Your Career: Let's demystify the publishing process

Misconceptions about editors and university presses only add to scholarly anxiety about writing. ADVERTISEMENT [Your Career Logo]( You can also [read this newsletter on the web](. Or, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, [unsubscribe](. Misconceptions about editors and university presses only add to scholarly anxiety about writing. It’s challenging to give publishing advice to academics when the most accurate response to most questions is “it depends” — on the press, the field, the aims of the author, and so on. But while presses, authors, and book projects all vary greatly, we all labor under common myths and misconceptions about this central aspect of academic life. Our publish-or-perish culture breeds anxiety. How could it not? And that culture breeds advice. Most of it is well-meaning, especially when it comes from advisers and senior colleagues. But their advice doesn’t always reflect the aims and concerns of publishers, and may be rooted in their own experience with one or two presses or a story they heard about this-or-that editor. That’s how myths about the publishing process spread. They often have some degree of truth in different contexts but ultimately tell only a partial story and can hinder communication (if not create antagonism) between scholars and publishers. One of the most common myths: There are “good” and “bad” presses. Individual scholars have undoubtedly had good and bad experiences with different publishers and editors. Still, when it comes to university presses, there are not good and bad ones. Nor are there “fast” and “slow” ones. Rather, there are good and bad fits for different authors and projects based on any number of factors, including institutional requirements, disciplinary expectations, and publisher processes and timelines. Moreover, fit is mutual. It may sound clichéd or like secret code when an editor tells you that your project isn’t a good “fit” for the press. But “fit” truly is the best term most of the time for what editors are looking for in a project — hence the value of spending time on press websites, perusing your own bookshelves and bibliographies, and talking to editors and asking questions about their visions, lists, and series. For more publishing myths, continue reading: “[Why I’m Wary of Publishing Advice, But Will Offer It Anyway]( by Rebecca Colesworthy Share your suggestions for the newsletter with Denise Magner, an editor at The Chronicle, at denise.magner@chronicle.com. If you’d like to opt out, you can log in to our website and [manage your newsletter preferences here](. 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