Publish with a University Press: A Brief Introduction to Navigating the University Press World in Difficult Times

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Non-Member Cost $25 (Upon payment, click "Return to Text and Academic Authors Association" and you will be able to download teleconference)

Presented by Peter Wissoker, a Former Acquisitions Editor at Cornell University Press

This is a difficult time for academic publishers. Sales are down, access to digital forms of information is up, and budgets at most universities are being slashed. This one-hour teleconference will guide potential authors through the process of publishing with a university press in these challenging times.

It is designed for three audiences: 1) scholars who need to publish a book for tenure; 2) those who have been publishing their research in journal articles but feel they are ready to step back and take stock of what they have found; and 3) those who are curious as to the current state of academic publishing.

Drawing on nearly twenty years of experience as an acquisitions editor, Peter Wissoker, will discuss how the contemporary business climate is affecting the publishing choices being made by university press editosr, and how to go about publishing an academic book in this context.

The teleconference will address:

• How to assess whether you should write a book
• How best to shape your project
• How to prepare materials to send to a publisher
• How to choose a publisher
• How to approach a publisher
• What happens at the press when your proposal is received–how publishers judge whether or not to publish a particular project

In these tough times, you need to have a realistic assessment of the possibilities of publishing, but also an idea of how to navigate the system in a way that will get you a contract. You will leave this teleconference with a sense of purpose, a sense of direction, and a feeling of momentum.

Peter Wissoker worked as an acquisitions editor for nearly twenty years, most recently at Cornell University Press, where he rebuilt the press’s lists in anthropology, geography, sociology, and urban studies. He began his career at The Guilford Press and then moved to Temple University Press where he was a Senior Acquisitions Editor. His best known titles include Denis Wood’s The Power of Maps and Sara Diamond’s history of the Christian Right, Roads to Dominion. A title he signed at Temple University Press, There Goes the ‘Hood received the 2007 Urban Affairs Association Best Book award. Wissoker’s writing has been published in the journals Urban Affairs Review and Antipode. Over the past decade Wissoker has given talks on academic publishing to graduate students and faculty at a number of universities and academic conferences. In February he is speaking at the Fordham University Law School. He lives in Ithaca, New York.

Please note: Recordings may not be copied, shared, or distributed.

Teleconference Handout

• Basic Elements of a Book Prospectus (PDF)

Contact Peter Wissoker:
Phone: (607) 273-6608
Email: wissoker@lightlink.com