11thfloor
Junior member
Posts: 91
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« on: December 05, 2010, 07:33:18 PM » |
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I have recently published several books - two monographs, one collection of essays. Is anyone reading any of them? I don't think so! How long does it usually take to get a review? Who has written a book and wondered if anyone has read it? What kind of feedback has anyone had?
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secundem_artem
Stone cold humanist and still a
Senior member
Posts: 844
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« Reply #1 on: December 06, 2010, 12:29:47 AM » |
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Your first royalty statement is going to answer this question for you.
In my experience, reviews take a good 6 months before you start to see them. You can always goose the process along by convincing somebody to 'review' your book on Amazon I suppose.
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In my opinion, Secundem_artem is precisely correct.
I think secundem_artem, rather, has hit the nail on the head.
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bwwm1
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« Reply #2 on: December 06, 2010, 09:41:36 AM » |
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How long ago is 'recently'?
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larryc
Hu hatin'
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 18,285
Eschew the hu.
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« Reply #3 on: December 06, 2010, 09:49:00 AM » |
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No.
Is it too early to drink?
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aristotelian
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« Reply #4 on: December 06, 2010, 11:55:35 AM » |
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You can check your books' rankings on Amazon. Then you can compare how your book compares with others in your field. I do this every couple of months just for fun.
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parispundit
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« Reply #5 on: December 06, 2010, 12:02:33 PM » |
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The length of time it takes for reviews in professional journals to come out varies immensely by field. In mine it is usually 12-18 months.
If you want to know if anyone has bought it, google it and see how many libraries are announcing it in their lists of new books. Unless your book is popular or has been adopted for courses, Amazon is just going to depress you.
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concordancia
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« Reply #6 on: December 06, 2010, 12:05:42 PM » |
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The only review of my book that I have seen so far is in a language that I do not speak and do not read well enough to pick up on tone. I did notice that despite my great care in choosing my words carefully, they repeatedly used a different one. It is unclear whether the word I choose has an equivalent in that language.
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I like money. I like to buy stuff and experiences with money.
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11thfloor
Junior member
Posts: 91
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« Reply #7 on: December 06, 2010, 03:32:47 PM » |
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Two books last year, one this year. One of the ones published last year we thought was completely groundbreaking! We had a solid argument that overturned a lot of assumptions. We have got two reviews so far - one short review for librarians that completely misunderstood the argument, in fact reversed it, and one brief review in the TLS which was favourable but very vague and made it seem like we'd written a kind of friendly survey not a new provocative argument. We have sold some copies...but that doesn't mean anyone is reading them! Google reveals nothing. My other book I don't care so much about, but still, would like to think it was being read. I just wondered if anyone else felt like this - you work for years, do something you think is brilliant, wait for everyone to understand they must change their approach to the field...and no one reads it at all.
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santommaso
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« Reply #8 on: December 06, 2010, 04:40:13 PM » |
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Two books last year, one this year. ... My other book I don't care so much about... Huh? Did you self-publish these books? |
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mouseman
Oh dear, how did I become a
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 7,103
The Validater/Validator-in-Chief
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« Reply #9 on: December 06, 2010, 06:15:35 PM » |
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Two books last year, one this year. One of the ones published last year we thought was completely groundbreaking! We had a solid argument that overturned a lot of assumptions. We have got two reviews so far - one short review for librarians that completely misunderstood the argument, in fact reversed it, and one brief review in the TLS which was favourable but very vague and made it seem like we'd written a kind of friendly survey not a new provocative argument. We have sold some copies...but that doesn't mean anyone is reading them! Google reveals nothing. My other book I don't care so much about, but still, would like to think it was being read. I just wondered if anyone else felt like this - you work for years, do something you think is brilliant, wait for everyone to understand they must change their approach to the field...and no one reads it at all.
I don't want to be a wet blanket, but a couple of things for you to think about. First, perhaps it was not as ground breaking as you think/thought. Second, it may have been ground breaking but how many people are interested in the field? Face it, a ground-breaking book an the basket-making methods of southeastern Wallachia during the mid-fourteenth century is not going to be a best-seller. Finally, who were your publishers? If they're not that respectable, your book may not get serious attention, even if it is ground-breaking. |
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In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away -- -
For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.
Lewis Carroll
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secundem_artem
Stone cold humanist and still a
Senior member
Posts: 844
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« Reply #10 on: December 06, 2010, 10:39:53 PM » |
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...... Amazon is just going to depress you.
I'm not so sure. Certainly I don't like seeing my book is in 236,452nd place -- unless of course I see that the major competing text is in 376,896th place in which case I don't feel so bad! |
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In my opinion, Secundem_artem is precisely correct.
I think secundem_artem, rather, has hit the nail on the head.
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11thfloor
Junior member
Posts: 91
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« Reply #11 on: December 07, 2010, 02:35:49 AM » |
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(Indignantly) No they were not self-published! One by a university press, the others by ... hm, well how specific ought I to be - you know, Palgrave, Routledge, Macmillan - those sort of mid-range presses. Yes, well, so maybe not so groundbreaking as we thought! I'm still hoping the ground will be broken when the right person reads it.
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mouseman
Oh dear, how did I become a
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 7,103
The Validater/Validator-in-Chief
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« Reply #12 on: December 07, 2010, 03:05:27 AM » |
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(Indignantly) No they were not self-published! One by a university press, the others by ... hm, well how specific ought I to be - you know, Palgrave, Routledge, Macmillan - those sort of mid-range presses. Yes, well, so maybe not so groundbreaking as we thought! I'm still hoping the ground will be broken when the right person reads it.
Well, congrats on getting them published, and maybe they'll be "discovered" soon! |
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In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away -- -
For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.
Lewis Carroll
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aristotelian
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« Reply #13 on: December 07, 2010, 09:35:46 AM » |
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Sounds to me like pretty typical responses for academic books, especially if you are a junior scholar. The truth is that university libraries are the primary market for most academic books.
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parispundit
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« Reply #14 on: December 07, 2010, 10:56:45 AM » |
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Well, I'm currently at the 500,000 level on Amazon, but I did just get a mash note from a non-academic in my email, about my latest. He says he's going to be some for his friends for Xmas. So I have at least one reader.
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