Academic Publishing and Impact: Book Publishing

There are various options from learned societies and open access publishers to commercial publishers. Some things to consider:

• Who publishes the books you use most often.
• Do they offer peer review and/or have a good reputation. Colleagues can be a good source of information about publishers.
• Consider who your book will be aimed at and whether there is a market for it. Does the publisher have an international reach?
• Study the publisher's web site to find any advice they offer to authors. If you need a contact address to approach a publisher, many publishers can be found in the Academic Publishing Directory.
• Be aware that some publishers will only accept a manuscript if they are the only one being considered. 
• If there are book series in your subject area consider approaching the editor to see if they would be interested in your work - these often have a ready made audience.

• Essential guide to writing good abstracts (from LSE)
• Why do academics choose useless titles for articles and abstracts: four steps to getting a better title.
• Your essential "how to guide" to choosing book titles.

If you are not using a conventional publisher and need an ISBN for your publication the library can supply one. This might happen for example if you are publishing conference proceedings or a report.

An ISBN will be nationally registered and details available to booksellers. It is a unique product number which identifies your publication. 

When your publication is ready for the ISBN simply complete the application form below. Send the completed form to LibraryResearchSupport@swansea.ac.uk. You will receive an ISBN number and we will register your publication in the national ISBN database. The cost will be met by the library.

You remain responsible for distribution of your publication and for dealing with legal deposit http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/legaldeposit/. Note that there is a legal requirement to deposit any publication published in the UK with the legal deposit libraries whether it has an ISBN or not.