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[rreck]

>I was looking for some perspective on this VDM solicitation to publish my thesis. 


I entered into a relationship with VDM in order to publish my thesis. At this point I regret that decision. Their initial pitch was inconsistent with the contract they agreed to. When I pointed this out, they assured me they would act on their promise not their contract. Next, I was repeatedly told they would follow through on things like sending me copies which, to date (8 weeks), they have failed to do. The book has been "for sale" on Amazon for several weeks but VDM supposedly can't get copies. They selectively respond to emails. I regard them with disdain and expected more professionalism from their organization. I would strongly recommend against having anything to do with them as they are not good at their word.

[dutch]

Could it be that this publisher takes your dissertation as their intellectual property?  I haven't seen this topic discussed on the thread, so pardon me if it has already come up.

Any knowledge on that question?

[licaone]

If you publish the book, this means, I suppose, that you won't be able to publish your thesis results in article form. Articles are more important than books in physical sciences, so I would think carefully about this.

[infopri]

I decided not to accept the invitation to publish with VDM, so I haven't seen the contract--but, as I understand it, you (the author) retain fairly generous republishing rights to your work.   But yes, I'd read that provision very carefully before signing anything.

[licaone]

I decided not to accept the invitation to publish with VDM, so I haven't seen the contract--but, as I understand it, you (the author) retain fairly generous republishing rights to your work.   But yes, I'd read that provision very carefully before signing anything.

The issue is not only with VDM, but with the journal. All the reputable ones want original material that has not appeared elsewhere, you will never get your papers accepted in a decent journal if it has already been published in book form.

[infopri]

I decided not to accept the invitation to publish with VDM, so I haven't seen the contract--but, as I understand it, you (the author) retain fairly generous republishing rights to your work.   But yes, I'd read that provision very carefully before signing anything.

The issue is not only with VDM, but with the journal. All the reputable ones want original material that has not appeared elsewhere, you will never get your papers accepted in a decent journal if it has already been published in book form.

Good point, but this may be field-specific.  I know the journals in my field have similar terms, but I would never try to publish a simple extract from my diss.  Any journal articles would be "derivative works," in that I'd start with the diss version and rework a particular section or aspect to make it into a stand-alone article.  And that new and improved, tweaked version would probably meet the journals' requirement for no prior publication.  I think.

But publishing dissertations as books isn't the norm in my field, so I can't say for sure that the journals would accept this.  In our field, it is typical to mine the diss for two or three articles, rather than to publish the whole.

[licaone]

Good point, but this may be field-specific.  I know the journals in my field have similar terms, but I would never try to publish a simple extract from my diss.  Any journal articles would be "derivative works," in that I'd start with the diss version and rework a particular section or aspect to make it into a stand-alone article.  And that new and improved, tweaked version would probably meet the journals' requirement for no prior publication.  I think.

The issue is not whether the work is "derivative", but whether it has been published in other form.

It may be field specific. I know it would not work in mathematics or in theoretical physics; it may be different in a more applied field, but I doubt it.

[mayjohn]

There must have been a surge of activity by the VDM "Acquisition Editors" because more people around me have been contacted about publishing with them. I did too!

I am pondering if I should do it. I had my thesis in book form since my School required that it is included in the library so the "book to parents" factor is not that relevant to me.

I am in the sciences and I wonder if this Book entry in my CV would add any value or would generate more questions...

John

[infopri]

I am in the sciences and I wonder if this Book entry in my CV would add any value or would generate more questions...

That's really the issue, I think.  Every faculty member I asked about this opportunity suggested that I not bother with VDM.  The only exception was my diss advisor, who mistook VDM for Springer-Verlag.  When he understood who it actually was, he too said to forget it.  But I suspect that at least part of the faculty reaction was due to the fact that, in our field, as I said earlier, we tend not to publish our dissertations as books.

[mayjohn]

I am in the sciences and I wonder if this Book entry in my CV would add any value or would generate more questions...

That's really the issue, I think.  Every faculty member I asked about this opportunity suggested that I not bother with VDM.  The only exception was my diss advisor, who mistook VDM for Springer-Verlag.  When he understood who it actually was, he too said to forget it.  But I suspect that at least part of the faculty reaction was due to the fact that, in our field, as I said earlier, we tend not to publish our dissertations as books.

I will wait and see how labor-intensive the process is. If I have to do a lot of work I will probably refuse to go forward with it. Sometimes you never know, the most odd thing on a CV may result in the most unexpected thing (e.g. bonding with a SC member over something as silly as knowing that the VDM Acquisitions Editor is an active dude on Facebook)...


