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A Book Apart

Pitch Us a Book

Writing a book is challenging—some might even say terrifying. But it’s also wonderful, exciting, and gut-wrenchingly satisfying. Like the work we do on the web every day, writing a book is a rewarding experience that takes patience, persistence, thoughtfulness, and a unique perspective.

That’s where you come in: your perspective, whether you know it yet or not, is unique, and can contribute to this industry. If you’ve got something to say, we want to help you say it. We believe publishing a book should be a collaborative experience—and that when you pair an expert editor and an inspired author, you get a better book.

We’re thrilled to be consistently working on excellent forthcoming titles, and we’re always on the lookout for new and great book ideas. If you have an idea for a book and want to share it with us, we’d love to hear about it.

What we are looking for

We publish short, practical books that are:

  • 30-40K words in length
  • About professional work on the web and in the tech industry
  • Full of clear, concrete ideas for readers to put into action right away
  • Aimed at web developers, web designers, content strategists, product managers, UX researchers, interaction designers, information architects, project managers, SEO experts, UX copywriters, content designers, community managers, digital strategists, frontend, backend, and full-stack devs, and anyone else who works on the web

We favor books that take a thoughtful, inclusive look at the human side of web work. Books that seek to improve the experiences of users, web professionals, and our communities are our biggest interest.

Who we want to hear from

We welcome proposals from everyone. We are especially excited to hear:

  • New voices: You do not need to be a published author to publish with us. You do not need to be famous, or a “thought leader,” or work for a particular tech company. We like hearing from first-time authors (though it does help to be a practiced writer).
  • Perspectives from marginalized and underrepresented communities: We actively encourage submissions from Black, brown, and Indigenous folks; queer, trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming folks; neurodivergent and disabled folks; immigrants, international, and multilingual folks; and anyone who identifies with a community that’s been historically marginalized by the tech and publishing industries. We want our catalog to reflect the true diversity of the web.

How to submit

Submit a proposal through our book proposal form. This proposal form will ask you for:

  • An elevator pitch: About 2-3 sentences, addressed to potential readers, that both summarize and sell your book’s concept.
  • A chapter outline: A list of your chapter titles or topics, along with supporting ideas, main arguments, and key takeaways for readers.
  • A rough draft sample: You do not need a full rough draft for the proposal process, but a short sample of your proposed project is important. If you haven’t started writing yet, try drafting the introduction or first chapter—we just want to see a few thousand words to get an idea of your writing style (and to see that you’re committed to the project).

The form will also ask for other details like:

  • Who your book is for. The more specific you can be about your target audiences, the better. Think carefully about who will most benefit from your book—their backgrounds, their skill levels, their roles, and (most importantly) their problems. How will your book help them do their job better?
  • How your book fits into the market. Consider not only the ABA catalog, but other books that exist about your topic. What’s already out there for readers? How is your book different? How does your book build on industry conversations about your topic?
  • What your expectations are for the project. How are you thinking about the research, drafting, and editorial processes? Have you worked with editors before? How do you envision marketing your book?

What happens next

We’ll review your submission and get back to you in about three weeks. If we find that there’s a potential fit for our catalog, we’ll respond with additional questions, or may ask for revisions to your proposal. In the meantime, explore our recommended resources for potential authors.

Good luck!

Submit a Pitch