Fwd: Couple of questions--multiple replies

From: Dane S. Claussen <[email protected]>

I think you should have been surprised and disturbed by the review,
assuming that your dissertation is either defensible history or
defensible social science or both.  You also should be shocked
(though not surprised) by the editor. Almost all of the book publishers
don't exactly employ Einsteins these days.  What concerns me is that
if you were not surprised and disturbed by an overly ideological review,
is there some possibility that your dissertation is indefensibly
ideological (to the extent that it is not  excellent history and/or
excellent
social science) as well?!?

Dane S. Claussen, Ph.D., M.B.A.Editor (3/2006-9/2012),
Journalism & Mass Communication Educator,
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
***************
From: Leo Enticknap <[email protected]>

 Michael Fitzgerald writes:

> "He lumped me in a category with Noam Chomsky--good company,
> in my view--and others in what he feels is an unpatriotic ilk (he openly
> mentioned that he personally knew several television-network
> executives and that they were decent, "patriotic" citizens who had
> "fought for this country during WWII")."

Does he also sing along to Carson Robison's "I'm No Communist"
in the shower?!

> "My questions are: did the editor violate standard protocol here,
> and am I right to be indignant? I reiterate, I am not upset by the
> review itself as by the unmitigated and unquestioned power it was
> given by the editor."

The proposal for my first book was eventually accepted by the
seventh publisher I approached, and the one I'm on the verge of
finishing the manuscript for by publisher #5. The chances are that if he
was willing to ditch your proposal on the basis of such a personal gut
reaction, then working with him would not have been a positive
experience anyway. Personally I would only start to get alarmed if I
was being turned down by multiple publishers, whose established
lists are a good fit with the book you're pitching and without a
rational reason.

Occasional conspiracy theories about academic publishing do
surface. The most infamous example I know of can be found in the
opening chapters to the second edition of Barry Salt's 'Film Style
and Technology'. Salt self-published it, explaining that he had no
choice because those opening chapters are a comprehensive
demolition job on humanities academia in general and film theory
in particular, and therefore spiteful peer reviewers had seen to it
that no mainstream publisher would touch the manuscript. Actually
I've seen equally trenchant criticisms cultural theory between the
covers of mainstream publishers. E.P. Thompson and Alan Sokal
would make Salt's critique seem mild and had no problem getting
their work into peer-reviewed print, for example (arguably not enough
of a problem, in the case of Sokal!).

If there is any systematic behind-the-scenes backstabbing going on,
I'd like to believe that it is very rare and that as a general rule,
reasoned and supported criticism by academics of each other's work
is not only tolerated, but actively encouraged. My inclination would be
simply to write this one off to experience, cross that publisher off the
list and move on to another one.

Leo

---
Leo Enticknap
Institute of
Communications Studies
2.35, Clothworkers' Building North
University of
Leeds
LS2 9JT
United Kingdom
My personal website [1]
My page on the
University of Leeds's website [2]
My page on academia.edu [3]


Links:
------
[1] http://www.enticknap.net
[2]
http://ics.leeds.ac.uk/staff/leo
[3]
http://leeds.academia.edu/enticknap
*********************

From: James Welsh <[email protected]>

Dear Michael F.,
If you've got a solid thesis, then the political stance shouldn't matter.
Maybe your proposal just went out to the "wrong" reader?  Lord knows
what kind of protracted politically correct dance you may have to
perform, always humble, always submissive, Yikes!  I presume you are
looking for a university press, and I don't know how "readable" your
"professional" style may be, but if it is worthy of being read by ordinary
mortals, if it's not larded with jargon, you might consider sending it to a
commercial press, like Scarecrow, which I know is looking for film titles.
A letter of inquiry to Senior Editor Stephen Ryan couldn't hurt.  He may
be attending the Film & History proceedings in Milwaukee in late
September.  Once they decide to publish, production could take as little
as a half year, if you are anxious to get your ideas out there.  His e-mail
address is [email protected]   Good luck, at any rate.
*****************
From: Henry M. Taylor <[email protected]>

Michael, my simple advice to you is to keep your head up high, don't
be discouraged and just keep on trying other publishers. Not everyone
is so narrow-minded.

Best of luck,
Henry