Sent from my iPad
Toyin, my definition of traditional publishing makes no distinction between trade and academic publishers because both satisfy the two criteria I outlined: rigorous peer and editorial review and mechanisms for effective circulation.
Sent from my iPadI suspect that Moses is thinking purely in terms of traditional publishing strategies, the boundaries of which are being reconfigured.
He also seems to mix academic and trade publishing, which operate by different strategies in significant instances.
I think that the presence of the Internet enables one, with time, effort and money, to approach the reach of traditional publishing companies, if one is willing to do the work.
At the heart of marketing is convincing as many people as possible or as you would like that they should part with money for something you are providing.
How do you reach these people?
It has never been more readily possible to do so.
The social culture of the Internet is composed of both general and special interest groups. An online marketer would do well to establish a presence in both of these.
The Internet provides a range of platforms, from social media to Youtube, that facilitate such a process.
Can a POD author not do this?:
'Traditional publishers also advertise their books in trade, academic, and popular publications, again ensuring publicity and circulation'.
If one wants to do that, then why not go to a traditional publisher?
Perhaps you prefer a do-it-yourself route.
is it worth it in the long run?
i dont know.
but if you have difficulties getting a publisher, you might want to consider such a route.
As for academic works- why do they often cost significantly more than trade texts?
Why are some of them produced through POD?
On cost, one reason might be to make up for expected low revenue.
On use of POD, to accommodate the fact that demand level does not seem to justify significant or any hard copy printing.
I suspect that current model of academic marketing is not as efficient as it could be. There is a need to inspire greater demand for works produced in terms of the rigour of academic texts.
thanks
toyinOn Mon, May 28, 2012 at 9:12 PM, OLUWATOYIN ADEPOJU <adifada1@gmail.com> wrote:
I wonder where Ikhide gets the data for this statement he keeps directing against ASUU, a statement that looks to me like pure fiction:Western universities are very, very expensive, even for their own citizens.The fees go into thousands of pounds and dollars. The fees for foreign students in England are at least are more than double those for citizens. Foreign students, particularly from Africa, often have little or no financial support from anywhere.
"What do they care, their kids are safe in some Western institution only returning to thumb their noses at the mess that their parents made in their God awful books. "
How many ASUU staff can afford such fees? Then factor in living costs and cost of books, all in foreign currencies with the Nigerian naira abysmally low compared to the dollar and the pound.
Ikhide, please stick to what you can substantiate when referring to ASUU.
ToyinOn Mon, May 28, 2012 at 8:47 PM, Chidi Anthony Opara <chidi.opara@yahoo.com> wrote:
"Chidi, of course anyone can order a POD book from Amazon or Barnes and Noble, but don't they have to know about the book and trust that the book was run through the grind of review and editorial scrutiny before they will order it? With traditional publishing outfits these assurances are a normal part of the process. Traditional publishing outfits already have an audience made up of their own authors, reviewers, and university and other institutional libraries that maintain an account with them. This assures a wide circulation. a POD author has no such reach and has to advertise his/her book with friends, family, and on lists like US-AfricaDialogue. They'd be lucky if anyone outside of this small circle knows about their book let alone order it. And, of course, the vast worldwide library system remains for the most part closed to the POD and self-publishing industry. This is why most POD-published texts rarely circulate and are thus limited in their ability to disseminate whatever insight inheres in them. Traditional publishers also have established marketing and advertising arms and strategies that POD platforms lack. The former often obtain member lists from professional and academic organizations such as the ASA, AHA, MLA, etc., with thousands of members worldwide. Advertising traditionally published books and journals, even if these are electronic publications, to these audiences ensures that even the most obscure or esoteric book or journal will circulate. Traditional publishers also advertise their books in trade, academic, and popular publications, again ensuring publicity and circulation".---------Moses Ochonu.Moses, the constraints you mentioned above are not peculiar to Print On Demand books, they also apply to self–published traditional books.----CAO.Publisher At PublicInformationProjects
