Book authors and book editors

Overview

We invite you to join a community of world-renowned thought leaders who have partnered with Elsevier.

Elsevier has a proud publishing history built on valued partnerships with authors to bring quality products to professionals and institutions throughout the world. Today, as an information analytics company on the forefront of digital innovation, Elsevier’s commitment to these content partnerships has not wavered.

When you partner with Elsevier, you will work with a dedicated team of professionals to create content that is optimized for delivery in a variety of electronic formats, including potential publication on the leading full-text scientific database ScienceDirect(opens in new tab/window), which reaches more than 16 million users worldwide, or ClinicalKey, a medical search engine and database. You may also have the opportunity to leverage our authoring tool Elsa to streamline the content creation process. When appropriate, books are also submitted to Scopus(opens in new tab/window), the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature: scientific journals, books, and conference proceedings.

You may also have the opportunity to leverage our authoring tool Elsa to streamline the content creation process and help you reach more readers, save time and create content that’s available to anyone, anywhere, at the time they need it most.  

And once that content is created, our marketing and sales team promote your work while giving you the tools to promote it, too.

Content types

We offer a range of digital and print products to suit different subject areas, information types and customer needs. These include: reference, textbooks, fast-turn content, Major Reference Works, Reference Modules, stories and serials, laboratory and practical manuals, and atlases.

Although this is not an exhaustive list, the following are the broad subject areas in which we are looking for content:

Inclusion and diversity

Global Content Partners inclusion and diversity mission statement

Our Global Content Partners team values diversity in all its dimensions. We are passionately committed to increasing inclusion, diversity and equity in research, healthcare, and publishing, and in particular to increasing the representation of under-represented groups, including women, people of colour, and socially disadvantaged populations, among our editorial advisors, reviewers, authors, and contributors. Editors and editorial board members are encouraged to take into account the need for appropriate, inclusive, and diverse representation. Authors are encouraged to use inclusive language that acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. Writing needs to be free from bias, stereotypes, slang, reference to dominant culture, and cultural assumptions, while images and case studies should be representative of all populations. Our Global Content Partners team also has a responsibility to advocate, promote and facilitate inclusion, diversity, and equity among our colleagues across Elsevier and the communities we serve. There is a lot to do to address systemic inequalities, but we know that by working together we can support a stronger, more diverse and representative scholarly community of authors, editors, and contributors, and a more diverse and representative content offering.

Use of inclusive language

Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equity. Use inclusive and respectful language without bias against any person, with special attention to avoiding language that negatively portrays or describes any person based on factors such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability, neurodiversity, class, or health condition. Authors should ensure that writing is free from bias, stereotypes, slang, slurs, reference to dominant culture, and cultural assumptions. We recommend avoiding the use of descriptors that refer to personal attributes unless there is evidentiary-referenced scientific or clinical relevance. When appropriate, clarify how terms and definitions used in the referential evidence support the use of selected terms.

These guidelines are meant as a point of reference to help identify appropriate language but are by no means exhaustive or definitive. For more detailed information, please refer to any editing guidelines provided by your Elsevier contact.

Capitalization of racial and ethnic terms

Racial and ethnic groups are designated by proper nouns and are capitalized. Therefore capitalize “Black,” “White,” and “Brown” to align with the capitalization preference applied to other racial and ethnic categories. Use the capitalized term as an adjective in a racial or ethnic sense: Black people are disproportionately affected by COVID-19; diabetes disproportionately affects the Black population.

Reporting sex, gender identity, or both in research

The terms male and female should be used when describing the sex of human participants or other sex-related biological or physiological factors. Descriptions of differences between males and females should carefully refer to “sex differences” rather than “gender differences.” Gender comprises the social, environmental, cultural, and behavioral factors and choices that influence a person’s selfidentity and health. Gender includes gender identity (how individuals and groups perceive and present themselves), gender norms (unspoken rules in the family, workplace, institutional, or global culture that influence individual attitudes and behaviors), and gender relations (the power relations between individuals of different gender identities). Seek gender neutrality by using plural nouns (“clinicians, patients/clients”) as default/wherever possible to avoid using “he, she,” or “he/she.” Authors should consider appropriate use of the words sex and gender to avoid confusing both terms.

LGBTQ+ terminology

When referring to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning community, Elsevier’s suggested terminology is LGBTQ+. This guideline is meant as a point of reference to help identify appropriate terminology but is by no means exhaustive or definitive.

Language around disability

When referring to disability, do not use stereotypical descriptors and outdated terminology (e.g., “mentally retarded,” “crippled”). Be mindful of current usage in the disability community (e.g., “intellectual disability,” “person with disability,” “uses a wheelchair”). Individuals may use selfdescriptive terminology; when these terms are used, they should have clear attribution, such as “Sara describes themself as “having hearing loss.” When referring to medical conditions, it is often preferable to use person-first (e.g., “patient with sickle cell disease” rather than “sickle cell patient”) as well as the most scientifically accurate terms around mental illness (e.g., “substance use disorder” rather than “substance abuse”).

Religion and politics

Religious and political beliefs, organizations, and practices must be described with due accuracy. Statements and claims about religion and politics should be factual and supported by an evidentiary reference.

Download inclusive language guidelines (PDF)(opens in new tab/window)

Digital guidelines for Sherpath

Elsevier is dedicated to publishing world class content in a variety of media, including an adaptive digital platform built specifically for healthcare education called Sherpath. Sherpath’s comprehensive digital lessons are organized by course objective to create a didactic learning experience with multimedia, confidence indicators, adaptive remediation, mini assessments throughout the lesson, and a final assessment to gauge student understanding of the material. Educators can assign, assess, and teach from Sherpath’s single, mobile-optimized interface. Evidence-based data and analytics show student engagement, understanding, and progress.

For content ready to be ingested into Sherpath, very specific manuscript guidelines need to be followed. With the assistance of digital learning experts, we have prepared these guidelines in a variety of ways, including a detailed version(opens in new tab/window) that lists the requirements and explains the reasons behind these requirements and a short checklist version(opens in new tab/window) for quick reference. Examples of a “before(opens in new tab/window)” and “after(opens in new tab/window)” chapter are included.

We have also provided two videos that explain the process:  one that demonstrates how to write measurable learning objectives (video)(opens in new tab/window) and one that discusses how to cluster and chunk content (video)(opens in new tab/window) properly.

We value your partnership in our endeavor to create this unique digital experience for students and instructors. Please don’t hesitate to contact your Content Strategist or Content Development Specialist if you have any questions.

Submission process

Now that you have decided to partner with Elsevier, the next step is to create a proposal. Download and fill out the proposal(opens in new tab/window) and send the completed form to our proposal mailbox (opens in new tab/window)including the following details in the subject line of your email:

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  Proposal in [subject area] / [author name: working title] E.g. Proposal in mechanical engineering / Smith: Advances in Applied Mechanics

Thank you for considering Elsevier as your publishing partner.