New Roles for Scholarly Publishers: “Theater Historiography,” the Web Site

Abstract

way that will be more broadly applicable to the disciplines of theatre and performance studies. This kind of close analysis may work for a journal article, or for a specialist publisher, but will rarely be comprehensive enough for a book-length monograph at a larger scholarly press, and editors will often suggest to authors of such texts that additional examples be included and the examination widened. ON THE CONFERENCE CIRCUITBecause a finished book is an object that requires careful handling, storing, and shipping, publishers are cautious when organizing conference exhibitions. Authors (and readers) need to know that there are financial implications involved with shipping and displaying books, and all these factors must be considered as a publisher decides which events to attend and how many books to bring to those events. If books are damaged during shipping and handling to and from a conference, they cannot be sold later and must be destroyed; this too must be factored into any decision to attend and display titles.That said, publishers and their editorial teams don't just attend conferences to sell books; they also want to know that a conference's participants are interested in their titles and pleased that they are there. Often we know which conferences are important in our field and should be attended each year, but we also rely on our authors to let us know about important new events and on attendees to let us know our presence matters to them. A conference book exhibit offers a wonderful space for editors to see authors they know and to meet new people, to hear new book ideas, to discuss the state of the field, and, frankly, just to have a good chat. So at your next conference, don't be shy: please do visit our displays, meet with editors, and see what's new. Even if you don't buy, it's very useful for us to make contact, and that contact makes it worth the effort to bring our books and products to the conference.For an academic publisher it is not a matter of making a profit, but if each book can pay its own way, the firm will remain healthy and able to publish and contribute further to our shared discipline. Ours is a delicate balance between funding and publishing: working together, publisher and author can create and nurture a strong balance among the needs of the finished book, the needs of its market, and the needs of our readership.