• a prospectus fully describing the author's intentions
• a detailed table of contents
• a sample chapter that reflects the book's tone and level
• the author's vitae

After reviewing these materials, Benjamin/Cummings will make a decision to publish the work, or recommend changes, in hopes of evaluating revised materials at a later date. The Prospectus

The prospectus helps you organize your ideas and provides the publisher with an overview of your text and its appropriate audience. It should include:

1. Brief description: In several paragraphs, describe the work, its rationale, approach and pedagogy.

2. Outstanding features: Briefly list what you consider to be the outstanding, distinctive, or unique features of your work.

3. Pedagogy: Include a detailed discussion of the elements:

1. Will the text include learning objectives, chapter summaries, case studies, critical thinking exercises, questions, problems, glossary, bibliography, references or appendices?

1. Who is the intended audience for this text? Students? Professionals? Both?
2. If the primary audience is biology students, what is the course, their level and background? Are there course prerequisites?

1. What texts currently exist in this market? What are the strengths & weaknesses of each?
2. Describe how your book will be different from, as well as similar to, the competition, in terms of level, style, topical coverage, and depth.
3. If key competitive texts are available now, why are you interested in writing another text in this area?

1. Do you plan to provide supplementary material to accompany the text?
   • If so, which items and why will they be included in the package? (Instructor’s manual, a study guide, transparencies, powerpoint presentations, etc?)
   • How will the supplements be delivered (traditional manual, CD-ROM, web)?
   • Do you envision these being free supplements or for sale items?

1. What new information or approach will this text provide?
2. Who will purchase this book and why?
3. What is your estimate of the total market (Univ/ Prof/ Retail, etc.) for the text?
4. Is this course undergoing change now or will be in the near future? If so, what are the changes and how will your text address such changes?

1. What portion of the material is now complete?
2. When do you expect to have a completed manuscript?
3. How long will the text be(in book pages including art vs. competition?)
4. How many and what type of figures do you plan to include? (e.g. drawings, photographs, graphs, etc.)

If the book has several distinct markets, try to recommend at least one reviewer from each market. We do not reveal the names of our reviewers to you without their permission. The Table of Contents

The TOC is the blueprint for your work; it should be complete and detailed. Explanatory notes should be included as necessary. This enables the reviewers to understand the structure of your manuscript. Sample Chapters

We can begin the evaluation process with just your prospectus and table of contents, however, we prefer to include (a) sample chapter(s) with the review materials. This way reviewers can evaluate your writing style, as well as the implementation of your proposal.

We advise you to submit any chapter that is particularly innovative, and we would like to see rough sketches of all necessary figures.

While the review material (prospectus, table of contents, sample chapter(s)) need not be in final form, it should be sufficiently polished to allow an accurate assessment of your abilities. Curriculum Vitae

Please include a vitae with your submission. We would like to know about your professional experience, education and previous publications.