Marie Lenstrup Gerald Jackson & More than another ‘how to’ guide. The biggest hurdle for junior scholars looking to embark on an academic career is to make the transition from PhD candidate to that first (ideally tenured) job. An imperative part of this process is getting published and yet – increasingly – this is becoming something Getting harder to achieve. This book aims to guide both young and more experienced scholars through some of the pitfalls and complexities of getting published. Furthermore, the Published far-reaching changes affecting academic publishing (e-publishing, new printing technologies, Creative Getting Published Commons licensing, the collapse of the library market, A Companion for the Humanities etc.) are discussed, focusing on their future effect on and Social Sciences academic authors. Although it is in part a practical guide to navigating all stages of the publication process, Getting Published is not simply another ‘how to’ guide. Rather, its key concern is to give its readers an understanding of the Gerald Jackson and Marie Lenstrup stages, processes and pitfalls involved in getting from an idea in one’s head (or indeed a PhD thesis on one’s desk) to a published academic book in a colleague’s hand. With better knowledge, would-be authors have greater control over their situation. www.niaspress.dk Jackson-Lenstrup_pbk.indd 1 10/10/08 12:40:08 GETTING PUBLISHED Getting_Published prelims.indd 1 9/10/08 15:00:48 Getting_Published prelims.indd 2 9/10/08 15:00:48 Getting Published A Companion for the Humanities and Social Sciences Gerald Jackson and Marie Lenstrup Getting_Published prelims.indd 3 9/10/08 15:00:49 First published in 2009 by NIAS Press NIAS – Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Leifsgade 33, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark tel (+45) 3532 9501 • fax (+45) 3532 9549 email: [email protected] • website: www.niaspress.dk © Gerald Jackson and Marie Lenstrup 2009 All rights reserved. Gerald Jackson and Marie Lenstrup assert their moral right to be identified as the authors of this work. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Jackson, Gerald Getting published : a companion for the humanities and social sciences 1. Academic writing 2. Scholarly publishing I. Title II. Lenstrup, Marie 808’.066 ISBN: 978-87-91114-76-2 (hardback) ISBN: 978-87-91114-77-9 (paperback) Typeset by NIAS Press Produced by SRM Production Services Sdn Bhd and printed in Malaysia Getting_Published prelims.indd 4 9/10/08 15:00:49 Contents Preface vii What this book will do for you • What’s in a name? • A clear focus means clear advice • Have you got what it takes? • About the authors • Beyond the book • Acknowledgements 1. Behind the scenes 1 The people inside the publishing house • The people outside the publishing house • Producing the physical books • Bringing the books to customers • The state of the book industry • The book industry and you, the author 2. Planning your book 20 Understanding needs and desires • Success is not one thing • Questions to ask yourself • Which market? • Clarifying your focus • Mapping the book • Choosing a great title • In celebration of odd titles • Annotating and evaluating the table of contents 3. From thesis to book 39 The pressures of junior scholarship • Why is a thesis not a book? • What to do with your thesis • Assessing your material • Getting started • Things you will need to cut • Things you will need to add 4. Producing a shorter (or collected) work 53 Why write articles? • Reworking (or recycling) material • But is this what you really want? • Planning and writing your article • Finding the right journal • Getting your article published • Contributing a chapter to an edited volume • Editing a multi-author volume Getting_Published prelims.indd 5 9/10/08 15:00:49 Getting Published 5. Writing your book 69 Language • Which language? • Style • Cutting the fog • Presentation • Permissions and the use of copyright material • The writing experience • Survival tips for blocked writers 6. Finding the right publisher 86 Identifying the candidates • Connections, connections • Approaching the publisher • What if a publisher contacts you? • How to be concise • Proposal etiquette • The importance of the pitch • Waiting on tenterhooks • Where now? 7. Getting accepted 106 Preparing and sending the text • External assessment • Typical peer review questions • New forms of peer review • Internal assessments and recommendations • Financial projections • Sources of income • Price and profitability • Decision time 8. Negotiating a contract 122 Kinds of rights • Open Access and Creative Commons • Set in stone or open to negotiation? • Before you sign 9. Working towards publication 135 Enter the production manager • Finalizing your manuscript • From disk to bookshelf • The editing process • Designing and typesetting your book • Backroom or Bangalore? • Producing camera-ready copy • Proofing • Indexing • Printing, binding and delivery 10. Promoting your book 155 What is