Thanks for considering Rosenfeld Media as your publisher. Publishers have different visions, goals, strengths, and weaknesses, and it’s important to account for these differences as you seek the publisher that’s the best match for you.

Below you’ll get a sense of the type of authors and book topics that Rosenfeld Media takes on. You’ll also learn about what authors can expect from us and vice versa. If you like what you see, complete our proposal questionnaire. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

The kinds of books we publish

Rosenfeld Media’s mission is to publish short, practical books on user experience design. Our books are practical in the sense that they help solve concrete problems that many user experience professionals are confronting. And they solve problems concisely; ideally, our books are 100-150 pages long and can be read on a short plane flight.

Our books are not about the whats and whys of user experience; we want readers to learn how to design complex systems more effectively. We’re especially interested in books that help readers master the methods that can inform their design decisions, including:

• User research methods, such as search analytics, task analysis, and contextual inquiry.
• Methods that help you get a grip on your content, such as card sorting and running content inventories.
• Methods that help you work more creatively and effectively, such as group brainstorming, communicating designs, and managing interdisciplinary design teams.
• Methods for understanding organizations and how they impact design, such as interviewing stakeholders, performing competitive analyses, and negotiating for a design's acceptance.

Finally, it’s important to know that we define “books” a little differently. We know that tomorrow is too late for many potential readers; that’s why our books are available both in print and for immediate digital download. And because we see books as snapshots of an ongoing dialogue, the more dynamic components of our books, such as vendor and application lists, image collections, and bibliographies, will be available and regularly updated on the web by both authors and readers. Supplementary content, like study questions, sample code, and surveys, also will be publicly available via the web. Although these may sound like give-aways, it’s important to realize that web-based content—combined with user input—will serve to improve new editions of each book, give readers a sense of having a stake in our books, raise each book’s visibility on the web, and ultimately increase sales.

What kinds of authors we’re looking for

Rosenfeld Media sees its books as dialogues between authors and readers, taking place over time and in different media (digital as well as print). We’re seeking authors who are strong writers, but who also recognize the value of soliciting input from the growing community of user experience professionals. The ideal Rosenfeld Media author:

Knows a thing or two about good writing

We don’t expect you to have written a book before, but we’d like a writing sample in the form of a published article or a few greatest hits from your blog. We also expect you to be comfortable with writing in an iterative fashion, with input from different sources of expertise, ranging from editors to experienced practitioners.

Enjoys facilitating discussion about the topic

We expect you to understand the value, in terms of developing, marketing, and improving your book, of actively seeking feedback and involvement from readers and potential readers.

Is the right person for the topic

You’ll need a strong vision to sell your topic, expertise and experience to write about it authoritatively, and passion to see it through to completion.

Is an equal partner in marketing

Making a book a real success requires marketing effort from both the publisher and the author. We'll hold up our end of the deal—and you may find that our marketing innovations are far more effective than the marketing approaches employed by traditional publishers. But no one knows your book's market as well as you do. That's why it's crucial for you to take an active role during and after the book's publication. As part of signing a contract, we will work together to develop a joint marketing plan for your book.

Maintains a strong professional network

In order to develop and market your book, you’ll need to know and be known by others who care about your topic. For that reason, it would be a great idea for your proposal to include names of influential contacts who might provide guidance as you write your book.

Values collaboration

The best author/publisher relationships are collaborative; we need to be updated on your progress and vice versa. We also need to know that you’ll come to us for help when you encounter the inevitable rough spots during the writing process.

Has a passion for things internet

We expect you to be comfortable using tools like discussion lists and RSS feeds for researching your book, and project management tools like Backpack for managing your work.

What we can do in return

Rosenfeld Media’s editorial process is similar to that of other publishers, with one major distinction: we practice what we preach in terms of integrating readers’ needs into our process of selecting and designing our books. We’ll provide you with feedback that will help guide you as you shape your book. We don’t expect you to act on all external feedback—a book is ultimately the work of its author—but we believe you’ll find it useful. Additionally, our marketing and sales approach is also user-driven; we sell directly to our customers, and their participation in our books’ development also serves to market the books.

Our unique approach provides these benefits:

• You may earn more money: our royalty rates are generally higher than is typical in the industry, and our margins are better to begin with. Royalties are paid on both print and digital book sales.
• You’ll be directly involved in developing and executing a custom marketing plan for your book.
• Your book will reach more readers because we’ll make it available in multiple formats (both print and PDF).
• Your ideas will reach more people because we’ll work with you to make content—some from your book, and some that supplements your book—available for free via the web.
• Dialogue with potential readers means you’ll write a better book; you’ll also have closer ties to your readership, which may lead to secondary benefits, like more speaking invitations and consulting opportunities.
• We (author and publisher) will jointly develop and carry out a marketing plan that's customized for your book. Few publishers in the UX field invest resources into marketing single titles, much less to developing custom marketing plans.
• Rosenfeld Media is a new company that employs a new business model, meaning there is more room for both publisher and author to experiment and innovate.

Naturally, there are drawbacks as well:

• Facilitating a dialogue with readers and direct involvement in marketing the book means more work for authors.
• You won’t see your book on the shelves at Barnes & Noble or Borders, although we expect that will be a far greater blow to your ego than your bottom line. Your book will have an ISBN number and will be available via Amazon.
• You’ll need to be comfortable with the idea that giving away some content will ultimately result in greater sales.
• A traditional publisher’s approach to marketing and selling your book will have a lower upside, but it probably will be less risky.

Ready to submit a book proposal? Please complete our proposal questionnaire.