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When I took up my lectureship at Exeter University in 1981 my relationship with publishing faced a dramatic twist. As a young academic there was a tremendous pressure to publish both research and tutorial texts to justify being given a permanent post. I was a "game keeper" in publishing and I was expected to become a "poacher" now!
In some ways it disappointing to me that my knowledge and passion for publishing was not much help in my academic carrier. The kind of publishing was different to the one used to at school. I did publish a tutorial book, which sold well and edited and wrote some books. However, my colleagues were at it at the same speed as me even without inside knowledge of printing or publishing.
I differed from my colleagues in one way I wanted to take part in the publishing process beyond the writing while they were happy to delegate that to others.
I formed Intellect in 1984 with two other academic friends to give me a chance to link my passion for publishing with my need to get published.
Intellect began its life not being sure of its business model. I had some experience of organizing academic conferences which lead to edited compilations published by other established publishers. Intellect hosted a seminar which resulted in a book, Artificial Intelligence: Principles and Case Studies published by Chapman and Hall. I also began producing a slim magazine called Intellect Review, which promoted our seminar programme as well as offered short books reviews.
Blackwell Scientific Publications approached me to see if I was willing to turn my magazine into a proper academic journal. At the time I was the secretary of the Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and Simulation of Behaviour (AISB). The society had turned an offer down to turn their newsletter into a journal via a partnership. Instead I was able to do a journal on the same topic under the Intellect imprint.
I took up the challenge and Artificial Intelligence Review was born in October 1986. I was doing the editorial work and outsourcing the marketing to Blackwell Scientific Publications in Oxford.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Pull and push styles of publishing
Access to a printing press on my arrival in the UK was a joyful experience as the Shah's censorship in Iran had denied me the chance to use a proper press. Up to that point the best I had been able to use was a duplicating machine that used "stencil" sheets to reproduce pages at a poor quality by turning a handle. As the runs where short, the same publication was read by many people, there was only a small improvement on my school magazine of one copy posted on the school gate. But in the UK I had found a way of having long runs at minimal cost. You could get a copy in the hands of each student at the university.
I took delight in learning about the mechanical process of printing. How the signatures (sections) could be gathered and folded etc; how we could most effectively match plate and paper sizes to reduce the costs. That is why I insist that all new staff at Intellect visit our printers and at least have an idea of the printing process. Sometimes a small change to the number of pages or the size of a publication makes a significant difference in the costings. Thus an uneconomical proposition can turn into a successful project with creativity on the production side.
As I gained confidence and understood the potential of this new technology I began to understand that the notion of what "publishing" was for me was changing. While at school my publication was a single sheet of paper on the wall, here I had many copies of the same material duplicated. Before I had to bring the readers to the place where the magazine was, now I had to take the magazine to where the readers were. While before I had a record of the reader's reactions now I did not.
In today's jargon my school magazine used a "pull" technology while my university magazine used a "push" technology! Pull the audience to your publication or push yours into their hand. This blog and many other web-based publications remind me of my school magazine. As there is one central copy of the publication you can be sloppy with spelling and grammar as you can go back and correct it. You can also go back and see the reactions of the readers who could be bothered to comment. With the printing press you need to get everything right before you duplicate and when people mark their copy of your publication you have no way of seeing that.
Which system do I prefer? I am not sure!
I think it is a good discipline to strive for excellence and try and get it just right before pressing the "publish" button. But I also think it is good to be able to see a trace of the reader's reactions or at least know the pages were most read. There can be a more intimate relationship with the pull technology while a better quality with the push technology. I presume it will be horses for courses at the end.
And what about Apps that can change the content you see depending on your location or your user profile? Well that is another challenge altogether that I am just getting my head around.
I took delight in learning about the mechanical process of printing. How the signatures (sections) could be gathered and folded etc; how we could most effectively match plate and paper sizes to reduce the costs. That is why I insist that all new staff at Intellect visit our printers and at least have an idea of the printing process. Sometimes a small change to the number of pages or the size of a publication makes a significant difference in the costings. Thus an uneconomical proposition can turn into a successful project with creativity on the production side.
