Chris signs book contract with Wiley
Last week, I signed a contract with Wiley Publishing for a book on early-stage techno-economic modeling for chemical and bioprocess technologies!
Writing a technical book was, well, not on my bucket list. But somehow, I found myself in the curious position of being able to write a book that I knew was needed on a topic that had never been adequately treated. The idea had been in the back of my head for several years, and it just wouldn't go away.
Eventually, I drafted a few chapters and submitted a proposal to Wiley. (I chose Wiley because they've published some of my favorite references: Woods' Rules of Thumb in Engineering Practice and Heinzle et al.'s Development of Sustainable Bioprocesses.) According to their website, I could expect a response within a few months, so I dusted off my hands and made to move on to other things.
Then, a few days later, I got an email from an interested editor asking if I would provide email addresses for a few people who might provide feedback on the proposal, along with a few of their choosing. I did as asked and was treated to some happy news a month later.
They typically contact five to seven potential reviewers to secure two to three reviews, but in this case, they received responses from five reviewers, all of which were positive.
Here are a few of the comments:
'Chris is absolutely correct in stating that there is a gap in the market for a resource like this one which integrates different components familiar to chemical engineers into a practical and useful application. This could become a seminal work and key resource for people in my line of work who aim to bring novel process technologies to the market.'
'Chris proposes to write a very important book. He’s a noted authority on this popular topic. If anyone’s going to write this book, it will be him. I believe this material will one day be taught in undergraduate curriculum.'
'I consider Chris' proposal to hold immense value for all Tough Tech startups. This book could establish a foundational understanding of Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA), a crucial element in evaluating the economic viability of a technology and the inaugural stride in determining whether a startup warrants funding.'
I was pretty confident it was a good idea, but this...
So here we are. Stay tuned! I'm slated to submit a manuscript in the second half of next year. I've included the proposal as a .pdf below if you're interested in reading it.