AUTHORS

Presidian Legal Publications publishes law texts for legal practitioners and academics in book, electronic and loose-leaf formats.   Our texts relate to State, federal and international laws and our distribution is global.  

What we offer authors

Presidian is a highly author-oriented publisher which is reflected in the terms of our publishing contracts.  We appreciate and value the high level of legal expertise, time and dedication that is required to author a legal publication.  We wish to ensure that, in addition to the range of other benefits associated with authoring a text, legal writers receive their just remuneration for the publication of their intellectual property and are provided with the opportunity to earn satisfying royalty streams from their works.  To this end, a key area of focus is our author royalty rate which sits well above the industry standard.  

Publication proposals

All publication proposals should be addressed to James Anderson.  Submissions by email are welcome (janderson 'at' presidian.com.au).  We have made the proposal stage as simple and quick as possible for authors. 

Please send:
- the proposed title;
- a brief overview of the book (100 - 200 words); and
- a link to a webpage containing your biographical details or a brief author CV.

If available, we would also be interested in receiving (although it is not necessary at this stage):
- a draft table of contents; 
- a sample chapter or the full manuscript (electronic or printed).

We will reply to your proposal within one month.  Generally, we will assess the text, firstly, by determining whether its subject matter is suitable for publication on our list and, if so, whether we consider the book could be published in a commercially viable manner (by considering factors such as the size of the text's potential market, the number of  competing publications and the amount of editorial work required prior to publication).  If we require further details, we will contact you by phone.  

Our subject areas

Broadly speaking, Presidian will consider publication proposals for law books that will be of interest to legal practitioners or academics.  This will include, for example, practitioner books, student text books, legal monographs (analysing specific issues within a given legal subject area) and legal history texts.  

Publications may be:
- in any format (ie. book, journal, loose-leaf or electronic);
- relate to State, Territory, federal or international laws; and
- relate to any legal practice area or academic discipline.

Style guidelines

To ensure the highest standards regarding style issues (such as referencing, structure, headings, quotes, citations, grammar, layout etc), we have developed an easy to follow style guide for authors.  We will provide you with a copy of the guide once we have received your proposal.  Our preference is for manuscripts to be written in accordance with the style guide; however, this is not essential.  Any necessary changes will be discussed with you  by our copy-editors and, in most cases, a well written manuscript will only require minor changes which our editorial staff will be able to make on your behalf.

Publishing process

Editorial review of your manuscript will generally comprise two stages:
- firstly, review by our legal editing team for structural and content issues; and
- secondly, review by our copy-editing team for grammatical, formatting and layout issues.

We aim to finalise all manuscripts for printing within 3 - 6 months.  The duration of the publishing process depends largely on the size of the manuscript and the number of editorial changes required.  You will be consulted closely in relation to all changes, with the exception of grammatical corrections.

Early in the process, we will seek to finalise the title, table of contents, description, cover and publication date of the work to enable the dissemination of promotional information prior to release.

Indexes & tables

Good indexing is a skilled task requiring the expertise of an experienced indexer.  To ensure that our publications are comprehensively indexed, we will prepare an index for your manuscript in-house.  We do not expect you to undertake this task.  We will also produce any necessary tables for your publication.

Sales & marketing

As your publisher, it is our role to market your publication.  We invest heavily in a wide range of marketing activities to provide our publications with optimal national and international exposure.  Our publications are available in countries worldwide via our network of local and overseas sales agents, bookstores, library suppliers and subscription agents.  Our clients consist primarily of law firms, barristers' chambers, university and court law libraries, government agencies and corporations.  

Each of our publications receives marketing exposure through:
- direct representation from our sales agents to clients and bookstores; 
- inclusion in catalogues sent to clients on our extensive opt-in mailing lists;
- advance information sent to library suppliers and subscription agents;
- seeking of reviews in law journals and newsletters; and
- a dedicated web-page.

We may also:
- print advance copies to be sent to reviewers prior to release;
- advertise in relevant law journals and newsletters;
- sponsor relevant seminars, conferences and workshops;
- arrange media interviews; 
- organise a book launch.

We aim to ensure that each publication is afforded the greatest prospects of success by providing it with a strategic and sustained marketing campaign.