Are Publishers Worried About the Future of Academic Publishing?

[Approximate Reading Time : 4 mins]

The short answer is yes. Both university presses and the academic community at large are now worried about the future of scholarly monographs.

What Are the Publishing Challenges Faced by Academia?

According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the main challenges affecting this sector of publishing is obtaining grants. Grants help academics publish books that are not only profitable but form the foundation of a successful career. Unfortunately, there is no established system for obtaining grants, and self-publishing monographs is still expensive. Far more costly than just the binding and printing that troubles most other areas of publishing, academics must also consider the cost of peer reviews and curation.

What Are the Available Solutions to These Challenges?

Like many other aspects of business, downsizing is probably how university presses handle the cost restrictions. In this way, they can publish several articles and journals for the fraction of the cost of a full book. However, this doesn’t work well for all departments. Some academic fields do require a full book for discourse, as is often the case with philosophy.

Should Scholars Still Focus on Publishing Books?

When students get required reading for the semester, these are rarely just articles. What students need more than anything are full textbooks that cover all or most of the necessary topics for the semester. According to the University of Chicago Press, when scholars score these book deals, they are lucrative. The organization notes that monographs are usually sold for high prices and marketed mostly to libraries as a student resource.

University presses all across America are facing budgetary cuts. Some have gotten creative by using electronic formats and may work with companies like Amnet to streamline the publishing process. Contact us at [email protected] to see how we can do the same for you.

Sources:
1. https://www.chronicle.com/article/Worried-About-the-Future-of/246014
2. https://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/288447.html