My Other Life

I am one of the many writers (probably in the majority) who do not make a living as full-time writers. I have a day job -- I am a medical librarian. In my position I am in charge of the electronic journals and databases that our faculty and students use in their work and studies. The journal collection at my library has to meet a number of needs, not only across a wide range of subjects and specialties, but a range of purposes as well: clinical, educational, and research.

In this role I deal with a side of publishing that is far different from publishing as a mystery writer. Scholarly publishing works along quite different lines. As a mystery writer, I produce novels that, through my agent, I sell to a publisher. In return, I get an advance from the publisher, and once that has been earned back by my books' sales, I start earning royalties. Not so in scholarly publishing.

In the medical and scientific fields, research is driven by the journal article. The publishers of these journals do not pay the authors for their work -- the authors are paid by their respective institutions to perform research, and they also get grant money from various entities. These articles go through a peer review process, during which they are sent to experts who pass judgment on whether they are good enough to be published. The peer reviewers aren't paid either.

This is all part of the tenure process in universities as well. Those who hope, in a competitive market, for tenure and promotion have to publish in peer-reviewed journals that are highly regarded in their fields. Thus they research, write, submit, and are published -- all without money changing hands between them and their publishers.

In my role as a librarian, I have to license access to this research in the journals, and my library/institution has to pay a significant amount for the most part to gain access to the content. Content that faculty at my institution created in the first place.

Interesting paradigm, wouldn't you say? Particularly for the publishers of such content. I have published an article in a peer-reviewed journal, and I contributed essays to a scholarly reference book. I didn't get paid for any of that. While there was satisfaction on my part in having such things published, it didn't, in the long run, have much impact on my bank account.

Which is why, as you have no doubt figured out by now, I "moonlight" as a mystery writer.

Comments

[Richard]

Interesting! Thanks for explaining the differences, Dean

[Charlaine Harris]

So it sounds like you have to run harder to stay in place?

[Dean James]

Charlaine, we librarians definitely do. Vendors/publishers raise their prices every year, usually anywhere from 5-10%, and sometimes more. When library budgets sometimes don't increase at all, it's hard to keep providing essential resources.

[Sharan Newman]

This is why I've never thought it worth my while to get a paper I have delivered into shape for an academic journal. No one has offered me tenure, although it would be nice as a writer to have it.

[Dana]

Dean, I sympathize. Having spent a good chunk of my life in the academic world, the "publish or perish" model is exacerbated by juggling teaching and research--even when you're not tenured.