RESOURCES FOR PUBLISHING PHILOSOPHY


Guides to Publications

Bahm, Archie J., ed., Directory of American Philosophers, 12th ed. Bowling Green, OH: Philosophy Documentation Center, 1984. Biennial.

Besides listing faculty members of all U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities, this useful source also contains lists of philosophy centers and institutes, more than 100 North American philosophical societies and basic information on more than 130 journals and a wide range of publishers. If you have no current academic affiliation, ask to be listed under "Unaffiliated Philosophers."

deGeorge, Richard T., The Philosopher's Guide to Sources, Research Tools, Professional Life & Related Fields, rev. ed. Lawrence, KA: Regents Press of Kansas, 1980.

Primarily a bibliographic tool, it also contains minimal information on 137 English-language journals, 63 journals in other languages, 16 interdisciplinary journals; newsletters, annuals, lecture series and book series; writing guides and dictionaries; and philosophical societies.

Directory of Publishing Opportunities in Journals & Periodicals, 5th ed. Chicago: Marquis Academic Media, 1981. The fourth edition (1979) contained information on 3483 journals, mainly North American, in all fields, including more than 50 in philosophy (broadly construed). Designed with authors in mind. Good subject index. A useful aid for finding a home for interdisciplinary papers.

Cormier, Ramona & Lineback, Richard H., eds., International Directory of Philosophy and Philosophers, 1986-89, 6th ed. Bowling Green, OH: Philosophy Documentation Center, 1986. The international counterpart to the Directory of American Philosophers, including information on journals, publishers, institutes and philosophical societies in 100 foreign countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

Philosopher's Index. Bowling Green, OH: Philosophy Documentation Center. Quarterly. Includes addresses and subscription prices for more than 350 philosophy journals—but beware, addresses are those of publishers, not editors.

Ruben, Douglas H., Philosophy Journals & Serials. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985. Written primarily to help librarians distinguish among 335 philosophy journals. Only slightly helpful for academic philosophers; addresses given are those of publisher, not where contributions should be sent; Prana Yoga Life and The American Theosophist included along with Mind and Journal of Business Ethics; comments on journals have the tone of an outsider to the discipline straining to characterize and sell. Good subject index.

Yudkin, Marcia, Freelance Writing for Magazines and Newspapers: Breaking In Without Selling Out. New York, Harper Collins, 1988. A handy paperback with good advice, written in the style of the advice of this article, for those who would like to write for magazines and newspapers. A Book of the Month Club selection.

Writer's Market. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books. Annual, comes out every October. For those who want to venture into writing for broader audiences, a guide to (mainly) trade book publishers, general and specialized magazines and some Sunday newspaper magazine sections. Includes editors' names, submission details, range of pay and how to prepare manuscripts and queries, keep records for taxes and protect your rights in your work.

On Publishing

Author's Guide to College Textbook Publishing. 1 Park Ave. New York, NY 10016: Association of American Publishers, 1983. Packs a wealth of information on the peculiarities of textbook publishing into 12 pages. Available free.

Balkin, Richard, A Writer's Guide to Book Publishing. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1977. Recommended by several philosophy editors surveyed.

Bell, Herbert W., How to Get Your Book Published: An Insider's Guide. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books, 1985. This book contains seemingly useful chapters on types of publishing, contracts, royalties, copyrights, work for hire, libel, coauthorship, revised editions, the author's role in the production process and publishing software, among others. Appendix includes three sample contracts—for a trade book, a textbook and a vanity press book.

Books in Print. New York: R.R. Bowker & Co. Various editions updated several times a year. Use Subject Guide to Books in Print and Subject Guide to Forthcoming Books to check on the competition for your proposed book. When your book is published, check to make sure it is listed correctly; libraries and bookstores rely on this source for ordering.

Coser, Lewis, Kadushin, Charles & Powell, Walter W., Books: The Culture and Commerce of Publishing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982. Best available orientation to the book world—economic, sociological and historical aspects of publishing. Chapters 5 and 9, "To Sign or Not to Sign" and "Authors: A Worm's-Eye View," contain exceptionally useful advice on how to and how not to approach publishing houses. Anyone considering writing a textbook should read pp. 269-282 on "managed texts."

