Beth Luey

"In an ideal world, people would write only when they had something important to say. Discovery or inspiration would be the driving force. In the real world, though, this is only one of several worthy motives. Academic authors do write for the pure joy of communicating ideas, but they also write for tenure, money, and fame." Whatever your motive for writing, Handbook for Academic Authors will help you achieve your goal.

Contents

1. The Publishing Partnership

Publishing What You Write
The Scholar’s Bookshelf
The Publishing Partnership

2. Journal Articles

Writing Well
Selecting a Journal
Preparing the Manuscript
Refereeing
You’ve Got Mail
Revising Oral Presentations
Money
Electronic Journals
Book Reviews

3. Revising a Dissertation

The Differences between a Thesis and a Book
Deciding What to Do
The Thesis-Book Continuum
Mining for Articles

4. Finding a Publisher for the Scholarly Book

Types of Book Publishers
Choosing a Publisher
Agents and Editorial Consultants
Submitting the Manuscript
Refereeing
Getting a Prompt Answer
Revisions

5. Working with Your Publisher

The Contract
Subventions
Seeking Grants
Working with an Editor
Manuscript to Bound Book
The Ad in the New York Times
After Publication

6. Multiauthor Books and Anthologies

Collections of Original Essays
Anthologies and Readers

7. Finding a Publisher for the College Textbook

The College Textbook
Choosing a Publisher

8. Working with Your Textbook Publisher

Writing a Textbook
Reviews and Rewriting
Working with Your Editors
Teacher’s Manuals and Study Guides
Revised Editions

9. Books for General Readers

Economic Realism
Finding a Literary Agent
Writing for General Readers
Finding a Publisher for the Trade Book
Editing and Design
Marketing
Are You Ready for This?

10. The Mechanics of Authorship

Manuscript Preparation
Illustrations
Permissions
Proofreading
Indexing

11. Costs and Prices

Costs
Prices
Why Prices Vary
Subtracting Paper and Ink
Paperback and Reprint Editions
Textbooks
Trade Books
Financial Partnership

12. Electronic Publishing

Electronic Journals
Electronic Reference Works
Electronic Instructional Materials
E-Books
Thinking Big

Annotated Bibliography

From the reviews:

"Put this book into the hands of most of the young writers you know. It is neither pedantic nor patronizing. It will help them think better about writing and publishing. It could be read with profit by all academics."

"Beth Luey has written the kind of basic text you might think has been around for years. Well it hasn’t been, and now it finally is. The text is sensible and fair to all parties involved in academic publishing. Her book is especially noteworthy for disabusing authors of unrealistic expectations, while recalling to scholarly publishers their obligations to their authors no less than to the bottom line."

"...should be required reading for scholar/authors, or would-be authors...her book is a lucid and valuable primer that renders a needed service to academic authors and publishers alike."

"Anyone from a graduate student to the still hyperkinetic producer (of textbooks or monographs or in between) can learn from this straightforward, sober, thorough, orderly, and practical guide, reinforced by classified, annotated, and evaluative bibliography."

"This practical, informal and knowledgeable handbook is a fine guide to the highways and byways of academic publishing. It should be of considerable value to prospective authors."