This is a book where one of the chapters was written by me. Look at the price. I’ll get one copy, and if I want more, I’ll have to pay the insane price, just like anybody else.
I hate academic publishers.
People I Hate
Opinions, art, debate
Clarissa's Blog 
I hear you. Yesterday I also signed the copyright form with a well known academic publisher; I contributed a chapter to a book and I will get 1 copy (they offered hardcopy OR electronic, but not both); I am a coauthor with 3 of my students on this chapter and they offer one free book to only the corresponding author. The whole book will be expensive as hell once done, and I bet any royalties will go to the editor. My students and I get 1/4 of a free book each. If we want the other 3/4, we have to pay full price.
Academic publishers deserve to be hated.
LikeLike
Academic books constitutes an outdated concept.
LikeLike
The reality is that it costs a lot to publish a book. This cost is spread over the total expected sales. A book which sells a hundred thousand copies can cost much less than one which sells three thousand. I think $100 is not a bad price for this book.
The prices that really are despicable and unjustified are prices of college textbooks.
LikeLike
College textbooks are even more outdated than academic books.
LikeLike
College textbooks are even more outdated than academic books.
I have found that twenty five-year old college calculus texts are just as satisfactory as new ones. The frequent “updating” is just a ploy to prevent students from using used books.
More advanced books, of course. do need to updated more frequently.
LikeLike
“I hate academic publishers.”
Join the club. It’s this kind of crap that gives life to this other kind of crap:
LikeLike
Palgrave is one of the most irritatingly expensive, somehow.
LikeLike