To join this year’s Book Proposal Sprint, you must be an alum of the Manuscript Works Book Proposal Shortcut or Book Proposal Accelerator programs. If you aren’t an alum already, you can enroll in the self-paced Shortcut program today and you’ll automatically receive your invitation to the Sprint in September.
If you’re unemployed, precariously employed, or enrolling without financial support from your institution, use coupon code SHORTCUT10 at checkout for a 10% discount.
What is the book proposal sprint?
The Book Proposal Sprint is an annual event hosted by Laura Portwood-Stacer of Manuscript Works. It’s a five-day stretch of daily online co-working and discussion via Zoom to help scholarly authors make meaningful progress on a book proposal (or any other writing project).
My online book proposal courses walk you step by step through writing an outstanding scholarly book proposal, identifying your target publishers, and making a submission plan that works for your goals and timeline. The Book Proposal Accelerator happens live just once or twice per year, and the Book Proposal Shortcut is a self-paced course designed to be completed independently.
The Book Proposal Sprint is meant to provide additional live support to those who have signed up for these courses in the past.
During the Sprint, you'll be working alongside a group of other scholars who are all using the Manuscript Works book proposal curriculum at the same time. At the five live co-working and Q&A sessions, you'll be able to ask me (Laura Portwood-Stacer) all your questions about publishers, submission strategy, and how to pitch your specific project. The Sprint is therefore a unique opportunity to work in community and get live instructor support.
If you’ve never signed up for a book proposal course with Manuscript Works before, you can still join the Sprint. Just enroll in the Book Proposal Shortcut any time before September 8th, 2025. You’ll get immediate access to the curriculum and will receive your complimentary invitation to the Sprint in September. Email reminders and Zoom links will go out as we get closer to the Sprint dates.
The Book Proposal Sprint is meant to be a low-pressure opportunity to reconnect with your publishing goals and get some external motivation. You can participate as much or as little as you want to. My intent is simply to hold space and offer support for those who enjoy working in community and want to knock out a proposal draft by mid-September.
If you’re unemployed, precariously employed, or enrolling without financial support from your institution, use coupon code SHORTCUT10 at checkout for a 10% discount.
what happens when you enroll?
If you’ve already enrolled in my Shortcut or Accelerator programs in the past, you don’t need to take any additional steps to register for the Sprint. You can access the Manuscript Works Author Support community from your dashboard when logged in on my courses website. There you’ll find all the Zoom sessions for the Sprint. You’ll also automatically receive email reminders with the Zoom links each day of the Sprint. (If you don’t see the Author Support community in your dashboard when logged in, please email Rebecca support@manuscriptworks.com for assistance.)
If you are new to my Book Proposal Shortcut program, this is what will happen once you sign up:
You’ll get immediate access to instructional modules that walk you step by step through drafting your book proposal and ensuring it meets — even exceeds — the expectations of scholarly publishers. The modules are available in written, audio, and video formats, and accompanying worksheets will help you organize your information as you prepare your written draft.
You’ll also get access to a library of sample documents including successful proposals, query letters, and responses to peer reviews.
Once you've registered for the Shortcut, you’ll be automatically added to the Manuscript Works Author Support community, where you'll find links to the Zoom sessions for the week of September 8th. You can start working through the course modules at any time. Or you can wait to start work until September 8th — it’s completely up to you!
After the Sprint, you’ll keep lifetime access to all the modules, sample documents, and Q&A recordings through the Shortcut program.
How will the live sessions work?
The live sessions will be held every day for five days from September 8th to September 12th, 2025. Each session will last two hours from 12pm to 2pm Pacific (3-5pm Eastern, 7–9pm UTC).
The first hour of each live session will be reserved for quiet co-working. We’ll keep mics and cameras off and simply hold space for you to make progress on your book proposal, book manuscript, or any other writing project you need to work on.
The second hour will be an interactive Q&A session, where you’ll be able to ask any questions you have about your book proposal or about the scholarly book publishing process in general. I've helped hundreds of academic writers at all career stages navigate this process, so I usually have useful tips to offer, whatever your specific situation happens to be (and you are indeed welcome to ask questions about your specific situation).
All sessions during the Sprint are optional to attend, so you can come for whichever ones work for your schedule. You can attend the first hour, the second hour, both, or neither. There’s no pressure to actively participate; lurkers are welcome. The five Q&A sessions will be recorded for those who can’t attend live but would like to view the discussions later. The recording links will be shared exclusively inside the Manuscript Works Author Support community (which all Sprint participants will have access to).
Does the Sprint include direct feedback on proposal or manuscript drafts?
The Book Proposal Sprint does not include direct feedback on your book proposal draft or book manuscript. It does include five days of live support and advice from me about the book publishing process. Because I don’t currently offer 1-1 editing or consulting outside of my live courses, the Book Proposal Sprint is your best chance to ask me direct questions about your proposal and the publishing process.
If you'd like personal editorial support on your book proposal or manuscript, I'll be happy to recommend some developmental editors who can help.
You may also want to check out my live courses, the Book Proposal Accelerator and Manuscript Development Workshop. Both courses will be offered again in 2026.
Will the Sprint be offered again in the future?
I do hope to offer the Sprint again in 2026, but firm dates haven’t been set. This is the last major program I plan to offer in 2025.
Need more info before making a decision?
Check out the Book Proposal Shortcut info page for more details about the self-paced program.
If you have questions about the Sprint or the Shortcut that are still unanswered, shoot an email to Rebecca at support@manuscriptworks.com. Rebecca is Manuscript Works’ client support specialist and she will be happy to give you any additional info you need to decide whether my programs are a good fit for you at this time.
About me
Hi, I'm Laura Portwood-Stacer, creator of the Book Proposal Shortcut. I'm a professional developmental editor and publishing consultant and the author of The Book Proposal Book: A Guide for Scholarly Authors (Princeton University Press, 2021) and Make Your Manuscript Work: A Guide to Developmental Editing for Scholarly Writers (PUP, 2025). My books, webinars and courses have helped thousands of academic writers navigate the proposal writing and book publishing processes, with clients landing contracts at competitive university presses such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, University of Chicago, University of California, Duke, Minnesota, MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, and many more.
As an author of three books myself, I know how difficult the process can be on both practical and emotional levels. I aim to bring empathy and honesty to demystifying the norms of scholarly publishing so that everyone who goes through my programs leaves feeling energized and empowered to make their publishing goals happen.
Need more info before making a decision?
Check out the Book Proposal Shortcut info page for more details about the self-paced program.
If you have questions about the Sprint or the Shortcut that are still unanswered, shoot an email to Rebecca at support@manuscriptworks.com. Rebecca is Manuscript Works’ client support specialist and she will be happy to give you any additional info you need to decide whether my programs are a good fit for you at this time.
Ready to enroll?
Sign up for the Book Proposal Shortcut now. If you’re unemployed, precariously employed, or enrolling without financial support from your institution, use coupon code SHORTCUT10 at checkout for a 10% discount.