As I gained confidence and understood the potential of this new technology I began to understand that the notion of what "publishing" was for me was changing. While at school my publication was a single sheet of paper on the wall, here I had many copies of the same material duplicated. Before I had to bring the readers to the place where the magazine was, now I had to take the magazine to where the readers were. While before I had a record of the reader's reactions now I did not.
In today's jargon my school magazine used a "pull" technology while my university magazine used a "push" technology! Pull the audience to your publication or push yours into their hand. This blog and many other web-based publications remind me of my school magazine. As there is one central copy of the publication you can be sloppy with spelling and grammar as you can go back and correct it. You can also go back and see the reactions of the readers who could be bothered to comment. With the printing press you need to get everything right before you duplicate and when people mark their copy of your publication you have no way of seeing that.
Which system do I prefer? I am not sure!
I think it is a good discipline to strive for excellence and try and get it just right before pressing the "publish" button. But I also think it is good to be able to see a trace of the reader's reactions or at least know the pages were most read. There can be a more intimate relationship with the pull technology while a better quality with the push technology. I presume it will be horses for courses at the end.
And what about Apps that can change the content you see depending on your location or your user profile? Well that is another challenge altogether that I am just getting my head around.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Publishing as a passion
When I was at school in Iran there was a tradition of producing a magazine like publication on a large sheet of paper, which was pasted on the wall to be read by the pupils. Despite the fact that neither my handwriting nor my spelling was any good I started producing such a magazine at my school.
I was a thin, shy kid and was not comfortable joining in the conversations in the playground but would pick up the chatter among the other kids to feed into the following week's magazine. I would also recycle some the teachers' more interesting words in the magazine.
I would get a great rush of excitement as my schoolmates awaited for the magazine to be posted on the wall at the start of the week. They would add their own comments and graffiti and I enjoyed the interactive nature of the medium. My poor spelling was corrected by small pieces of paper being pasted with correct spelling over the original. Some times the corrections were corrected! Once I saw a teacher doing the correcting. Another time a teacher told me that if I could not spell properly I should not be doing the school magazine!
By the end of the week the magazine looked nothing like the original sheet I had pasted on the wall at start of the week. For one thing it was thicker in most places and for another it had grown to twice the original size.
I am not sure why this project appealed to me so much at such a young age. Maybe the shyness or maybe because my other hobby was to use the same large sheets of brown paper to make kites which I could sell to rich neighbors. The same table, the same paper, pen and glue was used for both.
The "weekly news" posting in the kitchen at Intellect's Bristol office reminds me of that school project each day.
As the editor of my school magazine I was entered into the national student competition in Tehran. Each team was given a day to produce a magazine with equal amount of resources. My school had not won this competition before as it considered itself focused on academic excellence, journalism was not considered worthy of attention.
When my team came second in that competition that achievement pleased the school and my school fees were waved that year. However, I believed we could have done better with a little more preparation. Instead of reentering the competition the following year I set myself the task of coaching a new team to enter. They won the first place that year with such ease and margin that it surprised everyone.
It became clear to me that I could achieve excellence through supporting others when I may not be able to do it myself. In a strange way I was comfortable with that.
When I arrived in England in 1975 for my university education my first port of call was the office of the student union's magazine office. I explained that although my English was not yet good enough for me to write for the magazine I could at least assist with the layout.
Those were the days when the magazine was laid out on a sheet of paper called the Camera Ready Copy (CRC) using "letterset" typefaces. This was then turned into a metal plate that was used on the printing press in the basement of the student union to produce 8 page sections that were stapled together.
I was a thin, shy kid and was not comfortable joining in the conversations in the playground but would pick up the chatter among the other kids to feed into the following week's magazine. I would also recycle some the teachers' more interesting words in the magazine.
I would get a great rush of excitement as my schoolmates awaited for the magazine to be posted on the wall at the start of the week. They would add their own comments and graffiti and I enjoyed the interactive nature of the medium. My poor spelling was corrected by small pieces of paper being pasted with correct spelling over the original. Some times the corrections were corrected! Once I saw a teacher doing the correcting. Another time a teacher told me that if I could not spell properly I should not be doing the school magazine!
