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Post by Rasputin on Feb 6, 2015 11:54:01 GMT -5
Hi - anyone have any thoughts/opinions about Lexington books? Are they a "respectable" press or should one steer away from them?
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Post by sure on Feb 6, 2015 12:29:43 GMT -5
Low tier press, nothing fancy, but legitimate. I like some of the edited volumes they put out.
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Post by agreed2 on Feb 6, 2015 12:31:57 GMT -5
They are an imprint of Rowman and Littlefield, who generally does good stuff. It won't get you the career mileage that U of Chicago or U of California press will. But, not bad.
Definitely not a vanity or predatory press. Well-regarded--- just not top tier.
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Post by be wary on Feb 6, 2015 12:44:09 GMT -5
I have a folder titled "Unsolicited Offers" where I dump all of the generic emails I've received asking me to send in a manuscript. Rowman and Littlefield reach out to me at least once a year, and they've been doing this since I was ABD. At the very least, don't be flattered that they contacted you.
Not a vanity press, but I would not send my proposal to them in the first round. If you're serious about writing a book, come up with a formal, professional package and send it first to the presses that have impressed you -- the ones where you don't have to go to an anonymous chatroom to determine their reputation and legitimacy. If you keep striking out with them, buy you still think your proposal and manuscript are strong, perhaps you should then consider something like Lexington.
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Post by sure again on Feb 6, 2015 15:47:15 GMT -5
"Sure" again from above.
I agree that Lexington Press should be a plan C, not a Plan A, but it also depends on what you seek. If you want to go for the low hanging fruit, presses like Rowman and Littlefield, or Lynne Rienner and their subsidiaries, are fine. If you are trying to get a job/tenure at a teaching intensive school, it helps to have a book under any (non-vanity) press. Academic presses are almost always better than the corporate name presses, even mid-tier presses like Rutgers or NYU Press. If you are looking to be upwardly mobile for R1 and R2 jobs, you should strive for an academic press.
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Post by drbearjew on Feb 7, 2015 15:24:46 GMT -5
My book was just published, by Lexington. The process was good, and fair. They are one of the few presses that prioritize junior scholarship. Yes, it's great to have that first book with a "tier 1" press. But, many of those presses are open that, in most cases, they don't want to publish something by somebody new, and they need to know they can sell a book.
I will say this...my book with Lexington has served a very important role in new opportunities. I inked a contract with a "top" press for my second book in part because they knew I could follow through on a book project. And, I was able to go back to the well with Rowman and Littlefield for a third book project because they knew my work rate and style from my project with Lexington.
Make the most of each opportunity, and try to have a long game, beyond just a first book, or just getting tenure/moving.
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Post by 2134323123 on Feb 7, 2015 23:09:37 GMT -5
My book was just published, by Lexington. The process was good, and fair. They are one of the few presses that prioritize junior scholarship. Yes, it's great to have that first book with a "tier 1" press. But, many of those presses are open that, in most cases, they don't want to publish something by somebody new, and they need to know they can sell a book. I will say this...my book with Lexington has served a very important role in new opportunities. I inked a contract with a "top" press for my second book in part because they knew I could follow through on a book project. And, I was able to go back to the well with Rowman and Littlefield for a third book project because they knew my work rate and style from my project with Lexington. Make the most of each opportunity, and try to have a long game, beyond just a first book, or just getting tenure/moving. What was the review process? How many times did it go out for review, how many reviewers, etc? |
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Post by drbearjew on Feb 8, 2015 8:05:12 GMT -5
Went out the first time to I believe four reviewers. I responded to the reviews, and it went back out to the two reviewers with the most critical feedback and suggestions. First round of reviews took about five or so months. Last round was roughly two months.
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Post by Anonym on Feb 11, 2015 12:04:22 GMT -5
Adding to the thread. I had a good experience with Lexington books. For the first round it went to two reviewers, and one of whom was very critical. For the second round, it went back to one original and one new reviewer. The entire review process was very helpful, and it definitely changed the manuscript for the better. I tried very hard to get an academic publisher to publish my book, but was unsuccessful. There were many reasons for it, and perhaps the fact that my advisors were not known in the book publishing world played a huge role. At the end I published a book that I am proud off, and even though it is not by a top tier press, I am happy that it is well written, getting good reviews at area journals, and the overall get up of the book is nice.
