How to choose a publisher when you think your book could fit at multiple places?
One thing to think abt is the audiences you’re most keen to reach. Which press has the best reputation among the people you *most* want to read your book?
One thing to think abt is the audiences you’re most keen to reach. Which press has the best reputation among the people you *most* want to read your book?
The people you care most about reaching might be people in your home field or subfield. For ex, if you’re going up for tenure & need to “make an impact” in the field of your home dept, you might decide to pick the press that looks best to yr senior colleagues. But—
Maybe you’ve written an interdisciplinary book and you’re already pretty well connected & visible in one of the fields yr intervening in. In that case maybe go for a press that has the visibility & marketing channels in the field you’re less known in but want to be respected in
You’re going to have to do a lot of the promotion for the book anyway. It’s worth considering a press that can make up for the gaps in yr own platform & vice versa.
(Some presses are known to do very little promotion. Don’t pick those presses unless you have no choice)
(Some presses are known to do very little promotion. Don’t pick those presses unless you have no choice)
I know it can be hard for ECRs to know which presses have what reputations in what fields. It’s one of those cultural capital / hidden curriculum things, and there isn’t, like, some guide somewhere. You learn it by talking to people. So start talking to ppl abt it!
There is the Association of University Presses Subject Area Grid, which can be useful ( aupresses.org/resources/aupr…). But it will tell you who publishes in which areas, not their reputations in those areas. That’s a matter of perception, so you’ve got to talk to the perceivers
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