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Publishing a book after leaving academia?

In our most recent "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

I have a question about book publishing. I am two and a half years post-PhD and have transitioned to non-academic full-time work after poor luck on the job market. I still find myself wanting to continue publishing work in academic philosophy, beyond journal articles. Would any decent book publisher (e.g. Routledge, Palgrave, Wiley, university presses) take seriously a proposal for a scholarly monograph from someone now entirely outside academia, assuming a completed manuscript was submitted?

This is a good question, and I don't know the answer. Any readers out there have any helpful insights?

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4 responses to “Publishing a book after leaving academia?”

  1. my HO

    I can only give my sense here – I have published a few books with an excellent university press. Good academic publishers want to sell books – in addition to producing good scholarship. So, if an author is completely outside the academic world it is unlikely that other academics will engage with their ideas, even if they are published in in a book by a good press. So I think one might find Presses are really reluctant to even consider a manuscript from someone who has left the academic world.

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  2. Michel

    I don’t see why not. The PhD shows that you’re perfectly qualified, and any pubs you have bolster that.
    I know someone who just left academia and has a contract with one of those presses. They were further out from their PhD when they left, and well-established pub-wise, but still.
    Actually, upon reflection, I know someone else who left academia immediately after their PhD and who has published a couple of academic books.

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  3. Sean Guynes

    I work in publishing (for fully OA publisher Lever Press [leverpress.org]), and the short answer is that if a book is good enough, fits a press’s list, and can pass peer review, no one really cares if the author is “in” academia or not.

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  4. BG

    I currently have a book under contract with Routledge in a series. I left academia and became self employed as a consultant researcher immediately after my PhD about 3 years ago. The question of whether I was at a university never came up. My proposal and chapters (based on my thesis) were passed around various series editors, then reviewed by 4 reviewers (3 were positive, 1 was negative and mentioned my ‘lack of credibility’). It passed peer review, went to the editorial board and passed there. And still, what I do for living has never come up. I hope this helps!

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