Library: Reading lists: Publishing considerations

Introduction

As outlined in the e-book provision part of this guide, some books are not available in e-format, or are only available in a package, or simply prohibitively expensive. Authors may wish to influence the publishing process to ensure that their work is readily available to libraries either through negotiation with the publishers or by creating an open access book. Some more guidance on this is provided below.

Publishing considerations for authors

Consider publishing your book open access if you can.
When negotiating contracts with publishers ensure that you know what rights you have concerning your content and how much say you can have in how your work will be sold.
Check the proposed model for selling the work to libraries - will your work be sold in a bundle with other texts, or under a restrictive licence limiting access to your materials?
A library friendly e-book model is one which charges a fair price to buy the book (not rent it) and which allows unlimited access.
If you are writing a chapter in an edited work, will your agreement cover you to submit a copy to PURE so that it appears in the Research Portal?
Be aware of direct approaches from publishers looking for courseware adoption involving the integration of a key text on a publisher's learning platform.

Publisher negotiations: guidance and advice

The #EBooksSOS Campaign team has created some advice for authors: Can my students read my books? Guidance for academics on negotiating contracts with publishers. This includes a list of questions to ask potential publishers and some suggested contract clauses.
Further help is available in the JISC Briefing to academic staff: Cost, affordability and availability of core reading materials.

Open access book publishing

The Library is a member of Open Book Publishers. Our membership allows any University of Bath author interested in publishing with Open Book Publishers, to send in their proposal. If the proposal passes the assessment and peer review process, the author will be able to publish with Open Book Publishers. They don't charge book processing charges for authors, all the published books are Open Access titles and will be listed in the catalogues of over 160 major university libraries worldwide. Full details on the process are provided on Open Book Publisher's guide for new authors.
If you are considering publishing Open Access, the Open Access Books Toolkit provides a good introduction to the subject.
Further reading: The Rebus guide to publishing open textbooks.
Related reading: The Library's Open Access Team has a detailed guide to Open Access and they can assist you in making the right publishing choice for your work. Contact the team via openaccess@bath.ac.uk.