From: Moses Ebe Ochonu <meochonu@gmail.com>
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Sent: Monday, May 28, 2012 8:17 PM
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Print-on-demand Book Scams and Nigerian Universities
Ken, again, you raise very provocative questions, and you're right that answers will correspond to location and local dynamics. That said, I am disappointed that, once again and quite predictably, your diagnosis and solution congealed to the rather hackneyed cop out of resource dearth. I believe Basil Ugochukwu did a fantastic job of debunking the resource argument, albeit for Nigeria only. Like him, I no longer believe that all problems afflicting the academy in Africa can or should be reduced to the cliche of resource gap. In Nigeria, university funding has improved modestly over the last ten years, and as Basil eloquently argued, the amount that it would take to sustain a rigorously edited and peer-reviewed journal is a drop in the budgetary bucket of the universities, the NUC, and ASUU. The bigger problem, for me, is what Professor Alemika, who is based in Nigeria, outlined: proliferation of journals and the abuse of easy publishing platforms that compromise editorial and evaluative processes. Even the patronage of POD and self-publishing platforms can be streamlined/standardized to solve the problem of sloppy review and editorial oversight if our colleagues at home are self-critical enough to put their minds to it. ASUU can and should lead this charge.Chidi, of course anyone can order a POD book from Amazon or Barnes and Noble, but don't they have to know about the book and trust that the book was run through the grind of review and editorial scrutiny before they will order it? With traditional publishing outfits these assurances are a normal part of the process. Traditional publishing outfits already have an audience made up of their own authors, reviewers, and university and other institutional libraries that maintain an account with them. This assures a wide circulation. a POD author has no such reach and has to advertise his/her book with friends, family, and on lists like US-AfricaDialogue. They'd be lucky if anyone outside of this small circle knows about their book let alone order it. And, of course, the vast worldwide library system remains for the most part closed to the POD and self-publishing industry. This is why most POD-published texts rarely circulate and are thus limited in their ability to disseminate whatever insight inheres in them. Traditional publishers also have established marketing and advertising arms and strategies that POD platforms lack. The former often obtain member lists from professional and academic organizations such as the ASA, AHA, MLA, etc., with thousands of members worldwide. Advertising traditionally published books and journals, even if these are electronic publications, to these audiences ensures that even the most obscure or esoteric book or journal will circulate. Traditional publishers also advertise their books in trade, academic, and popular publications, again ensuring publicity and circulation.On Mon, May 28, 2012 at 10:37 AM, Tracy Flemming <flemmint@gvsu.edu> wrote:Has anyone taught Front Line of Freedom: African Americans and the Forging of the Underground Railroad in the Ohio Valley? I haven't decided if I'm going to use it for an upcoming underground railroad class. For an On Demand text, I think students might respond well to it.
http://www.kentuckypress.com/live/title_detail.php?titleid=1958
--Tracy Flemming, Ph.D.Visiting Assistant ProfessorAfrican/African-American StudiesGrand Valley State University107 Lake Ontario Hall1 Campus DriveAllendale, Michigan 49401-9403USAOfc: 616/331-8150Dept: 616/331-8110Fax: 616/331-8111E-mail: flemmint@gvsu.edu"The author is promised royalties if the book sells a certain number of copies. Of course, no print-on-demand book sells enough copies for the author to earn any royalties".------------Farooq A. KperogiThe above statement does not sound to me as referring only to academic publications. I publish poetry books on the Print On Demand platform and I have been receiving royalties since 2009.----CAO."The fact that these POD and self-published books and journals, whatever their insight, do not circulate beyond the author/editor and their family and friends. As a result, their insights are lost to the academic and intellectual community".------Moses Ochonu.Print On Demand books are available on the online bookshops and can be purchased by anybody.------CAO"In reality, the publishing house merely prepares a camera-ready copy of the manuscript, prints and mails a free author's copy of the book, and waits for orders".
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