By the end of the week the magazine looked nothing like the original sheet I had pasted on the wall at start of the week. For one thing it was thicker in most places and for another it had grown to twice the original size.
I am not sure why this project appealed to me so much at such a young age. Maybe the shyness or maybe because my other hobby was to use the same large sheets of brown paper to make kites which I could sell to rich neighbors. The same table, the same paper, pen and glue was used for both.
The "weekly news" posting in the kitchen at Intellect's Bristol office reminds me of that school project each day.
As the editor of my school magazine I was entered into the national student competition in Tehran. Each team was given a day to produce a magazine with equal amount of resources. My school had not won this competition before as it considered itself focused on academic excellence, journalism was not considered worthy of attention.
When my team came second in that competition that achievement pleased the school and my school fees were waved that year. However, I believed we could have done better with a little more preparation. Instead of reentering the competition the following year I set myself the task of coaching a new team to enter. They won the first place that year with such ease and margin that it surprised everyone.
It became clear to me that I could achieve excellence through supporting others when I may not be able to do it myself. In a strange way I was comfortable with that.
When I arrived in England in 1975 for my university education my first port of call was the office of the student union's magazine office. I explained that although my English was not yet good enough for me to write for the magazine I could at least assist with the layout.
Those were the days when the magazine was laid out on a sheet of paper called the Camera Ready Copy (CRC) using "letterset" typefaces. This was then turned into a metal plate that was used on the printing press in the basement of the student union to produce 8 page sections that were stapled together.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Why are so many books published each year?
Have you ever thought why at a time when people have so little time to read books publishers keep increasing their output?
I think books are being published because more and more people want to write them!
There was a time when there was one book (The Bible) and millions of readers. Then gradually we ended up with more choice of reading material and smaller readership for each publication. However, I feel there has been a fundamental shift of focus from readership to authorship.
When we read other people's writing it allows us to see the world through their perception. In this way we are able to feel what it is like to be the "other" person.
If reading is a window to the world, I think writing is a window to our own soul. When we write we reflect on our own perceptions and are able to feel what it is like to be who we are.
So when the primary purpose of writing is self-realisation then the objective is met through the quality of the understanding reached by the author irrespective of the size of the readership.
The advent of cheaper publishing and distribution methods via the Internet has made the shift of emphases in favour of authorship to be more profound.
The Observer’s retiring literary editor, Robert McCrum on 25 May 2008 wrote that “… while this has been the decade in which millions have found a voice through the internet, only a minority has discovered an audience. Self-expression has been democratised, but books and writers still face that age-old struggle to achieve a readership”.
I think books are being published because more and more people want to write them!
There was a time when there was one book (The Bible) and millions of readers. Then gradually we ended up with more choice of reading material and smaller readership for each publication. However, I feel there has been a fundamental shift of focus from readership to authorship.
When we read other people's writing it allows us to see the world through their perception. In this way we are able to feel what it is like to be the "other" person.
If reading is a window to the world, I think writing is a window to our own soul. When we write we reflect on our own perceptions and are able to feel what it is like to be who we are.
So when the primary purpose of writing is self-realisation then the objective is met through the quality of the understanding reached by the author irrespective of the size of the readership.
The advent of cheaper publishing and distribution methods via the Internet has made the shift of emphases in favour of authorship to be more profound.
The Observer’s retiring literary editor, Robert McCrum on 25 May 2008 wrote that “… while this has been the decade in which millions have found a voice through the internet, only a minority has discovered an audience. Self-expression has been democratised, but books and writers still face that age-old struggle to achieve a readership”.
Friday, May 23, 2008
How international a publisher are you?
Liam Gallimore-Wells sent me the following set of questions and I wish to share my replies with you.
> What are the main qualities / motivations that makes Intellect’s international approach to publishing stand out from other competitors in the market place?
