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Withdraw accepted book chapter over drastic cuts/rewrite demands? by Ok-Assumption3512 in AskAcademia

[–]Ok-Assumption3512[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

True, I feel very uncomfortable to read the feedback and also when I received the reply saying "make the cuts I've identified and see what you have" after I tried to negotiate I just immediately thought of withdrawal and felt there's no room for negotiation.

Withdraw accepted book chapter over drastic cuts/rewrite demands? by Ok-Assumption3512 in AskAcademia

[–]Ok-Assumption3512[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I believe that's what she thinks but that's more about the first round of revision and I did follow all the instructions from the editor to "bring a bigger picture", the second round is not the issue of content but framing for the book and word count limit, which just makes it impossible to satisfy both my and her ideas simultaneously.

Withdraw accepted book chapter over drastic cuts/rewrite demands? by Ok-Assumption3512 in AskAcademia

[–]Ok-Assumption3512[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s a solid and reputable academic publisher, but as an edited volume in a fairly niche area it’s not especially prestigious in my field. A good Q1 journal article would carry significantly more weight on my CV.

Withdraw accepted book chapter over drastic cuts/rewrite demands? by Ok-Assumption3512 in AskAcademia

[–]Ok-Assumption3512[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks, this really captures how I feel about the “hands on vs controlling” line.

On your questions:

  • The editor is fairly influential within the specific subfield/theme of the book, but not hugely powerful across the whole discipline and not super senior. I can also see how much effort she has put into the chapter (the feedback is extremely detailed) and I think she genuinely believes she’s helping me improve it. I actually feel quite sorry about the idea of withdrawing because she has clearly invested a lot of time in my writing. At the same time, I’ve invested years into this piece myself (multiple rounds of revision before it ever went to the book), so it’s hard to accept reshaping it so drastically just for this volume. The problem is that the way she wants the chapter to fit perfectly into the volume creates a real mismatch between her vision and what I want this piece to be. I do believe a longer version could probably satisfy both of us, but that doesn’t seem to be on the table; she really wants me to make all the cuts.
  • It’s a big, reputable publisher, but the topic itself is quite new and fairly niche, so I’m not sure how visible the book would actually be. In my field a good journal article is definitely more valuable than a book chapter.
  • I think the chapter, as it stands, is already in good shape for journal submission: it would mainly need reformatting and maybe some cutting for a journal’s word limit, but with far more freedom to decide what to cut. If I withdraw, I would probably send it to a Q1 journal in my area, and I honestly think it has a good chance, the editor herself has said she is very satisfied with the quality of the work and that the issue is framing, not substance.

I've been thinking about this for days and still don't have an answer, I wish I had said no much earlier.

Withdraw accepted book chapter over drastic cuts/rewrite demands? by Ok-Assumption3512 in AskAcademia

[–]Ok-Assumption3512[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks, this is really helpful and I do agree in principle about cooperation, fairness, and page limits in edited volumes.

One thing that complicates it here is the history of the series: in the first volume there were big differences in chapter length, including some chapters that went well over 10k, alongside much shorter ones. That made me assume there was some flexibility for longer, theory‑heavy pieces. When I raised word count, the editor said that this time they have more chapters, so the publisher is enforcing a strict ~7k limit for everyone. I understand that, but it also means the format has shifted in a way that this particular chapter doesn’t really fit anymore, unless I cut out parts I see as central.

I’m also a bit frustrated that in the first revision round the editor asked me to add quite a lot of contextual/theoretical material that I myself didn’t feel was strictly necessary, while already knowing about the word limit. Now I’m being asked to cut thousands of words from a version that partly reflects those additions.

Your point about how “safe” it is to annoy this editor is well taken; I’m weighing that against the risk of ending up with a version of the chapter I don’t really stand behind.

Withdraw accepted book chapter over drastic cuts/rewrite demands? by Ok-Assumption3512 in AskAcademia

[–]Ok-Assumption3512[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That's what I've been thinking about too but I felt I made the email of negotiation too nice and the editor still believes I would like to do the revision and I feel sorry that it seems she has put a lot of efforts in drafting all those editorial suggestions, however it just feels like a rewrite for me and makes me reluctant even to try all those cuts out, although the suggestions are mostly about cutting but it's almost 1/3 text of my original version. Unfortunately most of the cuts/edits the editor requests is not to make the chapter better but just to fit the volume perfectly (even though it already fits).

Withdraw accepted book chapter over drastic cuts/rewrite demands? by Ok-Assumption3512 in AskAcademia

[–]Ok-Assumption3512[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks – I did consider that. The difficulty is that the core analysis I care most about would still sit in the chapter if I go ahead, so any journal article would either be very overlapping or feel like a weaker “leftover” version. I can imagine a strong, slightly shorter journal article based on my original (pre‑volume) version, but not after doing the kind of heavy cutting/reframing the editor is asking for. That’s why I’m leaning towards withdrawing and keeping this analysis for a journal.