Having said that, I am not sure whether I would publish with them again. I was disappointed with the way they advertised my book, and I had to take on a very pro active role to promote my book. The new editor for sociology (I worked with the previous editor for my book) is not as dynamic as the one before, and is generally unresponsive over emails. This is a disadvantage as typically emails are the best way to communicate with editors.
I would definitely caution those of you who are going to work with the R&L group to have a separate budget for book production (copyediting; camera ready manuscript; photo spread; index). Usually your university/department (especially research active ones) will have a grant to support this. In addition always invest in a good copy editor and index guide. The one that R&L provides unfortunately was not cutting it for me.
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Post by sockpuppet on Feb 11, 2015 14:23:31 GMT -5
Not a vanity press. They put out some solid stuff. I think I would rank them with Routledge. Be aware: A colleague had a book with them and I think they asked her to do the bulk of the copyediting and typesetting. She didn't mind, but I wouldn't want the hassle. The biggest drawback is the selling price. If you're book is being sold for $75, then no one can assign it to her/his class. For some books, that doesn't matter--they aren't suitable for a syllabus. But if you want your book read in a seminar, it is a variable worth considering.
Start with chicago, cal, princeton et al.
Then try nyu, rutgers, temple, etc.
Then go for the commercial academics: routledge, lexington, lynn reinner and so on.
DrBearJew is right, top tier presses are leery of going with new authors.
Send out your prospectus in batches every 8-12 weeks. If you don't hear by then, move on. The last thing you want is sending in a signed contract with a lower tier press two days before you hear back from your dream press.
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Post by Really? on Feb 11, 2015 21:06:43 GMT -5
Nau is much better than Temple or Rutgers. Rutgers might as well be called Routledge.
Not an exhaustive list, but...
Top tier: Chicago, Princeton, Cal, Cambridge
Very good: Stanford, Oxford, duke, Harvard, Minnesota
Good: Cornell, Johns Hopkins, NYU and other major uni presses
Okay: All other uni presses, top non-unis like Polity, Wiley, etc.
eh: all other commercial presses like Lexington
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Post by Hmm on Feb 11, 2015 23:11:30 GMT -5
Not sure about temple, but rutgers isnt very far behind nyu. And all three are above Routledge. It is probably nyu-rutgers-temple, but it depends a bit on field, and the difference isn't that large (i.e., all are good for tenure). And is Stanford really on the same level as Oxford et al.?
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Post by Rufus on Oct 9, 2015 11:10:55 GMT -5
Are generally a very good academic publisher; many good books, and of course some not so.
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Post by GS on Jan 25, 2022 23:35:41 GMT -5
They used to front for University Press of America: You submit a proposal to Lex and they decline it, but advise that UPA might take it (although they take some in order to maintain appearances). UPA was a vanity press, and would give you a contract that required you to pay thousands of $. I have a contract they sent which I refused to even reply to. It would take about 3000 sales before I made one penny. Disgusting. I publicized the arrangement under "vanity press" in Wikipedia, next to the explanation by Umberto Eco, who recounts a similar arrangement. Somehow UPA or Rowman & L got the referenced removed, it appears, which is why I don't contribute anymore to Wikipedia. The good result is that UPA no longer seems to exist, but I wouldn't trust Lex Press as far as I could throw the building it apparently resides in.
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Post by Dolphin on Dec 17, 2022 2:01:50 GMT -5
Pending on your area of expertise, Lexington Books will do a decent job with its peer review process, and help you receive that associate prof promotion, if you're not employed at an Ivy League institution. That's the bottom line. University presses, like Chicago, Duke, Stanford, Harvard, etc, tend to publish already known academics, i.e., you're entering a world of connections and mutual back-scratching. And I know how this works, after ten years at Yale. Not mentioning trending subject matters (gender, cultural studies, migration,...) and polite censorship (good luck to publish a book in defense of the Chinese economy or of Islam).
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