We are an academic publisher of original ideas related to popular culture. The issues we deal with as well as the academic world are international by nature. I doubt if any of our competitors could survive without being open to ideas from other countries. We for sure cannot see any way of doing without it!
> What would be the potential impact on your business without an openness to ideas/ energy / opinions from other countries?
We would not be able to survive as a publisher both economically as well as intellectually.
> What makes being based in Britain special / unique for the purposes of running a successful independent publishing house?
Britain is special as it has a long tradition of tolerance and a long history of international connectedness via the empire and the commonwealth. These connections make it more possible for a publisher of original thinking like us to prosper.
> Are there any drawbacks in terms of attracting / securing new readerships by being a publisher that’s open to printing diverse cross representations of authors’ ideas / thinking? If so, how can these drawbacks be turned into positives?
The main drawback is in marketing terms. If what you publish is new ideas then it is difficult to persuade people to pay for them when there are limited resources at the disposal of academics. Ideally we would like it to be possible to make our books free in order that finance is not a barrier for the dissemination of new ideas. Already in journal publishing the "Open Access" movement is making this idea a possibility by charging the publishing costs to the authors instead of the readers.
> As founder of Intellect, how has your own personal and professional path/journey complimented or informed your culturally inclusive approach to business?
I was born in Iran some fifty years ago, my family migrated to the UK some 30 years ago. It is inevitable that having been welcomed by the culture of British tolerance and inclusivety I would also reflect these qualities in my dealings with others.
> What are the main qualities / motivations that makes Intellect’s international approach to publishing stand out from other competitors in the market place?
We are an academic publisher of original ideas related to popular culture. The issues we deal with as well as the academic world are international by nature. I doubt if any of our competitors could survive without being open to ideas from other countries. We for sure cannot see any way of doing without it!
> What would be the potential impact on your business without an openness to ideas/ energy / opinions from other countries?
We would not be able to survive as a publisher both economically as well as intellectually.
> What makes being based in Britain special / unique for the purposes of running a successful independent publishing house?
Britain is special as it has a long tradition of tolerance and a long history of international connectedness via the empire and the commonwealth. These connections make it more possible for a publisher of original thinking like us to prosper.
> Are there any drawbacks in terms of attracting / securing new readerships by being a publisher that’s open to printing diverse cross representations of authors’ ideas / thinking? If so, how can these drawbacks be turned into positives?
The main drawback is in marketing terms. If what you publish is new ideas then it is difficult to persuade people to pay for them when there are limited resources at the disposal of academics. Ideally we would like it to be possible to make our books free in order that finance is not a barrier for the dissemination of new ideas. Already in journal publishing the "Open Access" movement is making this idea a possibility by charging the publishing costs to the authors instead of the readers.
> As founder of Intellect, how has your own personal and professional path/journey complimented or informed your culturally inclusive approach to business?
I was born in Iran some fifty years ago, my family migrated to the UK some 30 years ago. It is inevitable that having been welcomed by the culture of British tolerance and inclusivety I would also reflect these qualities in my dealings with others.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Does it help to put “international” in the title of a journal?
A journal does not become such by being called “International journal of X”!
Both European Science Foundation and UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council define a journal as being international when it fits in either Category A or B below.
1) A journal is international (Categories A and B) when the following requirements are fulfilled in addition to those that apply to all journals:
• A genuine, varied and regular international cohort of contributors and readership
• Consistently high-quality scholarly content
• Broad consensus within the field concerning international status and visibility.
2) In addition, they will have some, though not necessarily all, of the following characteristics:
• Active international advisory board
• Open to unsolicited contributions
• Highly discriminating and selective in the choice of articles published
• Published on time and to an agreed schedule
The difference between category ‘A’ and category ‘B’ journals is likely to be the degree to which they conform to 1) above, and both the number of characteristics under 2) to which they conform as well as the degree of conformity. Generally, ‘A’ journals should conform to more of these characteristics, and to a greater extent, than ‘B’ journals.
Both European Science Foundation and UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council define a journal as being international when it fits in either Category A or B below.
