Call for Papers: The Secrets of Academic Publishing

In 2019, Marty Norden and Rob Weir edited Pop Culture Matters: Proceedings of the 39th Conference of the Northeast Popular Culture Association. One of the great joys of this publication is that it included numerous first-time authors.

At some point every scholar is a neophyte in the publishing world. What are the secrets to getting your work into print or onto a professional Website? The Northeast Popular Culture Association has issued a call for papers to explore this question in a panel to be held at its annual conference to be held the weekend of Friday, November 15 and Saturday, November 16 at the Portsmouth Harborside Hotel in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Professors Norden and Weir will moderate a panel that will bring together publishing professionals, well-published academics, those who contributed to Pop Culture Matters, and those who have recently published their first academic pieces. Each panelist will give brief remarks as prelude to a panel-wide discussion and audience participation. Topics to be discussed are open-ended, but those interested in participating can use the following as general guidelines:

• If you contributed to Pop Culture Matters, what did you learn from your experience? What most surprised you?

• If you work in publications, what do you look for in submissions? What causes you to reject a submission?

• If you could give one single piece of advice to demystify the publication process, what would it be?

• How has the publication business changed in the past 5 years?

• Do some publications matter more than others to deans and chairs?

• How does copyright law constrain authors? What is and isn’t covered by fair use standards? How do the laws governing images differ from those related to text?

• What can and can’t be negotiated in publishing?

• What are the best practices standards for working with editors?

• What can you as an author negotiate?

• How do standards differ between journal and book submissions?

• How to develop a marketing plan for your book

• How to choose a publisher