A brief (personal)introduction to academic publishing - specifically in development economics monographs with a university press!

1. Reviews, Revisions, and Royalties
The Paths and Processes of Getting Your Book Published *
Adam Swallow
Commissioning Editor
Economics and Finance
Oxford University Press
Wednesday 1 December, 1–2pm
Seminar Room 1
Department of International Development –
Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford,
3 Mansfield Road
* A Presentation and Discussion with Q&A
(with a focus on development economics)

2. The Paths and Processes of Getting Your Book Published
 knowing your readership / know your publisher;
 prepare the proposal / write the book;
 the review process;
 engaging with critical comments;
 a University Press;
 substance and style;
 the paperwork and the acronyms;
 what happens in production; and
 sales, e-products, and beyond

3. Knowing your readership / know your publisher
Why publish?
 Pursuit of academic recognition, influence peers and policy,
protective copyright, riches, …
Books or articles?
 Readership, dissemination, citation, …
What type of writing?
 PhD thesis / academic journal / monograph / textbook / ‘impact’
What type of publisher?
 trade / textbook / professional (STM) / scholarly / university
presses
 Look at catalogues and lists, publishers’ websites, your own
reading, talk to colleagues

4. Prepare the proposal / write the book
No harm with an informal chat!
The outline
1) Proposed working title and subtitle
2) Author/editor details, including affiliation and contact details
3) Synopsis of the proposed book
4) Draft Table of Contents
5) The intended market and readership (primary and secondary) for the
book
6) Competition
7) Sample chapter/material
And then: an estimate of the word length and any artwork requirements, an
estimate of when you expect to submit your final manuscript, and a short, up
to date CV for all authors/editors.
… Pros and cons of proposals versus completed manuscripts
(discuss!)

5. The review process - proposals
1) What, briefly, are the purposes and main arguments of the work?
2) Is it an original and significant contribution to the subject? If so, in what
respects? (e.g. new interpretation, methodology, sources).
3) Is the content well organised?
4) Are there any subjects or topics not covered which in your opinion would form
a necessary part of this book? Or is there any material you would consider
superfluous?
5) Is the style appropriate? If provided, what is your opinion on any sample
material?
6) Are you aware of the author?
7) Do you agree with the readership as outlined in the proposal?
8) Do you agree with the author’s assessment of the competition for the
proposed book? Are you aware of any competing books not mentioned in the
proposal?

6. The review process - manuscripts
Contribution to its field in presenting original material and/or an
original argument
The organisation of the book
The choice and balance of topics being appropriate and up to date
Engaging with critical comments
Endorse / revise / reject
You may not necessarily agree with the reviewers’ comments.
Reviewers are representative of the potential readership.
Engage with and address their comments.
Use the opportunity to revise and acknowledge other points of view.

7. A University Press
 Trade publishers – the ‘airport blockbuster’
 Textbook publishers – the school / undergrad student market
(second hand and numerous editions)
 Professional publishers – law, medical, religious, engineering,
business, …, via profession networks
 Scholarly publishers – research libraries (300 world wide)
 University presses – ‘impact’ titles, scholarly but sold through trade
bookstores to the university educated. Part scholarly, part trade.
Who’s who:
Commissioning editors, peer reviewers, Publishers (management),
and the Delegates (academic board)

8. Substance and style
The structure of the writing is determined by its readership and thus
the format of writing
Be aware of stylistic and structural differences between different
genres of academic writing
In a monograph, theory, data and method should be synthesized and
integrated not just described
1) Eliminate word duplications
2) Write sentences with only one independent clause
3) Keep paragraphs to 50-100 words
4) Group paragraphs in 4-6 page sections
5) Limit chapters to 9,000 words
6) Use quotations only to reiterate
7) Avoid block quotations.

9. The paperwork
Proposal
Reviewers’ comments
Response to reviews
Publishing Agreement
Author questionnaire (APF)
Manuscript submission checklist (EIF)
Hardcopy (two sets, double spaced!)

10. What happens in production
Receipt
Checklist
Handover
Production Schedule
Jacket design Marketing
Proofreading Website
Typesetting (incl. e-files) Sales packs
Page proofs / revise proofs Conference planning
Indexing Endorsements
Print and bind
Warehouse / stock control Sales
Online / data sharing Review copies
Reprint / paperback

11. Sales, e-products, and beyond
How many:
…copies printed?
…given away?
…sold? (discounts) …and who buys them?
...read?
Royalties or glory (citations)
Working Papers or book / article buying
e-developments [RePEc / EconLit / … ]
Paperback (do the maths)
International sales (pricing)
Translations
Conferences
Revised editions (or print on demand)

12. References and further reading
Sarah Caro (2009) How to Publish Your PhD, Sage.
ISBN 978-1-4129-0791-0
William Germano (2001) Getting it Published: A Guide for Scholars
and Anyone Else Serious About Serious Books, University of
Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-2262-8844-4
Rob Kitchin and Duncan Fuller (2005) The Academic's Guide to
Publishing, Sage. ISBN 978-1-4129-0083-6
Barbara Minto (2001) The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing and
Thinking, Financial Times / Prentice Hall.
ISBN 978-0-2737-1051-6
Thank you
Adam Swallow
adam.swallow@oup.com