Book Publishing in the Humanities and Social Sciences in Australia, Part Two: Author Motivation, Audience, and Publishing Knowledge

Abstract:This is part two of a study drawing on semi-structured interviews with twenty-one academics working in the humanities and social sciences at Australian universities. Part two explores why academics write books, who their target audience is, how they learned about publishing, and how they share their knowledge with others. I use self-determination theory to analyze their motives for publishing books. The interviews revealed that academics publish books primarily to share knowledge with other academics, to build their reputation, and to advance their career. These intrinsic motives (enjoyment and satisfaction) and extrinsic motives (success and reputation) are intertwined, and their relative importance evolves over an academic's career. In the past, authors learned about book publishing primarily from experience, but today there are more formal and informal opportunities to acquire publishing knowledge.