Things not to do, #1291: insult graduate students who have dropped out of your special issue

It is not a good advertisement for one's feminist journal to tell a graduate student that having to pull out of a special issue because of financial exigency is "frankly unacceptable."  It's not just egregious, but reeks of--dare I say it?--the kind of privilege that feminist journals are purportedly in the business of undermining.  As someone who has worked (and is once again working) the other side of the journal production fence, the entire scenario is bizarre.

Reason #1: Contributors were told that "withdrawing was not an option"? Somebody always has to withdraw.  Always.  As in, you assume that a contributor will vanish into thin air because of family issues, or illness, or unexpected emergencies, or something.  This is true in both edited collections and special issues.  (My article in that Blackwell companion to the Brontes that came out a couple of years ago was in fact supposed to be two entirely different articles; the late Diane Hoeveler, who edited it, contacted me late in the process to explain that a contributor had stopped responding to emails, and could I, you know, maybe spend more time on the Methodists?)  In this case, the journal has not even received essays yet, which means that there's time for any number of stopgap measures--like putting out an emergency CFP, begging one's friends, or dredging through the journal backfile.  

Reason #1a: On what planet are contributors possessed of prophetic abilities? Nobody knows what's going to happen to them a few weeks or months down the line! Why are you blaming them for wanting to eat?

Reason #2: The deadline you tell the contributors should not be the actual deadline, precisely to avoid the emergencies associated with Reason #1.  (Yes, I'm giving away an important secret there.)

Reason #3: I''m in agreement with those in the responses who pointed out that professors operating a journal do, in fact, receive "compensation."  (The editorial assistant is probably the only person receiving immediate $, although perhaps not very much.  A senior U of C professor asked me if the job paid "moderately well"; I responded, "it pays moderately.")  Such work goes on your annual report as service to the profession and thus counts towards contractual service obligations, promotion, evaluation of performance at rank (important if your university does post-tenure review), and bonus pay.  It also confers at least some degree of power, inasmuch as controlling access to your journal affects careers, possibly world-wide.  

(I am paid for my research, as well as my new job as a small-scale book review editor, because it's part of my contract.  That thing which stipulates what I need to do in order to earn my salary. If I go above and beyond expectations, I get additional compensation.  Now, we can talk about disproportionately exorbitant journal subscription fees, the impossibly high price of many academic books, and so forth, but that's not the same thing as saying "I'm doing this for free."  By contrast, an unemployed graduate student or underemployed adjunct really isn't being compensated for their research or service work.)

 

Comments

[JaneB]

Wow, actual increases in compensation?? That sounds nice...

We have short pay scales, once you're at the top of one you have to get a formal promotion (I have no chance of my next one unless I win multiple large grants) so I have no scope for actual increases, and as our "cost of living" rise each year is below inflation my salary drifts gently downwards... and then I feel guilty for being frustrated by that because at least I have a job!!

[Miriam Burstein]

We do get COLIs and merit pay...when we have a contract, anyway. (But no step increases.)