Essentials of Publishing Qualitative Research: A Book Review

Essentials of Publishing Qualitative Research by Mitchell Allen (2016) is one of thirteen titles in a series called Qualitative Essentials, dedicated to providing a comprehensive overview of topics in qualitative inquiry. While books with a focus on academic publishing are numerous: The Academic's Guide to Publishing (Kitchin & Fuller, 2005); Author's Guide to Scholarly Publishing (Derricourt, 1996); and The Handbook of Scholarly Writing and Publishing (Rocco & Hatcher, 2011). Allen touts his as, "probably the first guide designed specifically for qualitative researchers" (p. 10). The thoughtful and carefully crafted explanations of how the publishing world operates, provides a guide for any scholar to follow in the steps to publication. In this review, I briefly outline Allen's motivation and purpose, followed by my point of view as a Ph.D. student new to qualitative research. I address the extent to which Allen has succeeded in making this book accessible for beginning qualitative researchers including aspects of the Allen's style that make this book a good choice for not just those who have completed the dissertation phase, but beginning researchers as well. Allen begins the book with a brief overview of what's in the book from chapter to chapter and identifies his focus to inform qualitative researchers of his distinct social networking approach to getting published and shares that, "You can learn the specifics of how to get published if you use the research tools you already know in the service of advancing your career" (p. 10) and refers to the process of getting published as an ethnographic fieldwork experience. The organization of the book is purposeful in first exploring the history of publishing, explaining the jobs within a publishing house and their functions, then the steps to publishing by networking and being able to talk with the right people to get your work accepted. Not only does Allen write each chapter with effortlessly readable language, but his quick wit and sarcastic edge keeps you laughing when you might otherwise cry from the stress of working towards publishing. This book is equally beneficial for graduate students in any stage of coursework, and even those looking to publish beyond the dissertation stage. This book is geared towards an audience "for whom the process of getting published is both as daunting and as challenging as the research you want to publish" (p. 9). Regardless of your current situation, if there is one lesson everyone should walk away with after reading, it is that academic publishing is socially constructed, meaning you need to conduct ethnographic fieldwork to make friends in the right community, and make nice with the editor, a concept intricately woven into the text from cover to cover. Through the provision of a brief history of the publishing world and laying out the who's who in a publishing house, I found the first chapter immensely helpful as it leaves you with a general lay of the land and an idea of the people in positions of power in both the journal and book publishing realms, for whom you will want to cozy up with at the next conference. Many new doctoral students may believe acceptance, rejection, or revise and resubmit are par for the course based on your ability (or lack thereof) to write. Despite what you've heard from other guidebooks or conference panels, Allen opines, "it's not always about how good your research and writing are" (p. 11). Allen provides current publishing statistics, and impresses upon the reader that, "there are more articles out there to be published than there are journal issues to fill" (p. 18) and the same goes for books. Allen's nearly 40 years of experience in academic publishing is reason enough for a new doctoral student such as myself to trust he knows what he is talking about. His focus on the social networking angle requires you to go out and create a network of people in the editorial world because "you're more likely to get published if the journal editor is your friend" (p. …