How to get Published Dr Jonathan Wilson LAIBS

How to get Published…. Dr Jonathan Wilson, LAIBS 31 st Jan 2012 1

Books & Journals • Disseminate Knowledge • Support and Communicate Cutting Edge Research • Facilitate Student Learning • Make a Profit 2

Making the right choices. . . Your time is precious; you need to make sure that you maximise your academic impact without creating unnecessary work for yourself. You need to be STRATEGIC, REALISTIC PRAGMATIC & • Project • Product • Publisher 3

The Ideas Market – Where do projects come from? Your Research Identification of a Gap in the Market Your Teaching BOOKS You know of existing successful books in the market that you feel you can improve upon There isn’t a book for the course you are teaching A publisher gets in touch with an idea or a request for help in a given subject area JOURNALS You are responding to another article You need to publish your finding as a condition of your funding An editor gets in touch to commission a piece or to ask 4 you to guest edit a special issue.

Project – Marketable Knowledge Academics and Publishers live and die by the quality of their content. You need to be strategic when deciding on a viable project but even more importantly you need to be REALISTIC. IS THERE REALLY A MARKET FOR THE ARTICLE / BOOK YOU ARE PROPOSING? ? ? INTERNATIONAL? ? UP-TO-DATE? ? ? ORIGINAL? ? ? BASED ON SOLID METHODOLOGY? ? ? A GENUINE CONTRIBUTION TO THE FIELD? ? ? 5

Product - Books • Long Term Projects – they can be a statement • Help to develop your academic profile • Relationship with Publisher • Money!!!! • Can contribute to the current body of literature on the subject / Profile of the University 6

Although I mentioned money, you are unlikely to sell as many books as this person! 7

C O R E ● A student-focused text designed to accompany a core UG (and occasionally graduate) course T E X T B O O K ● Very long and are full of student-centred features such as questions, boxes, cases and summaries ● Is required reading i. e. ‘Introductory Sociology’ or ‘Research Methods’ textbook ● Level of publisher intervention – very high! ● MAKE MONEY!!! 8

M O D U L A R ● Student and course-focused; possibly a vehicle for original thinking or research T E X T B O O K ● Can be profitable ● Tend to vary from their rivals a little more than core textbooks ● Written for more varied, higher level, courses ● Level of publisher intervention is still high 9

MONOGRAPHS ● A book based upon an original body of research carried out by the author (most commonly on the basis of Ph. D work or research carried out under a fellowship) ● Specialised and high level. Often with an academic or researcher readership. ● Sell VERY poorly. ● Priced High & often Hardback Only Increasingly difficult to find publishers who will publish monographs as they are unprofitable. 10

Avoid the clichés. . . ● ● Ignoring journal’s guidelines Obscure title Niche (domestic) empirical study Applying to more than one journal at a time 11

Publisher – Books • Be Strategic Target Appropriate Publishers Are they established in your area? Do they publish books that you use for your research? Are they global / local? Do you need to update your research? Would your title FIT their existing list? Do they publish the TYPE of book you are proposing? How is your book different? • Be Pragmatic. . . • Be Realistic. . . 12

Publisher – Books • Be Strategic. . . • Be Pragmatic. . . The EDITOR is a human being They are specialists in publishing They have market knowledge but they are NOT academics Personalise your cover letter – individual & company They receive 10 -15 unsolicited proposals a month Reassure them that you have done your research • Be Realistic. . . 13

Publisher – Books • Be Strategic. . . • Be Pragmatic. . . INFORMATION ! COMPETITION ! MARKET! PEDAGOGY! Read the submission guidelines Clear rationale International potential? Course details – provide outlines, numbers & institutions Who is the competition? Why is your project different / better? Pedagogy - Imagine the page / sample material • Be Realistic. . . 14

Publisher – Books • Be Strategic. . . • Be Pragmatic. . . INFORMATION ! COMPETITION ! MARKET! PEDAGOGY! Fully referenced proposal Course details Sample chapter Short CV • Be Realistic. . . 15

Publisher – Books • Be Strategic. . . • Be Pragmatic. . . • Be Realistic. . . £££ Significant costs – print, storage, delivery Editor publishes 30 books a year Contract – is deliberate; it reflects market expectations Most editors reject 10+ proposals a month without review 16

Publisher – Journal Articles • Be Strategic Target Appropriate Journals Do you use the journal for your research? Are the other articles related to yours? Has the journal published regularly in this area? Does the editor work in your field? Specialised or General? • Be Pragmatic. . . • Be Realistic. . . 17

Publisher – Journal Articles • Be Strategic. . . • Be Pragmatic. . . Do your research References? Readers? Online submission systems Don't give them the opportunity to reject • Be Realistic. . . 18

Publisher – Journal Articles • Be Strategic. . . • Be Pragmatic. . . • Be Realistic. . . Many journals have a rejection rate of at least 75% Perhaps consider trying smaller, newer journals How long between acceptance and publication? Is your article good enough? Is it worth a go? 19

Last slide… Ask, Learn & Develop. . . Publish! Any questions? 20