In the social sciences and the humanities, publishing scholarly books is the name of the game for career advancement. Yes, teaching within an academic setting is crucial, but traction for tenure in these fields mainly comes through the pen. Most academics master how to please their advisors, peers, and mentors; few take the step of mastering the industry of publishing. William Germano’s book, laudably in its third edition from the University of Chicago Press, fills that gap by charting how academic publishing works, from traditional methods to digital domains.
For this type of academics, writing a book unlocks the next step in a career, but steps along this path are less obvious than getting a degree. This book demystifies the publishing process for scholarly book writers. It discusses everything from idea to post-publication, including proposals, choosing a publisher, reviews, contracts, publicity, and the electronic age. It’s exceedingly thorough. It’s also relatively up to date, though with a latest publication date of 2016, its section on quickly evolving electronic publishing could stand for another revision.
What can academic book-writers gain from mastering an industry that is somewhat outside of academe, ignoring that many scholarly presses are affiliated with universities? Well, increased knowledge facilitates increased precision, and more precision facilitates more efficiency, which in turn can facilitate greater impact. It makes your book about more than just your department and your students. You can see how your book works through other institutions and involves even society at large. Your audience more tangibly expands to include new readers.
Academics in the social sciences and the humanities provide the primary audience for this book. Not to be overlooked, however, are editors, staff in charge of publicity, and other participants in the academic publishing industry. Reading this work can help smooth out making a scholarly book product. Starting from academic writing, it shines the way of making this effort into a business process. Germano identifies many potential pitfalls and so expedites success, whatever that realistically looks like for you. By understanding the various roles in the process’s big picture, future writers who read this book can find the journey more fun and enjoyable.
Getting It Published: A Guide for Scholars and Anyone Else Serious About Serious Books
By William Germano
Third Edition
Copyright (c) 2016
University of Chicago Press
ISBN13 9780226281377
Page Count: 359
Genre: Writing, Academe
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