Multiauthor books are of two sorts: collections of original essays and anthologies of previously published material. The first sort of collection is usually published by a university press or other scholarly publisher; it includes festschrifts, symposium proceedings, and commissioned volumes on current topics. The specialized reference work is an especially complex variant. Although such books may occasionally include one or two articles that have been published elsewhere, most of the material must be original. The second sort of collection is most often prepared for use as a required or supplementary text for a course and is usually published by a textbook publisher. Some such anthologies, however – especially of literature and translations – are published by scholarly publishers. Because each sort of volume is prepared very differently, this chapter discusses them separately. In each case, the compiler must deal with legal or contractual problems, editorial problems, and mechanical problems. The chapter is written mainly for the volume editor or compiler, but contributors to such volumes will also find it useful.

Collections of Original Essays

Compiling and editing a collection of scholarly articles can be one of the most nerve-racking experiences of a lifetime. You are dealing with multiple egos, multiple addresses, multiple problems, multiple missed deadlines, and multiple tempers. You must negotiate between the publisher and the contributors, and that can be very difficult.