John

[wizsand]

I'm over in Canada and have also been contacted by VDM. My advisor is extremely well-known both in north america and europe and he was over-joyed with the news! Let me just say this: the fact that VDM only sells their books online is not a new trend. Just look at SUNY Press! They also offer so-called "direct-text" versions of their products; it's a sign of the times and the cost of printing a book that might not sell well is economically risky not to mention environmentally wasteful. My masters thesis has just been published this month and the fact that their royalties are low is irrelevant! We are writing academic works not popular fiction! None of the profs I know make money from publishing, even if it's at a peer-reviewed university press. That's not the point! The idea is to get your work out into the public domain in order to advance your career and engage in scholarly discussion. Yes, VDM has no in-house editors (I asked), but that should not be held against them (how else can they finalize your work in less than two months vs. a university press which requires a year or more). Think of the range of topics they publish every year. What would it cost to hire that many editors? The fact that they target us young scholars is wonderful! The percentage of us who actually get our doctoral dissertation published as a book has got to be around 1-2%! It is always better to publish books rather than articles if you want to have any hope of getting tenure (the stigma of being labeled an article-only writer can kill your career). The only thing to be weary of is the quality of your own work. If it's full of typos and inaccurate data (read it again and you will find millions of mistakes you swore you corrected in your most recent draft) that would not survive the peer-review process, then you should request more time (they gave me an extra month beyond the initial one-month upload period) in order to properly edit and revise your work. I have been writing to a very helpful and courteous lady named Agnes and I must say, my experience with VDM has been without issue. Those of you worried about the "contact" should know that it is equivalent to a "work-in-progress" contract typically used by mainstream publishers. There is no formal contract. Uploading your work to their server acts as acceptance of their terms. If you want to make money in your field you should try writing a textbook not something scholarly! Anyway, if you confidence that your work can survive the peer-reviews that will follow publication then go for it! You'll be the envy of your department.

PS. If you want your book to be peer-reviewed, you could always submit a copy to a journal for review.

[scratch32]

I'm over in Canada and have also been contacted by VDM. My advisor is extremely well-known both in north america and europe and he was over-joyed with the news! Let me just say this: the fact that VDM only sells their books online is not a new trend. Just look at SUNY Press! They also offer so-called "direct-text" versions of their products; it's a sign of the times and the cost of printing a book that might not sell well is economically risky not to mention environmentally wasteful. My masters thesis has just been published this month and the fact that their royalties are low is irrelevant! We are writing academic works not popular fiction! None of the profs I know make money from publishing, even if it's at a peer-reviewed university press. That's not the point! The idea is to get your work out into the public domain in order to advance your career and engage in scholarly discussion. Yes, VDM has no in-house editors (I asked), but that should not be held against them (how else can they finalize your work in less than two months vs. a university press which requires a year or more). Think of the range of topics they publish every year. What would it cost to hire that many editors? The fact that they target us young scholars is wonderful! The percentage of us who actually get our doctoral dissertation published as a book has got to be around 1-2%! It is always better to publish books rather than articles if you want to have any hope of getting tenure (the stigma of being labeled an article-only writer can kill your career). The only thing to be weary of is the quality of your own work. If it's full of typos and inaccurate data (read it again and you will find millions of mistakes you swore you corrected in your most recent draft) that would not survive the peer-review process, then you should request more time (they gave me an extra month beyond the initial one-month upload period) in order to properly edit and revise your work. I have been writing to a very helpful and courteous lady named Agnes and I must say, my experience with VDM has been without issue. Those of you worried about the "contact" should know that it is equivalent to a "work-in-progress" contract typically used by mainstream publishers. There is no formal contract. Uploading your work to their server acts as acceptance of their terms. If you want to make money in your field you should try writing a textbook not something scholarly! Anyway, if you confidence that your work can survive the peer-reviews that will follow publication then go for it! You'll be the envy of your department.

PS. If you want your book to be peer-reviewed, you could always submit a copy to a journal for review.

This reminds me of one of those infamous "blog" posts about the ORT.

[cranefly]

This reminds me of one of those infamous "blog" posts about the ORT.

Yeah, really. If it's only about getting your work out there, publish it on your website, and then people don't have to pay $75 for a copy of it.

[mishy]

This reminds me of one of those infamous "blog" posts about the ORT.

I was just thinking the same thing.  If only I could publish with VDM and get an invite to the prestigious Oxford Round Table, I'm sure I would be set for life.

[sciencephd]

Yes, VDM has no in-house editors (I asked), but that should not be held against them

If they don't have editors, then they are a printer, not a publisher.

The fact that they target us young scholars is wonderful! The percentage of us who actually get our doctoral dissertation published as a book has got to be around 1-2%!

Yes, your usage of the word target here is apt.

It is always better to publish books rather than articles if you want to have any hope of getting tenure (the stigma of being labeled an article-only writer can kill your career).

Thanks, I always wanted advice on the tenure process from someone who has just graduated with a shiny new masters degree !

The only thing to be weary of is the quality of your own work. 

I'm alread quite weary ! Really !

I have been writing to a very helpful and courteous lady named Agnes and I must say, my experience with VDM has been without issue.

Send good old Agnes my regards !

If you want to make money in your field you should try writing a textbook not something scholarly!

I tried that, but have heard that pimping for publishers is much more profitable.

Anyway, if you confidence that your work can survive the peer-reviews that will follow publication then go for it! You'll be the envy of your department.

Thanks, I already am.