academic book marketing? • Everyday life in the marketing department • The importance of the author in promoting books • What you can do before publication • What you can do after publication • Promotional DOs and DON’Ts 11. Going it alone 171 Making the decision • Deciding on format • Doing the work • Finding a partner • Promoting and distributing your book • Measures of success vi Getting_Published prelims.indd 6 9/10/08 15:00:49 ContentsPreface Epilogue 185 Publishing revolutions • Electronic formats • E-book readers • POD and the bookshop as content kiosk • Free Internet repositories • The content revolution • Bite-sized scholarship • Creative marketing • The book is dead, long live the book Top tips 194 Appendix 1: Practical style and presentation issues 196 Spelling and grammar • Document formatting • Font matters • Layout and punctuation • Quotations, notes, citations, etc. • Non- text elements • Graphic images and their formats • Other technical issues Appendix 2: Common editing and proof-reading marks 211 Appendix 3: Compendium of publishing terms 213 Further reading 259 Index 263 vii Getting_Published prelims.indd 7 9/10/08 15:00:50 Getting_Published prelims.indd 8 9/10/08 15:00:50 Preface And he dreamed the dream of all those who publish books, which was to have so much gold in your pockets that you would have to employ two people just to hold your trousers up. – Terry Pratchett in Maskerade, 1995 Few get rich in academic publishing. A handful of scholars have earned respectable royalties from books they have written for a broader (more general) readership; Jared Diamond and Steven Pinker are examples. Likewise, some academic publishers make a profit, but rarely do they achieve more than the 10% return on in- vestment considered a minimum in other industries. Academic publishing may be a high-status industry, but there is more money and greater profit in selling soppy romance novels and scented tissue paper. That said, success is a different matter, something that is quite reasonable to strive for and which should not be measured in monetary terms alone. In this book we aim to maximize your chances of success as an academic author, but let us be realistic: it is highly unlikely that you will end up with pockets sagging with readers’ gold. There is a much better chance that you will find the whole experience rather daunting: writing is hard work, a publication contract is no certainty, and good reviews followed by really satisfying sales can be elusive. You ask, perhaps, why publish at all if it is such a thankless occupa- tion? That is a fair question for most authors, but not for academics. Publication is far and away the most important avenue for academic, scholarly and scientific communication. The quality and quantity of ix Getting_Published prelims.indd 9 9/10/08 15:00:50 Getting Published publication are the main measure of the relative excellence of both academic institutions and the individuals working there. A range of good publications will help an academic gain recognition among colleagues and students, may well be the decisive factor in promo- tions or new appointments, will increase the chance of grant awards – and should also be, quite simply, a source of personal satisfaction at having brought new and exciting work to the attention of the global academic community. However, we have seen time and again how the authors we work with ask the same questions, raise the same concerns, fall prey to the same misunderstandings, and cause the same practical hiccups for publishers. There is clearly a general gap in the knowledge and under- standing that authors have of the publishing process and how best the process can be exploited for their own purposes – a gap that cries out to be filled with clear, practical, reasoned advice. What this book will do for you It may be a cliché, but it is still true: knowledge is power. In this comprehensive but concise companion we aim to give you Knowledge of how the book industry works, how and why publishers decide to accept or reject a manuscript, what constraints and moti- vations shape academic publishing, and how new developments in printing technology and in electronic publishing and marketing are making waves and causing changes. Knowledge of the differences between successful and unsuccessful manu- scripts, how to take these differences into account at the very earli- est stages of your work, how to determine and satisfy the aim and readership of your work, and how to present your manuscript for the maximum chance of acceptance. Knowledge of how you as an author can affect the success of your book after acceptance, how to work efficiently towards publication with all the various specialists in the publishing house, and how to help ensure that your work reaches the largest possible readership. x Getting_Published prelims.indd 10 9/10/08 15:00:50 Preface We even offer you knowledge of how to self-publish without the backing of a traditional publisher – although we see that as a last resort.