Ken: I couldn't agree more... I've poured my heart into a couple of complement review articles that ended up as chapters in books, and that's not to say the amount of time that was involved. Yes, I became, transiently, more learned in the field but when review articles carry so little weight it makes you wonder if it was all worth it. All in all, I ended up with some reprints for one, and a copy of the book for the other. That's it!!! And to that, I came very close to having to buy the book but my procrastination paid off when it showed up before I placed my order! David ----- Original Message ----- From: Kenneth Ault To: Cytometry Mailing List Sent: Friday, May 17, 2002 14:09 Subject: Re: Publishers and Contracts This topic raises an issue that has bothered me for some time. It seems to me that publishers routinely use the native desire of scientists to become famous, and the fact that many of us have considerable egos, to take advantage of us. They ask us to write articles for books, or to edit books, and pay nothing or a pittance when they are able to make enough money to make it worthwhile for themselves. I'm not saying that publishing is anything close to the energy trading business in terms of profitability, but I do think we are taken advantage of. It would be nice (although probably impossible) if the scientific community could come up with a mechanism to defend ourselves against this kind of exploitation. Maybe its just my stupidity and poor negotiating ability, but I'd be interested in the thoughts of others. Ken Ault
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