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[newyorkqueen]

Dear All Who Enjoy Research,

I am still VAP, but I am seeking TT jobs (in humanities).
If I am luckily hired for a TT position starting this summer (2007), I am wondering when I should submit my first book manuscript to a university press.

Maybe not within the 1st year, which must be hectic.
So the 2nd year is the expected deadline?
(I know there are 5 years or 6 years before the tenure review)
At least, the manuscript should be submitted BEFORE the MID-TENURE review (the third year), no?

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Before I hear from you,
I admit that I know the following:
(1) I need to rewrite my dissertation into a publishable manuscript before I seek a university press.
(2) I have read From Dissertation to Book (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing) by William Germano (Paperback - April 8, 2005) and liked it. I will re-read it.

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Usually when do the successfully tenured people start submitting their manuscripts?

Thanks for your advice.

NYQ
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Aside (the following gender assignments are fictional):
(1) A friend of mine has been on TT in humanities for 3 years at a top R1 (not Ivy, but internationally known enough). But he remains an ABD; he is still writing his dissertation. His tenure review is 3 years away.
Even as a VAP I know he is in big trouble.

(2) Another friend has been on TT in humanities, also for 3 years, also at a top R1 (not Ivy, but extremely prestigious). He filed diss before his first TT year. But he has not produced a book proposal until now-- he is busy with his mid-tenure review; his tenure review is 3 years away.
His book proposal is 1000-word long; he has not started the manuscript; his proposal and manuscript have nothing to do with his dissertation.
I somehow feel this friend is also terribly late.....
He should have had the book proposal ready in his 1st year, I presume.

[bibliothecula]

Basically, you want to start now.
It takes time to find a press, have reviews done, get a final answer, etc., so the sooner you start--even before you have a TT job--the better off you will be in the end.

[seniorscholar]

If you have half of a manuscript done now, it's time to write query letters. It can take several rounds of letters to find a press willing to read your manuscript. It can take up to a year and a half for a press to get readers' reports on your manuscript (yes, I know it shouldn't -- but one of my favorite junior colleagues failed to get tenure because a press messed up). You will then have revisions to do, which may be major "revise and resubmit" rather than "we'll publish when revised." This means another wait for reports, when you have the revisions done. When the final manuscript is submitted, you still have to wait for the next meeting of the board of the U Press (some meet only once per semester). And when the final manuscript goes in, it is now generally 12 - 14 months before the book appears.

Some schools will do a tenure review with an accepted manuscript. Some require page proofs. Mine requires that the actual published book be available for the tenure review.

Sooner is best! Work like heck on the manuscript from now until the day you start your new job.

[newyorkqueen]

Many thanks.
Good.... I will spend tonight with wine, chocolate, and blank pages...

[trabb]

Basically, you want to start now.
It takes time to find a press, have reviews done, get a final answer, etc., so the sooner you start--even before you have a TT job--the better off you will be in the end.

I struggled with this myself.  I've concluded that bibliotechula's right up to a point (and possibly further!).  Here's what I've concluded.  First, my primary goal has been to write, write, write.  Getting the manuscript to a suitable stage was the first priority. 

Then things get muddy.  At three different campus visits, I've been told that anything that I did prior to starting the job would not "count" towards tenure.  For that reason, ideally I would want a book contract after I begin on the TT.  The problem, of course, is that having a contract and even a published book would make me far more attractive as a candidate.   It's a difficult balancing act, I think.  For two reasons, I had decided to push forward rather than wait:  1) I sensed that some schools recognize a book as a long-term project that would count towards tenure regardless of where I happened to be at the time it eventually came out, and 2) I gambled that I'd be on the TT by the time the book showed up in print even if it was accepted for publication before landing that job.

Good luck!