“不出版就淘汰”——基于西方学术出版机构或者大学出版社采稿过程的观察

"Publish or Perish"——Some Observations Regarding the Acquisition Process at the University Presses (Or,Academic Publishing Houses in the West)

如何在西方国家的出版社出版自己的著作,这是中国学者或者东方学者关心的问题。一般来说,首先选题要有编辑感兴趣。与其说你想要你的作品发表在什么地方,不如说某人(出版商)愿意把它发表在什么地方。因此,让你的朋友在他们的国家推荐你的书,并且寻求可能的出版途径。为什么要出版?就像俗话说的,不出版就淘汰。应该强调的是,今天几乎所有的英文出版物都比其它语言(打头的有法语、德语和意大利语)的出版物更适合出版。在哪里出版?明智的策略——在人文学科也是这样——就是与声望高的"大"出版商合作出版。在不同的(欧洲)国家和文化中,占主导地位的是不同风格和种类的学术话语。最好要对各种意见(即使我们往往并不赞同评论者)保持思想开明,自我批评并且开放的态度。最终所有这些目标都是写出一本好书。

How to publish works in western countries is an important issue that Chinese or eastern scholars are concerning about.In general,first of all,editors should take interest in your topics.Usually someone(publisher) is willing to publish your works somewhere rather than you want your works published in some place.Therefore,ask your friends to recommend your books in their country and to seek the possible way of publishing.Why to publish?As the saying goes,"Publish or Perish".It should be emphasized that today almost all publications in English are better than those in other languages,starting with French,German and Italian.Next question is where to publish.To work with some big publishers is a smart strategy and it is the same in the humanities.Different styles and kinds of academic discourse are dominating in different European countries and cultures.It is important to be open-minded,self-critical,and open to all kinds of opinions even if you donnot always agree with the reviewers.The ultimate goal of all this is to write a good book.