This week we’re offering some publishing tips from Jussi Parikka, author of Digital Contagions and the forthcoming Insect Media:
1. To get published, the first thing you should get right is actually have something good to publish. In other words, write a good book. Sounds banal, I know, but when starting your PhD keep in mind the possibility that it is going to be a book one day and try to use that as motivation for your writing. In some countries (such as Finland) this is easier because your thesis needs to be published as part of the PhD process. As s a result, we already tend to think of them as books – which is also part of the reason why they are much more extensive than Anglo-American PhDs. Excitement in what you write about shows comes across to readers well!
2. We all want to publish with the big publishers, don’t we? But think strategically and be conscious of the geopolitics of publishing. The market has been and still is dominated by a few university presses and a couple of other big publishers, which is not healthy in terms of academic debate. Hence there is good reason for considering middle-sized and small publishers which might be able to build more profile for your book as well. Smaller publishers also tend to be quicker – are you prepared to wait a couple of years with a bigger publisher to get your book out?
3. Do you know what your book is about? Well of course you do – but try putting that into one sentence or a short paragraph. A good newspaper article should be something you can crystallize in one sentence, so use the same idea for your book as well. This way, you are able to clearly frame its focus and better sell it to your prospective publisher. After that crystallization you can indulge in the complexities of theory and the multiplicities in your research!
4. You will never run out of questions – ask peers for advice, contact people, ask potential publishers (their commissioning editor) and especially editors of series whether they might be interested in seeing a proposal. As some earlier tips have already noted, check out who is doing what and which publishers have published similar titles as yours. Quite often, series are the key – check what kind of book series the publishers produce, and whether your book would be a good fit.
5. Everybody says this but it is true: failure is good! For a successful book contract I usually receive at least 5 rejections first! It forces you to have a look at your proposal, improve it, and also realize that academic publishing is a pain in the backside.
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