Submission Guidelines

Series Editors: Ryan J. Dippre, University of Maine, and Talinn Phillips, Ohio University

The editors of the series will consider both proposals and complete manuscripts; however, we strongly encourage authors/editors to correspond early in the process to discuss ideas or proposals. Content suggestions and formatting guidelines are found below. Submissions to the series will be reviewed following the WAC Clearinghouse peer review processes. Our peer review process is informed by the Clearinghouse invitation to contribute scholarly work and its statement on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our reviews are also guided by the statement on anti-racist scholarly reviewing practices, which can be found at https://tinyurl.com/reviewheuristic.

Like other book series published by the Clearinghouse, books in our series are released under Creative Commons licenses. These licenses allow authors to retain copyright to their work. To learn more about these licenses, please view the Clearinghouse's Creative Commons Licenses page.

If the series editors determine that a proposal is consistent with the goals of the series and possesses strong scholarly merit, it will undergo a rigorous peer review by scholars drawn from our Publications Review Board or Editorial Board. Reviews are typically completed in one or two months.

The series editors will not consider work submitted simultaneously for consideration by another publisher.

Preparing to Submit a Proposal or Manuscript

Please provide the information outlined below. We request that you remove any identifying information so that we can ensure that our reviewers can undertake an anonymous review. Our submissions portal will ask you to provide the following:

  • the names of the author(s) or editor(s)
  • the complete title and subtitle
  • a brief description of the book

If you are submitting a proprosal, please be prepared to upload one or more files that provide the following:

  • the rationale and projected audience for the book
  • ways in which the book complements or extends work published in the series or elsewhere on the Clearinghouse and, more generally, how it contributes to work in the field of writing studies
  • the proposed length
  • a preliminary table of contents (which may be annotated)
  • an introduction and one or more sample chapters
  • any features in the proposed manuscript that will require special attention in the design and production of your book, such as photographs, line drawings, or other illustrations; charts, graphs, or tables; technical or foreign languages; complex mathematical or scientific data; video, audio, or other multimedia elements; embedded data sets or applications

If you are submitting a complete manuscript, please provide the following

  • a summary of the book, including an explanation of ways in which the book complements or extends work published in the series or elsewhere on the Clearinghouse and, more generally, how it contributes to work in the field of writing studies
  • a brief description of any features in the proposed manuscript that will require special attention in the design and production of your book, such as photographs, line drawings, or other illustrations; charts, graphs, or tables; technical or foreign languages; complex mathematical or scientific data; video, audio, or other multimedia elements; embedded data sets or applications

Please include in a separate file a copy of your current CV or resumé, as well as those for any co-authors or co-editors. To view our manuscript preparation guidelines, please see our Guide for Authors and Editors. We suggest following these guidelines loosely for an initial submission; if the book is approved for production, you will be asked to adhere closely to the guidelines.

Where to Submit

Please submit your proposal and supporting material on our submissions portal at https://submissions.colostate.edu. Files may be submitted as PDF documents or word processing documents (Word, RTF, Open Document Format, Google Doc, etc.).

About the Publishers

The WAC Clearinghouse supports teachers of writing across the disciplines. The site receives support from Colorado State University and from its editorial staff and editorial review board and its hundreds of members who, through their collaborative efforts, add to and update information on the site. For more information about the Clearinghouse, please see our site information page. University Press of Colorado is a nonprofit cooperative publishing enterprise supported by several Western universities. For more information, visit upcolorado.com.

About Our Publication Process

The Lifespan Writing Research series offers books in free digital editions and low-cost print editions. Books are offered through a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License. Copyright is held by the author(s) or editor(s) of the books. The publishers cover the costs of reviewing, designing, producing, and distributing the books. Any proceeds from sales of print books in the series are used to support the publication of subsequent books. Our goal is to make work available to the widest possible audience while maintaining the highest standards in scholarly publishing. We welcome contributions to the series and to the larger goal of supporting open-access scholarly publishing. If you have questions about the goals of the larger WAC Clearinghouse project, please contact Mike Palmquist at Mike.Palmquist@ColoState.edu.