Publishing
Section 4
There is a number of factors which may influence your decision as to which
medium to use and, consequently, which type of publisher to approach.
Table 6 below sets these out.
Table 6
FactorIssue
Your field
Different academic disciplines have different
ideas as to what is the best form of publication.
For example, in the humanities, books are the
preferred route to publication, but the sciences
prefer research to be published in articles in
peer-reviewed journals.
Target audience
Do you want to reach a wide audience or
target a small number of readers? If the former,
you should think about approaching trade
press as this is more commercially driven and
potentially reaches out to a large and varied
audience. If the latter, think about publishing in
journals. Prestigious, refereed journals are likely
to have a low circulation and not many people
outside given circles will know about them.
Professional periodicals, on the other hand, are
read by more people and are an easier, quicker
route to publication. (Peer review can often
take some months.)
Timing
Do you have an idea that will lose its relevance
if it is not published quickly? If this is the case,
you may need to consider approaching less
prestigious publishers, whether in the journals'
or the books' world, as, in practice, these
will publish more quickly than the more
well-known publishing houses.
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