Writing Tips & Techniques

The Importance of the Sample Chapter

As part of the proposal packet, we ask for a sample chapter. This is one of the most important pieces of your proposal.

The sample chapter allows the review team to see not only your writing style but also how you handle technical aspects. Do you give a general explanation or a detailed review of the topic? Do you write for an introductory or advanced audience? Do you provide a thorough explanation of your code or simply a summary statement? These are all important questions that need to be answered during the review cycle.

Many people want to submit an existing paper or presentation as their sample chapter. We can’t accept an already published paper for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s too indicative of journal writing. Or the tone and level of detail may be different than you intend to write in your book. Also, the existing paper has already been edited, so we can’t see your “raw” work. For these reasons, we ask for a sample chapter from your planned book. It’s our way of determining if the book is a good fit for our program.

Be sure to dedicate some quality time to your sample chapter. Along with your questionnaire and table of contents, your sample chapter is the main thing we look at when evaluating your proposal and its quality is often our deciding factor. With the sample chapter, it’s time to put your best foot forward.

-- Shelley Sessoms, Acquisitions Editor