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OK, I am ready to send a draft of my second fiction book to the editor. I'll be sending 1/3 of the book. Deadline was September 2016 (!). In this period, I've authored a few scientific papers. Let me list some differences between literary 
and scientific 
publishing (1/14).
and scientific publishing (1/14).
Submission (2/14)
The scientific manuscript is submitted through a rudimentary web interface. Sign up, sign in, add figures one by one... In my hands, the process takes 2-4 hours.
The literary manuscript is sent as an email attachment. Takes < 1min.
The scientific manuscript is submitted through a rudimentary web interface. Sign up, sign in, add figures one by one... In my hands, the process takes 2-4 hours. The literary manuscript is sent as an email attachment. Takes < 1min.
Length (3/14)
Strict word count limits (typically, 5000-8000 words) defined a priori, no matter the depth or scope of the study.
The book is as long or as short as the story demands. Words are precious beings. You feel guilty every time you kill one.
Strict word count limits (typically, 5000-8000 words) defined a priori, no matter the depth or scope of the study.The book is as long or as short as the story demands. Words are precious beings. You feel guilty every time you kill one.
Graphic materials (4/14)
Amateur, well-intentioned, ugly figures made by oneself. Inconsistent fonts, wrong color palettes, arrows everywhere, horrendous sketches.
A professional illustrator reads the book. They bug you until they understand it, and then they draw.
Amateur, well-intentioned, ugly figures made by oneself. Inconsistent fonts, wrong color palettes, arrows everywhere, horrendous sketches. A professional illustrator reads the book. They bug you until they understand it, and then they draw.
Cover (5/14)
You submit a cover image proposal which never gets chosen. You have an eccentric visual idea. You are a scientist and an artist.
The book needs to stand out in the bookstore, they will take care of this. You have no say here. You are a writer, not an artist.
You submit a cover image proposal which never gets chosen. You have an eccentric visual idea. You are a scientist and an artist. The book needs to stand out in the bookstore, they will take care of this. You have no say here. You are a writer, not an artist.
Editor (6/14)
All you got from them were copy-pasted emails indicating the next steps of the editorial process.
The editor is your cheerleader. You know their name, you have their phone number, you've met several times. Perhaps you are friends now.
All you got from them were copy-pasted emails indicating the next steps of the editorial process. The editor is your cheerleader. You know their name, you have their phone number, you've met several times. Perhaps you are friends now.
Reviewers (7/14)
Three anonymous, unpaid scientists review your work on a Sunday morning. The more they criticize your work, the smarter they look.
Editors review your work. They are avid readers, they've read it all. The more they correct, the more they like your book.
Three anonymous, unpaid scientists review your work on a Sunday morning. The more they criticize your work, the smarter they look. Editors review your work. They are avid readers, they've read it all. The more they correct, the more they like your book.
Revision (8/14)
An email with the reviewer's comments. You are rarely happy after this email. You hate your paper by now, just want to satisfy reviewers.
You meet the editor in a cafe. Comments are delivered with extreme caution. After all, this book is your baby...
An email with the reviewer's comments. You are rarely happy after this email. You hate your paper by now, just want to satisfy reviewers. You meet the editor in a cafe. Comments are delivered with extreme caution. After all, this book is your baby...
Editorial decision (9/14)
>6 months. If you are a data scientist, this is longer than project execution. Typically, the editor will apologize for the delays.
The process is slow, too. But the author is the bottleneck most of the time (they've been waiting since 2016...)
>6 months. If you are a data scientist, this is longer than project execution. Typically, the editor will apologize for the delays. The process is slow, too. But the author is the bottleneck most of the time (they've been waiting since 2016...)
Language (10/14)
You do your best with your mediocre English and put a lot of extra effort into writing. You can pay 500€ to the editorial for an editing service.
You write in your native language (Catalan, for example). No question. They will find a translator and pay.
You do your best with your mediocre English and put a lot of extra effort into writing. You can pay 500€ to the editorial for an editing service. You write in your native language (Catalan, for example). No question. They will find a translator and pay.
Money (11/14)
You pay to publish. 2,000, 5,000, 10,000€, it depends.
You get paid to publish. Not a lot, but you get paid. 1-2€ per book sold. The first few thousand sales are paid in advance.
You pay to publish. 2,000, 5,000, 10,000€, it depends. You get paid to publish. Not a lot, but you get paid. 1-2€ per book sold. The first few thousand sales are paid in advance.
Promotion (12/14)
They do a lazy tweet quoting the article title. You will retweet this tweet and write a tweetorial. You feel guilty about self-promotion, but what to do.
They look for a venue and set up an event. It is not massive, but still. They chase the media.
They do a lazy tweet quoting the article title. You will retweet this tweet and write a tweetorial. You feel guilty about self-promotion, but what to do. They look for a venue and set up an event. It is not massive, but still. They chase the media.
Impact (13/14)
You can monitor your article by citation counts. 10, 20, on average? 100 if you are a superstar.
You don’t really know how many books were sold, and you don’t know what’s a good number anyway. You want your work to be read, not cited.
You can monitor your article by citation counts. 10, 20, on average? 100 if you are a superstar. You don’t really know how many books were sold, and you don’t know what’s a good number anyway. You want your work to be read, not cited.
Finally, don't think scientific journals deal with an insane amount of stuff. They could do better. My small literary editorial publishes x10 pages per year than any scientific journal. It's about care and passion for literature, for the meaning of this very word (14/14).
journals deal with an insane amount of stuff. They could do better. My small literary editorial publishes x10 pages per year than any scientific journal. It's about care and passion for literature, for the meaning of this very word (14/14).
