Session Abstract

What makes a successful trade history book?  Moderated by an agent who specializes in history and serious non-fiction, two veteran editors will discuss the elements of trade books with a scholar who has written an award-winning university press book and prominent trade book and a younger scholar publishing her first book with a trade house.   What are the differences between trade and scholarly publishing?  What are the pros and cons of each path? 

How should historians approach a subject that might appeal to general readers?  What is the role of argument in a trade book?  What is the role of imagination?  Can a trade book advance scholarship in the same way as a university press title?  What goes into writing a trade book?  What is the role of a trade editor?  How does the submission process work?  If you are interested in writing for the trade, how do you prepare yourself?  What goes into a winning proposal?