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Getting It Published: A Guide for Scholars and Anyone Else Serious about Serious Books

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Writers and publishers depend on one another, but it often seems as if they speak two different languages. Getting It Published is a lively, insider's guide to academic publishing—a book that will tell you not only how publishing works, but how you can make it work for you. Written by a veteran editor with experience in both the university press and commercial worlds, the book fields the big questions in a scholar's life. Why do editors choose some books and decline others? How does a writer decide where to submit a project? How does the review process work, and why is it necessary? What can an author expect from a publishing house—before, during, and after publication? William Germano answers these questions and more, and along the way, offers encouragement, tips, and warnings.

This savvy guide unravels the mysteries of publishing and walks you through the process from start to finish. You'll learn how to think about your book before you submit it and what you need to know about your contract. With wit and humor, Germano also addresses some of the finer points of publishing etiquette, including how—and how not—to approach a busy editor and how to work with other publishing professionals on matters of design, marketing, and publicity. Graduate students, recent Ph.D.'s, and experienced authors alike will appreciate the chapters on "Quotations, Pictures, and Other Headaches" and on compiling and editing collections and anthologies.

"Scholarly publishing is a big, noisy, conversation about the ideas that shape our world," Germano writes, "Here's how to make your book part of that conversation."

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1994

53 people are currently reading
349 people want to read

About the author

William P. Germano

5 books3 followers
William Germano is vice president and publishing director at Routledge. He has been editor in chief at Columbia University Press, where he also served as humanities editor.

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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
Profile Image for Andrew.
Author 1 book45 followers
August 5, 2019
Recommended reading and ongoing resource for graduate students and early career researchers in the humanities.
Profile Image for Scott Pearson.
831 reviews40 followers
August 21, 2023
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.

Profile Image for Amy.
1,326 reviews9 followers
June 22, 2018
This book taught me a lot as a first-time book writer. It is full of information about each stage of the publishing process (and there are more stages than you might guess). I think it’s an excellent and highly readable and encouraging resource, even if learning how much I still need to do feels daunting.
Profile Image for Caitlin.
376 reviews7 followers
March 9, 2023
I was bizarrely recommended this book by an advisor when trying to publish an article. This is about publishing an academic book, not an article. It’s full of great information. I learned a lot about publishing. It’s funny. However, it was way too much for my needs. Still good, just not what I needed.
Profile Image for Joseph Stieb.
Author 1 book235 followers
June 24, 2018
Helpful guide for thinking about turning the diss into book one. Kinda liked the style of "The Professor is In" more, but this is still worth checking out for a sense of how the editing/publishing process works.
Profile Image for Jason.
179 reviews5 followers
February 10, 2019
If you're a first-time book author like myself, do your self a favor and read Chapter 14 FIRST. This is a useful work for anyone who is either considering authoring a book manuscript or (like myself) in the middle of writing one.
Profile Image for Kasper.
94 reviews2 followers
October 9, 2025
I have published one textbook and found this book to be of little relevance when considering my next book. Most of the information was either familiar to me or had no parallel in my experience as an author of a computer science textbook.
Profile Image for Erica.
Author 4 books64 followers
December 25, 2017
A great help in all early stages of publishing your manuscript.
Profile Image for Cameron Macdonald.
Author 2 books11 followers
October 3, 2018
A simple and helpful book on publishing a book that is more academically written.
Profile Image for Tobias.
Author 2 books34 followers
November 5, 2018
Invaluable resource, even for non-academic authors of serious non-fiction.
Profile Image for Elissa.
54 reviews
July 31, 2023
There is some real clear and actionable advice in this book in relation to the publication process. In that way, I found it more useful than his From Dissertation to Book.
Profile Image for mad mags.
1,270 reviews91 followers
October 14, 2013
Useful for scholars and trade authors alike!

Having read a number of books on publishing in the past several months, I was delighted to stumble upon "Getting It Published." Although it isn't directly related to my current career path - presently, I'm self-publishing a general trade nonfiction book, as opposed to a scholarly tome - I found Germano's advice to be helpful, thoughtful, and eloquent nonetheless.

In welcome contrast to the many publishing books that are aimed at more general audiences, "Getting It Published" does not dumb itself down for the lowest common denominator. Germano's writing is witty, enjoyable, and informed - it's as though you're receiving guidance from your academic advisor rather than reading a how-to book written by some faceless, self-proclaimed publishing "guru." It should come as no surprise that Germano is the VP and publishing director at Routledge. His wealth of insight is remarkable - he covers the process of publishing scholarly work from beginning to end. From writing the manuscript, to crafting a successful proposal, signing a contract, and seeing the work through to publication, Germano doesn't miss a beat. He even covers the not-so-little details, like copyrights, permissions, quotations, artwork, and cover design. His discussion of the various publishing houses and their tasks ("What do publishers do?") was most informative.

