Our friends at Pen and Sword are on the look out for history books, biographies (dead people preferred please!), books on scandals and true crime but they have to be mainstream ideas. Anything too niche is sadly rejected, some topics (eg Elizabeth I) would need to have an angle as there are already lots of books on them.

They are also looking to launch the following ranges:

1/ The real story behind well-known books/films (70,000 words, 16 or 32 images which the author sources but P&S can help; advance £1,250 – third upfront, third on delivery, third on publication).
Examples: The Real Pride and Prejudice
The Real Great Gatsby
The Real Tarzan

2/ Stories behind the greatest films (70,000 words, 16 or 32 images which the author sources but P&S can help; advance £1,250 – third upfront, third on delivery, third on publication).
Examples: The Making of the Godfather
The Making of the Exorcist
The Making of Jaws
The Making of Grease
Who was cast? Were there any scandals? Who fell out?

3/ Light and dark sides of famous people – these are two books. (70,000 words each book, 16 or 32 images which the author sources but P&S can help; advance £1,250 – third upfront, third on delivery, third on publication).
Examples: Light side of Churchill AND/OR dark side of Churchill
Light side of Henry VIII AND/OR dark side of Henry VIII
Light side of Anne Boleyn AND/OR dark side of Anne Boleyn

4/ History of dog breeds [please note this is NOT how to care for your dog or exercise your dog – it is about their role in history, when did they first come to this country, famous examples, first recorded
appearance on paintings, working history, how breed has evolved etc] (40-50,000 words, 100 images which the author sources but P&S can help; advance £1,250 – third upfront, third on delivery, third on publication)
Examples: History of the border collie
History of pugs
History of the Labrador

5/ Following on from their successful guidebook range, they would like the following and similar ideas welcome but no fashion please (35,000 words, 120 images which the author sources but P&S can help; advance £1,250 – third upfront, third on delivery, third on publication)
Examples: Elvis lover’s guide to Graceland
Music lover’s guide to Nashbille
Film lover’s guide to Hollywood
Beatles’ lover’s guide to Liverpool
Video game lover’s guide to Tokyo

The Deal

Royalties are roughly 10% on the net price of hardback sales in the UK, 7.5% abroad; 7.5% on paperback sales in the UK, 6% abroad; 15% on digital sales. There is no picture budget. The onus on finding pics is on the author but with these kinds of titles I’ve been assured that there are usually enough pics on Wikimedia Commons, which is free.

Next Steps

P&S would need to see a proposal prior to commissioning. This includes a short sample chapter (3,000 words max), short synopsis (half page is OK) and a paragraph of an author biography. Anyone who has been published with P&S previously won’t need to include a sample chapter.
Please contact casting@pastpreservers.com in the first instance to register your interest.