Writing the First Draft

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A draft manuscript is the first complete version of the manuscript. The draft manuscript should include: the TOC, all chapters including introduction and conclusion; front matter; a bibliography; and figures and tables if applicable. The draft manuscript should not include an index, as we will ask you to compile this on the basis of the first proofs. It is also not yet necessary to have a cover illustration. Please note that we are not able to send out your manuscript to a reviewer before it is complete.

• Reviewers are always more favorable to a manuscript that has been spell-checked and copy-edited. Please note that these tasks will fall to you, as the person responsible for the content of the manuscript. It is therefore a good idea to start copy-editing and spell-checking early on.
   
• Please always provide Brill with a realistic date for delivery of the first draft. If you cannot keep to the deadline, Brill may at any point decide to refrain from publication.

In the case of a dissertation being reworked into a book, please bear in mind that writing a dissertation differs from writing a manuscript. A book manuscript has a different audience, purpose and structure from a dissertation, in that you are now writing for a larger group of scholarly peers that you are not in direct contact with, and should be focusing less on the research process and more on the actual results.  In general, book manuscripts thus require less descriptive text. Guidelines for the reworking of a dissertation can be found in William Germano’s From Dissertation to Book (2013, 2nd edition; Chicago University Press).

Once the manuscript is complete and in good shape, it can be sent to Brill (digitally). Preferably, the manuscript should all be in one file; at this stage (prior to peer review) we accept both Word files and PDF. Please always include a PDF if your manuscript contains special fonts or scripts.