While there is considerable variation among college publishers with respect to the type of projects they are willing to consider, the process by which such projects are evaluated is remarkably similar from house to house. Invariably, that process involves the use of “outside” reviewers to whom proposals being given serious consideration are sent for evaluation. Thus, unlike trade publishers, who rely heavily on their own instincts when considering projects for publication, college textbook publishers seldom publish materials that have not first been reviewed, and by and large approved, by a group of potential adopters.

There are two major types of reviews commissioned by textbook publishers: developmental reviews and acquisitions reviews. The former are commissioned after a manuscript has been contracted for publication but before it has actually been published. Developmental reviews are intended to help an author (and publisher) “develop” a manuscript deemed sufficiently promising to warrant publication.