Preface to the Fifth Edition

Abstract

Earlier editions of this book benefited from conversations with editors and publishers. This edition has benefited from conversations with authors and aspiring authors as well. For the past five years, I have visited college and university campuses, conducting publishing workshops for faculty members and doctoral students. Looking at twenty-first-century publishing from their point of view has led me to rewrite completely the chapter on revising dissertations and to alter many other sections of the book. The normalization of digital technology in research, writing, and publishing has allowed me to simplify the instructions for manuscript preparation and to explore more systematically new ways of exploiting that technology. Changes in the economics of publishing and bookselling have led me to update the chapter on costs and prices. Working closely with young scholars has benefited me personally as well, by breaking down the cynicism about academe that tends to build up over thirty years of life in academic bureaucracy. I hope that this edition reflects the enthusiasm and optimism that I have seen among young colleagues and that I myself have regained.