As part of its mission to address issues of recruitment, retention,and integration of women and people of color in the profession, theAPSA Task Force on Mentoring periodically publishes articles on someaspect of mentoring that will help political scientists movesuccessfully through the profession. This brief symposium on“Publishing Your First Book” is just one such example of thisinitiative. For more information about the Task Force and itsongoing projects, contact Linda Lopez, APSA Director of Educationand Professional Development Programs, at [email protected].

The right contract can make or break tenure and promotion. Thefollowing article presents pearls of wisdom from David Meyer, ClydeWilcox, Susan Clarke, Terri Givens, Carol Swain, Robert Spitzer, andPeter Labella. We divide these suggestions into two parts—those onobtaining and those on negotiating a contract.