Dissertations for sale, or, scaring the children, part 2

“When The Chronicle of Higher Education published its ‘Cautionary Tale’ about a dissertation discovered, by its author, to be available for sale on Amazon.com without his knowledge, it was bound to stir up another round of anxiety over how dissertations are distributed in a digital world... the problem was that ProQuest, which creates the dissertation database once known as Dissertation Abstracts, now offers electronic copies of dissertations through outlets like Amazon.  Authors have the option of preventing this (it is the default) when they submit their dissertations.  To the article’s author, this was an unwelcome discovery... First, ProQuest ... have always sold copies of dissertations; all that has changed is the format and the ease with which they can be found.  Second, the most basic instruction for any author, whether of a dissertation or a best-selling novel, is to read the contract for distribution before you agree to it... The bigger question is whether or not these sales, and more especially the online distribution of dissertations in open access repositories... actually prevent authors from getting their first book published.  The author of the Chronicle piece seems to assume that it will, but such assumptions, without facts, seem to be the real problem... To a large degree we are again dealing with FUD – fear, uncertainty and doubt – intended to frighten people. It is not surprising that publishers would sometimes raise this specter... The simple truth is that the academic publishing industry has a vested interest in discouraging any online distribution of scholarship that it does not control.  But it is useful to look at some of the sources behind the anxiety to see what they really say... First is this statement from the American Historical Association, which actually is quite moderate.  Here is the key paragraph: ‘While there is no conclusive evidence that electronic publication can make it more difficult to publish a revised version of a dissertation, the division feels that students and their advisers should be aware of the possibility...’ This is hardly terrifying stuff; the Professional Division of the AHA goes on to recommend that universities have policies regarding embargoes for online dissertations, and that authors and advisers know what those policies are... Yet according to this survey done by some leaders in the field of online dissertations, some publishers do express a greater reluctance to accept a manuscript if there is an online dissertation.  Here I think the issue of revision is key.  Note that many more publishers in the survey say that it is the degree of revision that makes a difference for them, and I believe that the small percentage that said an ETD could be a large factor were answering the question based on a scenario where they were presented with an unrevised, or lightly revised, manuscript.  A much larger percentage, over 40%, either cited the difference between the two documents as a factor or indicated a case-by-case analysis; they recognized that the key factor was revision. Revision of a dissertation before submission for publication is virtually a sine qua non today, and much more important than online availability (or suppression) of the original dissertation... there is no evidence, in my opinion, that a publisher would reject a well-revised dissertation that was otherwise marketable simply because an earlier dissertation by the same author and on the same topic was online... So what is a dissertation author to do?  First, relax, but plan to revise.  Second, take the advice of the AHA and know the policies that will apply to you at your degree-granting institution and that prevail within your discipline.  Third, use embargoes on your work when they really will help, both in ProQuest and at your local campus.  Finally, read what you sign before you sign it.  This last point is a life lesson that all scholarly authors should learn...”