For Authors

“It has been a pleasure working with BenBella Books. Glenn Yeffeth, the Publisher, and his entire team has done an outstanding job editing, promoting and distributing my books, The Miami Mediterranean Diet and The Great American Heart Hoax. I highly recommend BenBella Books and I give them a 5 star rating!”

–Michael D. Ozner, M.D., FACC, FAHA

Dear Potential Author,

Thank you for taking this time to learn a bit more about BenBella Books acquisitions. This letter tells you everything you need to know to submit to your project to BenBella Books.

BenBella Books is a publishing boutique that publishes about twenty books a year, is very selective in what it acquires and works with great diligence to publish each book to its maximum potential.

We are actively acquiring strong nonfiction manuscripts. We are not looking for fiction at this time.

What We Are Looking For

The success of a book is often a result of a good match between author and publisher. Every publisher is better at some things than others. So please consider the types of books we publish as described below, and consider whether we are a good fit for your project before pitching us.

A majority of the books we choose tend to fall into one of three general buckets:

Surprising Science/Research-Based Works. We particularly like books that are contrarian or surprising, that push our thinking or challenge our perspective. And we particularly like these books when they are based on solid science or well-crafted research. These books can fall into a variety of categories, including popular science, health, nutrition, addiction, business, etc. Examples of “surprising science” acquisitions we’ve made include:

  • Sex and War. A biologist argues that war is inherent in human – specifically male – nature.
  • Why Loyalty Matters. A research-based argument that an increase in loyalty creates an increase in both business performance and personal happiness.
  • Toxic Beauty. The dangers of cosmetics and personal care products.
  • The China Study. A highly scientific argument for eating a plant-based diet.
  • The Stem Cell Miracle. Results from a doctor who has successfully treated over 1500 patients with fetal stem cells.
  • Biocentrism. One of the world’s leading scientists argues that biology, not physics, is the key to understanding the universe.
  • The Great American Heart Hoax. A major cardiologist on why most heart surgeries are unnecessary, as shown by the latest research.
  • The Vision Revolution. The surprising evolutionary basis for human vision.

Niche and Unique. We love books that are aimed at a clear niche market, and are unique or close to it in that niche. Ideally, the target niche is one that is accessible through on-line marketing. These books can fall into almost any category. Examples of “niche and unique” acquisitions we’ve made include:

  • Taking the Red Pill. A collection of essays by scientists, philosophers and religious scholars on The Matrix.
  • Demigods and Monsters. Essays by YA authors on the Percy Jackson series, edited by Rick Riordan.
  • Beauty Pageant Confidential. 2005 Miss USA Chelsea Cooley reveals how to win the crown.
  • The Broadband Connection. The only book on speaking aimed at the IT professional.
  • Law & Order: SVU. A guide to the popular series.
  • The Turtle Moves. Fantasy writer Lawrence Watt-Evans on the Discworld series.
  • The Community College Guide. The only guide for the one half of all college students attending community college.
  • The Ticket: Full Disclosure. The official guide to one of the most successful radio stations in America.
  • Queers in History. The only encyclopedic look at gays and lesbians throughout history.

Amazing Platform. These are quality, distinctive books that may not be unique in the marketplace, but are written by an author who is truly unique and can make significant marketing contribution. Examples of “amazing platform” acquisitions we’ve made include:

If you think you have a project that is a good fit for us, please email me (glenn@benbellabooks.com) with a short query describing the book and your qualifications to write it. Also please let me know which of the three buckets above you feel it falls into. If I like the idea, I’ll ask for a proposal and sample chapters. I’m not fussy about the format of your proposal, so long as it’s professional and contains all the usual elements. If you aren’t sure what constitutes a professional proposal, I recommend Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write.

“BenBella Books has far exceeded all expectations I’d had based on comments from other authors I know. They have been very accommodating with needs that have arisen and clearly understand the bigger business picture involved with publishing. All staff that I have come into contact with have been outstanding and I look forward to working with them on other projects in the future.”

–Duke Johnson, MD, author The Optimal Health Revolution

Deals We Do

Most of our deals are reasonably traditional, with standard royalties and advances in the $3K to $10K range. We have gone higher for particularly attractive projects, as high as $100K for one project in particular.

Increasingly, we are doing entrepreneurial deals in which we are offering extremely high upside, substantially exceeding traditional royalty rates. These deals are generally made with no advance, and where the author has a significant platform and is investing significant resources in promotion of the book. For the right book, we can make this very attractive, and we have been chosen over strong offers from major New York houses in a few cases.

It’s always nice when projects that come with a strong third party or author purchase. If a project comes with a guaranteed purchase, we can provide royalties on these purchases that are much higher than in traditional publishing deals.

BenBella Advantages

There are some clear advantages, in our biased opinion, to publishing with BenBella:

  1. Editing. We are careful and strategic editors, and, considering how tricky the author-editor relationship can be, it’s remarkable how often authors tell me our editing substantially improved their book (I can be immodest here, as I am rarely the editor on our titles).
  2. Marketing. We work hard on marketing and approach each title with a customized approach. While we’ve had more than our share of traditional media hits, from Oprah to The New York Times to Diane Rehm to Newsweek, we are especially good at Internet and niche marketing.
  3. Flexibility. Whether it’s working with corporate politics or taking advantage of a sensitive marketing opportunity, we are known for our flexibility and business sense.
  4. Intimacy. Authors at BenBella have a personal relationship with the publisher and CEO. Decisions are made quickly and sensibly. No books are ever orphaned; no irrational decisions are made for political or organizational reasons.
  5. Collaboration. BenBella works in a highly collaborative way with our authors, in editorial, in cover design, and in marketing.
  6. Distribution. While not a real advantage, BenBella gets strong distribution through Perseus, and works to exploit every format to our mutual advantage, from ebooks to audio to foreign rights.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Glenn Yeffeth

Publisher

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