Fox, Mary Frank, ed., Scholarly Writing & Publishing: Issues, Problems, and Solutions. Boulder: Westview Press, 1985. Articles by members of the Research and Publications Committee of Sociologists for Women in Society. Jo Freeman's "Publishing a College Textbook" is packed with specific points about contracts, copyright procedures for anthologies, negotiations with publishers. Also highly recommended: Jane C. Hood's "The Lone Scholar Myth," on the importance of a support network.

Harman, Eleanor & Montagnes, Ian., eds., The Thesis and the Book. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1976. Indispensable for anyone considering trying to publish a dissertation; might be helpful also to someone undertaking a first book, as distinct from a series of articles.

Hill, Iris Tillman, "Workshop: The Publisher's Reader" in Weldon A. Kefauver, ed., Scholars and Their Publishers. New York: Modern Language Association, 1977. On how and why scholarly publishers depend on outside manuscript readers. Kozak, Ellen M., "How to Work Smoothly with Your Copy Editor." Writer's Digest, July 1985.

Recommended.

One Book, Five Ways. Los Altos, CA: William Kaufmann, Inc., 1977. Documents a fascinating project: one manuscript presented to five university presses and tracked through all the stages from evaluation and acquisition through copyediting, design and promotion. Makes concrete what happens after you submit your manuscript.

Powell, Walter W., Getting into Print: The Decision-Making Process in Scholarly Publishing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985. By a junior author of the Coser book. Lively case study of editorial decision-making in two scholarly publishing houses. Further lessons for academics on book editors' priorities.

SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING [journal]. Toronto: U of Toronto Press. Quarterly. An unusually attractive and readable quarterly for and by scholarly editors and authors. Contains wry articles with titles like "The Epidemiology of Footnote-in-Mouth Disease" and useful, timely resource guides. Worth at least a browse.

Stainton, Elsie Myers, Author and Editor at Work: Making a Better Book. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982. Advice on author-editor relations, fascinating discussion of distinctions among dictionaries, annotated resource list on style.

On Manuscript Preparation, Style, Editing

Cheney, Theodore A. Rees, Getting the Words Right: How to Revise, Edit & Rewrite. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books, 1983. How to be your own editor. Full of specific advice and examples. Worth buying, reading and rereading.

Chicago Manual of Style, 13th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982. If you're serious about publishing, you should own a copy of this, the standard reference on punctuation, spelling, capitalization, treatment of numbers, documentation and indexing. Most journals and book publishers expect authors to follow its conventions.

Cook, Claire Kehrwald, The MLA's Line by Line. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985. Less lively and inspirational than Cheney. Focus on improving sentences. Helpful for verbose writers or those unsure about proper punctuation.

Gibaldi, Joseph & Achtert, Walter S., MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 2nd ed. New York: Modern Language Association, 1984. Alternative to Chicago Manual of Style, favored by some journals.

Lanham, Richard, Revising Prose. New York: Scribners, 1979. Although written for students, can help anyone write more concisely, clearly and elegantly, avoiding the deadening constructions many academics think are expected of them. Many "before" and "after" examples.

Miller, Casey & Swift, Kate, The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing: For Writers, Editors & Speakers. New York: Harper & Row, 1980. Explains how and why to avoid sexual stereotypes, the pseudogeneric "he" and awkward "his/her" alternatives. Some journal editors and many potential readers agree that this is essential.

O'Neill, Carol L. & Ruder, Avima, The Complete Guide to Editorial Freelancing. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1979. Sections on symbols and procedures of copy editing, indexing and proofreading, with detailed examples.

Strunk, William, Jr. & White, E.B., The Elements of Style, third ed. New York: Macmillan, 1979. Tried and true.

Miscellaneous

Tax Guide for College Teachers. P.O. Box 929, College Park, MD 20741-9965; Academic Information Service. Annually updated. How to deduct expenses of writing and research from your taxes.

National Writers Union, 873 Broadway, Suite 203, New York, NY 10003, (212) 254-0279. Organization that represents the interests of all writers, including academic writers. During the fall of 1986, and again in 1995, the NWU initiated a large-scale research project into the situation of academic writers as a prelude to possible actions on their behalf. In addition to a newsletter, health insurance and discounts on certain books, computers and car rentals, members have access to advice on contracts and (sometimes spectacularly expeditious) handling of grievances against publishers. Dues vary depending on how much money you make from your writing; membership most appropriate for book authors.




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