IS IT HARDER TO PUBLISH ACADEMIC BOOKS IN THE DIGITAL AGE?Dana Beth Weinberg, PhDProfessor of Sociology and Director of the MA Program in Data Analytics and Applied Social ResearchQueens College-CUNYhttp://danabethweinberg.com

Eastern Sociological Society Digital Mini ConferenceMarch 17, 2016

Scholarly Needs and Publishers’ Decision-Making

• How has the book market and digital disruption affected academic publishers’ decisions about the kinds of books and authors in which to invest?

Academic Publishing and Academic Jobs

• Hiring, tenure, and promotion• Dissemination of scholarship• Peer review publication outlet

Academic Publishing and the Book Industry

• Niche books with relatively small audiences• Reputation for intellectual quality• Potential competition from trade publishers for more

popular types of titles

Major Changes in Publishing from Digitization

• Ebooks, reprints, and print on demand (POD)• Indie publishers and indie authors• Distribution• Retailers• Electronic journals, archives, and changing role of the

college library• Discoverability of books

The Book ExplosionBowker’s Books in Print (ISBNs)

Original Titles 2002-2012

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

Titles in Print

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

Titles in Ebook Only

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

All Titles

B5 Publisher Large Publisher University or Academic Press

Institutional Publisher Traditional Audiobook Publisher

Self-Published Author Unmatched

BUT Some Things Have Changed Less

Academic and University Press Titles

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

9,377 9,353 10,184 10,349 11,657 10,643 11,589

18,98715,409 13,987 13,088

2,018 2,427 2,312 3,5743,068

2,8463,100

3,529

5,3994,034

3,594

Titles Published 2002-2012

Print Ebook Only

Pursuing more popular topics?• Analysis of trends in academic publishers’ titles by BISAC

heading showed no steady trend changes by subject.

Academic and University Presses

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

4,7185,402

5,9606,910 7,032 7,056

6,232 6,467

13,187

8,539

6,9926,055

Titles by Seasoned and Debut Authors 2007-2012

seasoned author debut author

*With the data starting in 2002, debut authors are defined starting in 2007 as having their first book published in the reporting year.

Conclusions• Academic publishers are publishing more titles now than

in the early 2000s. Some of these new titles may be reprints or ebook versions of previously published works.

• They are publishing steadily in the same subject areas, suggesting that they are staying to their established niche markets rather than pursuing more popular subjects.

• There may be a slight decline both proportionately and overall in opportunities for new authors to publish. This is a trend to watch.