We
are one of the world's leading independent publishers specialising in travel
guidebooks, language phrasebooks, travel atlases and trekking & walking
guides. The range of Lonely Planet guides now includes Journeys travel narratives
and the Pisces series of diving and snorkelling guides. We are also developing
a range of new titles including food, restaurants, adventure and other special
interest guides.
Some Useful Tips
Before submitting
a proposal, do your homework! We receive loads of unsolicited book proposals
every day, many of which are too specialised for our publishing programme.
It's a good idea to check our publishing list to make sure your idea hasn't
already been covered or indeed that your proposal fits our publishing programme.
Check our booklist - it covers everything
that we currently do.
We have a large
team of regular writers and usually the writer who first wrote the book
will be offered to do it again, so the openings for somebody else to update
a small book are few and far between; however, we are always on the look
out for new, talented guidebook writers, especially for our larger guidebooks.
We are also keen to talk about new ideas in travel publishing, apart from
guidebooks.
We look for people
who have travelled extensively but who also have professional skills or
experience in the following areas:
- travel writing
- research and
writing
- relevant specialist
knowledge, studies or background of a country or region
- photography
Whether writing
a new book or updating one, we want to know that you can really write.
If we are interested in your proposal, we always ask for a sample chapter
or section to assess your writing abilities and understanding of our in-house
book style and format before considering you for a particular project.
Submitting a Proposal
If you think you fit
the bill, we'd love to hear from you. Tell us exactly what your proposal
is and why you are the best person to do it. Give us as much detail as possible,
ie, do you want to write a new guidebook or update an existing one? For
new guidebooks or new travel publishing ideas, sell it to us! How do you
see it fitting into our publishing programme, convince us why it would be
marketable and profitable. What's the competition? Tell us about yourself.
What are your qualifications, work experience, and travel experience? Send
us a CV and include some samples of your writing.
Your proposal
will be passed onto the relevant publishing manager. All proposals are
carefully considered by our publishing managers; however, they simply
cannot accommodate each one with a detailed reply or assessment and it
may take up to 12 weeks before we get back to you.
Readers' Letters
As you probably know,
many of our readers do write to us with information acquired during their
travels, to tell us of new developments or changes that have occurred. We
find that this is also an excellent way for proposed writers to demonstrate
their talents and their understanding of the nature of Lonely Planet guides.
This information is passed on to the relevant authors and often used in
our books and newsletters. We are always grateful for such letters, and
the most useful receive a free book.
We regret that
we cannot return any material unless it is accompanied by an international
return paid coupon or stamped self-addressed envelope.
Please submit
all material to:
Publishing Manager
Lonely Planet Publications
PO Box 617
Hawthorn
Victoria 3122
Australia
e-mail: talk2us@lonelyplanet.com.au
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