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Outreach to former and current authors

Outreach to backlist authors

Authors who have published with the press are likely to be among the keenest to ensure its future prosperity. Authors who have previously published with the press are, therefore, a key outreach point for institutional contact. That said, it is by no means guaranteed that these authors will

understand the Opening the Future model or, indeed, have any knowledge of open access publishing in general. There is, for example, no guarantee that authors have heard of book processing charges and it can be a dangerous field to open. However, they can present a very compelling case to the library about possibly avoiding future BPCs, especially if they are an author you have a lengthy relationship with, by paying a much smaller fee to contribute to flipping your press’ frontlist. 

Emails to these individuals should:

  • Be addressed from a known and trusted figure, such as the acquisitions editor who worked with the author previously.
  • Be specifically actionable. The email should clearly ask the author to reach out to a particular librarian, if possible with a name and contact address.
  • Require as little work on the author’s part as possible. Use the below templates to attach the email that you would like the author to send to the library.
  • Be personalised so as not to come across as marketing spam.
  • Comply with all General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provisions for opt-out if an author does not wish to hear any more.

For our template email to authors, click here 👉 Template outreach email to authors

For our template email for your authors to send to their libraries, click here 👉Template outreach email from authors to libraries

Outreach to frontlist authors

The degree of enthusiasm for open access varies hugely between authors. Nonetheless, frontlist authors who are convinced of the merits of OA make for powerful allies. Writing to authors in this category is particularly efficacious, when a work is in press or under contract, as they will often be keen to help the press to thrive.

Many of the same principles apply as in the above outreach to backlist authors, except that the relationship here is likely to be warmer and more active. The key is to do as much work on behalf of the academic as possible so that it is easy for them to write to their librarian.

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