Guidelines for Proposals

All proposals must provide detailed information as outlined below. Nida Institute content development and review adheres to the American Bible Society’s Content Development Guidelines.

Personal Information
All proposals should include your name, mailing address, phone/fax number(s), and email address, and be accompanied by an up-to-date CV that indicates your present institutional affiliation, position, educational background, and previous publications, projects, etc., with emphasis on how you are qualified to do what you are proposing.

Description of the Project/Product
In 250–300 words, describe the project/product that your are proposing. Define the medium and/or delivery system (i.e., print, video, CD, audio, web, etc.), and include all desired features (i.e., art, illustrations, photos, interactive components, etc.) as necessary. What is the nature and focus of the project/product? What is its major objective (thesis, argument, or purpose)? How would we summarize it in our product catalog? What would you say to convince a potential reader to buy or make use of this particular item?

Goals
Describe the goals/objectives of the project/product. What do you hope to accomplish through this endeavor? Describe the nature and purpose of our involvement. What is it, specifically, that you want the Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship to do? What will our role be (e.g., write/draft original material, conduct research, edit or review prepared material, produce audio or visual material, etc.)? What will be the added benefits of our involvement?

Outline of Contents
Give a tentative but suitably detailed summary of the contents of the proposed project. Under appropriate headings, provide a brief outline of what is contained in each chapter, category, segment, etc. On the whole, this portion of your proposal should explain the focus and intent of each component of the product/project and illustrate the various components hang together.

Audience/Market
Define the target audience for the product/project (e.g., children, youth, adults, college or seminary students, professional clergy, lay leaders, at risk or marginalized groups, etc.) How and in what contexts will this product be used?

Rationale
Why will each of the target audience group(s) you have identified have any interest in what you wish to offer them? What need, concern, or interest exists in these target audience group(s) that will prompt them to make use of this material?

Key Features/Benefits
What are the most important features of the book (elements of its organization or argument, summaries of literature, illustrations, appendices, etc.)? What are the most important benefits that your intended audience group(s) will derive from reading your book?

Competition
Where and how does the product/project that you are proposing “fit” with respect to other items of a similar nature? To what other currently available items would you compare the product/project you are proposing? What does your product/project offer that these competing works do not? How will it differ from or improve upon what others have done?

Prior Publication or Production
Has any of the material in what you are proposing been previously published elsewhere, either by you or by others? If so, where and in what form? Do you control all publishing rights to this previously published material, or will permission clearance from other publishers be required?

Manuscript Submission
What is the estimated length or size of the proposed item? What is your overall timeline? What is your estimated date of completion? If possible, attach a sample (no more than 15–25 pages) of what it is that you are proposing. These should be pages that are representative of the project as a whole. This will give us a sense of your writing style, approach, etc.

Submit completed proposals to:

American Bible Society 
Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship Submissions
1865 Broadway
New York, NY 10023

Please allow three to four months for processing of proposals.