1) A journal is international (Categories A and B) when the following requirements are fulfilled in addition to those that apply to all journals:
• A genuine, varied and regular international cohort of contributors and readership
• Consistently high-quality scholarly content
• Broad consensus within the field concerning international status and visibility.
2) In addition, they will have some, though not necessarily all, of the following characteristics:
• Active international advisory board
• Open to unsolicited contributions
• Highly discriminating and selective in the choice of articles published
• Published on time and to an agreed schedule
The difference between category ‘A’ and category ‘B’ journals is likely to be the degree to which they conform to 1) above, and both the number of characteristics under 2) to which they conform as well as the degree of conformity. Generally, ‘A’ journals should conform to more of these characteristics, and to a greater extent, than ‘B’ journals.
Monday, May 12, 2008
What quotes need copyright permission?
As a publisher one of the most frequently questions I am asked by authors is:
How long does a quote needs to be before one needs to get copyright holder’s explicit permission for reproduction?
I used to reply 150 words, but I was wrong!
There is no answer that applies to all cases as it very much depends on the context.
The British Academy and The Publishers Association have published a very useful guide for academics to copyright entitled, Guidelines for researchers and publishers in the Humanities and Social Sciences (April 2008) where the following are taken from:
" Section 30 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act states:
Fair dealing with a work for the purpose of criticism or review, of that or another work or of a performance of a work, does not infringe any copyright in the work provided that it is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement.
Some previous publishing industry assumptions, for example that taking up to 400 words is ‘safe’, are now unreliable. So, for example, an extract of 250 words from James Joyce’s Ulysses (less than one thousandth of the entire work) was held to be substantial on the basis of their unique and distinctive quality. Similarly, an extract taken from the musical work ‘Colonel Bogey’, consisting of some 20 bars and lasting only 50 seconds, was held to be a substantial part, because it was that bit of the music which the public would immediately
recognise (the ‘hook’).
Generally speaking, to be fair dealing any excerpt or extract made from a copyright work must not be an appropriation of an entire work or of that part which would represent the substance of the author’s skill and labour.
Lengthy extracts from another work have been allowed in one case where the court was satisfied that the purpose was purely to enable criticism to be made effectively, rather than simply to provide the same information as the original work and to compete with it. In many cases, the effect of good criticism and review is to increase rather than diminish the market for a work.
Fair dealing with a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work for the purposes of research for a non-commercial purpose does not infringe any copyright in the work provided that it is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement (emphasis added)."
How long does a quote needs to be before one needs to get copyright holder’s explicit permission for reproduction?
I used to reply 150 words, but I was wrong!
There is no answer that applies to all cases as it very much depends on the context.
The British Academy and The Publishers Association have published a very useful guide for academics to copyright entitled, Guidelines for researchers and publishers in the Humanities and Social Sciences (April 2008) where the following are taken from:
" Section 30 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act states:
Fair dealing with a work for the purpose of criticism or review, of that or another work or of a performance of a work, does not infringe any copyright in the work provided that it is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement.
Some previous publishing industry assumptions, for example that taking up to 400 words is ‘safe’, are now unreliable. So, for example, an extract of 250 words from James Joyce’s Ulysses (less than one thousandth of the entire work) was held to be substantial on the basis of their unique and distinctive quality. Similarly, an extract taken from the musical work ‘Colonel Bogey’, consisting of some 20 bars and lasting only 50 seconds, was held to be a substantial part, because it was that bit of the music which the public would immediately
recognise (the ‘hook’).
Generally speaking, to be fair dealing any excerpt or extract made from a copyright work must not be an appropriation of an entire work or of that part which would represent the substance of the author’s skill and labour.
Lengthy extracts from another work have been allowed in one case where the court was satisfied that the purpose was purely to enable criticism to be made effectively, rather than simply to provide the same information as the original work and to compete with it. In many cases, the effect of good criticism and review is to increase rather than diminish the market for a work.
Fair dealing with a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work for the purposes of research for a non-commercial purpose does not infringe any copyright in the work provided that it is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement (emphasis added)."
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