Publishing Scholarly Monographs (Humanities & Social Sciences)

The Berlin University Alliance (BUA) is an alliance of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Together, they are pursuing the goal of creating and shaping an integrated research space in Berlin. This alliance aims to establish Berlin as a leading international science location. All workshops and events offered by the Graduate Studies Support Program are funded by the BUA and therefore free of charge.

 

Participation

Advanced doctoral researchers in the Humanities and Social Sciences of the Berlin University Alliance.

Before booking a workshop, please make sure that you can attend for the entire duration. Please check our terms and conditions.

 

Objectives

The present climate is notoriously difficult for scholarly publishing, and making a first approach to academic presses with the fruits of your doctoral research in a book proposal can be a daunting and uncertain business. This workshop is designed to demystify the task, shedding light on the decision-making process and helping researchers considering book publication to present their work to publishers in the best way. It encourages participants to view their research as others will see it, along the line that stretches from commissioning editors and peer-reviewers all the way down the supply chain to booksellers, librarians, review editors, and the prospective readership.

This involves thinking about the market, choosing and approaching a publisher, and working out how to represent your work to best advantage. In addition the workshop deals with how to negotiate the particular problems surrounding interdisciplinary work and essay collections awareness

The workshop is preceded by a lecture with questions and discussion on the current state of the academic publishing industry, designed to give an understanding of the market and conditions in which publishers operate. It includes discussion of issues raised by digital publishing, the profound changes now underway with the rise of open access, and how this climate affects the reception of publishing proposals.

 

Content

• From doctorate to publication - understanding the transition

• Who are you writing for? Who needs it?

• Broadening the appeal of specialised projects

• Interdisciplinary work

• Choosing the right publisher and making your approach

• Choosing a title

 

Further Information

Postdocs are welcome to participate if spots are available.