing and distribution network in North America and Europe. As at other independent publishers, authors will be expected to subsidize image rights, indexing, design and typesetting, printing, and shipping, and will share marketing and publicity costs. Flatpage offers competitive royalty arrangements, a network of cutting-edge book designers, recommendations for printing options and distribution channels, and marketing and publicity planning geared toward the audience of your book.

We invite you to join us in this venture of knowledge dissemination, bridging the gap between subject-area expertise and public understanding and expanding on current affairs from the front line. Let’s work together to present your contributions in an engaging, transformative, and accessible manner to enrich the lives of diverse readers.

Submission Guidelines:

– Proposals should illustrate how your research can be communicated effectively and impactfully to individuals without a technical background or explain to us how you might work with our editorial team to do so.

– Authors should aim for a word count between 50,000 to 80,000 words for the final book manuscript, allowing for in-depth exploration and meaningful discussion of the subject matter.

– We are interested in completed manuscripts, partial manuscripts, and/or proposals for works yet to be written.

– Sample chapters may be requested on a case-by-case basis.

– We are not interested in dissertation to book conversions at this time.

Proposals:

If you’d like to pitch us your book for publication, please submit a proposal with the following components:

Book Summary: A succinct summary of the book (maximum two pages) encapsulating its main theme, objectives, and anticipated impact.

Table of Contents and Chapter Summaries: An outline of the book’s structure, including a table of contents with brief chapter summaries that highlight the key content and direction. Please also indicate the number of illustrations, graphs, appendixes, etc., required.

Author’s Biography: A brief narrative biography detailing your academic background or journalistic experience, expertise, and relevant accomplishments.

Envisaged Market(s) for the Book: Identification and description of the target audience(s) for the book, demonstrating its potential market reach and readership appeal.

Similar and Competing Titles: Information about existing or upcoming books that relate to your proposal, along with a brief analysis of how your work differentiates itself and stands out in the market.

Intended Writing Schedule and Production Timeline: A proposed timeline indicating your intended writing and production schedule to ensure timely completion and publication of the book.

Submission Deadline: Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Contact Us:

For inquiries and proposal submissions, please email David Hariri at [email protected].

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