"Getting It Published" is a must-have for those new to scholarly publishing. Newbies to the world of publishing who aren't looking to publish scholarly work won't be disappointed, either - there's plenty of useful information in here for everyone. It also serves as a much-needed break from all those awful "For Dummies" books and "Idiot's Guides" that seem to saturate the publishing market!

http://www.easyvegan.info/2005/05/10/...
Profile Image for Todd Williams.
Author 4 books8 followers
August 3, 2011
Very helpful. Not only did I learn a lot about this mysterious process, but I'm reinvigorated and ready to get back out there.

Good advise:

Have in mind a specific “core” readership—broader isn’t nec. better.

Consider who would review

Focus on having strong openings and conclusions: chapters and whole

In book have fewer quotes and citations than dissertation

Make sure the first 50 pages are strong

Make title descriptive—not cute

AAUP good directory of presses

Course adaptation is a very good thing

Start with inquiry letters by mail: address to specific editors

3 parts to inquiry: brief letter: a page, short and enthusiastic, use letterhead

Description in about 5 pages or less—use simple language

CV mainly focused on publications and teaching

Also a SASE is a good idea

Books are published in page intervals of 32—length effects cost

Figures and pictures effect cost too

Permissions are your responsibility. Over 75 years old (published) is public

Manuscript: 8 ½ x 11, 1 sided, 2 space everything, # pages, new ch. = new page, nothing fancy.

Indexing: see Chicago Manual of Style or Nancy Mulvany’s Indexing Books

Success: clarity, at least 1 great idea, timely, good self-promotion

Profile Image for Karl Steel.
199 reviews157 followers
June 7, 2008
In response to a review below, Germano also has a book on turning diss's into books; I'll read it soon.

It's hard to know how to rate a book like this: I'm inclined to give it 5 stars if, and only if, my book, knock on wood, finds its home in every home, and adulation on every corner.

Bits of the book are jarringly obsolete; references to the 'Net [sic: the word he wants is "Intertubes"], disks (including Zip disks), and uncertainty about the couthness of email abound. Hurrah for the precise map of the ideal inquiry letter, but for a book with so much (necessary, welcome) handholding, I'm a bit miffed about the omission of guidance on the line-spacing of the project description. No more than 5 pages, sure; but is that double or single spaced?

I would recommend that all readers supplement it with anything by Lindsey Waters on the death of the monograph. Germano sniffs at proclamations of its death, but I still think Waters--or John Holbo for that matter--knows what's already arrived.
Profile Image for Shanea Kirk.
67 reviews1 follower
June 20, 2016
This book is geared towards academic authors, but still provides very useful information and tips for the general author. It goes so far as to discuss academic publishing and follows that up with examples for those wishing to publish novels. I don't rule out academic writing for my future, but with all writing endeavors I take on, I have a feeling I'll be referencing this book many times in my life.

"...Write as if the book will be read. Imagine ideal readers. Write for them, with care and attention, for they are the best friends your book will have."

"One could mount the argument that academics have a social obligation to publish--not because many have jobs that taxpayers support, but because the scholar's pledge to the advancement of learning must be to a public advancement. And publishing, down to its etymological roots, is about making ideas public."
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
1,020 reviews
January 13, 2014
This book gave a lot of good, specific information about the pragmatics of publication, but I emphasize that the focus is on the pragmatics. Germano discusses time table, etiquette for communication with editors, responding to outside readers, how to go about getting permissions of images and photos, and much more. What he doesn't spend much time on is the substance of what makes a monograph. Of course, this makes sense given he's written a different book about this; however, I might complain that this book is marketed as if it did cover more about the content of publication (ironic given Germano's own frank discussion of marketing within). Nonetheless, it's a useful guide to have and hold on to, and it's smartly written and conceived such that the majority of the discussion should remain pertinent even as more books become digital.
Profile Image for Greg.
649 reviews105 followers
October 27, 2007
Let's start with what this book is not. It is not a guide to revising your dissertation for publication. There, that out of the way, let's extol the virtues of this book. It is a guide to the publishing business for academic authors. It is very useful in that it does not gloss over many details on the inquiry, submission, contracting, editorial, and marketing processes. If you are contemplating your first book, read this guide.
Profile Image for O.
381 reviews2 followers
October 28, 2011
I read this when I was kid, day dreaming of being a writer. It goes through the formal procedures from writing your manuscript to receiving the published book in your hands. I thought it was helpful in making me realise how much actual lame real work is entailed in following literary pursuits.
Profile Image for Oliver Bateman.
1,472 reviews85 followers
January 6, 2014
The inclusion of some sample book proposals would have made this a MUCH more useful work.
Profile Image for Brigitte.
582 reviews5 followers
February 27, 2022
I’ve decided I’m writing a monograph, and this book has been so helpful in getting me to think about structure and the proposal.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews

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