JAPA Launches a Book Series: A Conversation with Fred Busch

TAP: We hear that the American will be publishing psychoanalytic books and that you will be overseeing the project. Tell us about this new book series and how it came about.

FB: The series will be published under the auspices of JAPA as The Book Series of JAPA. The idea of the American publishing books has been kicking around our organization since the 1980s. Chuck Rothstein made a specific proposal in 1986. An extensive review in 1992 by a committee headed by Robert Wallerstein led to the conclusion that it would not be economically feasible at that time. In its current incarnation, the idea of a book series has been fulminating for at least five years. The idea had come independently to a number of us that an important hole in our psychoanalytic bench was the absence of a book series.

One of the primary ways our organization can serve its members is the dissemination of ideas. This function has been served admirably by JAPA, TAP, and the scientific programs at our national meetings. However, a book is an entirely different medium. An author is not restricted to a set number of pages, and therefore ideas can be explored in greater depth. Some ideas are best expressed in the shorter form of a paper, but others need the expansive treatment available in a book.

TAP: What is your role in this?

FB: I was put in charge of a committee to look into the feasibility of the American undertaking a book publishing venture. As it turns out, publishing books is like the old joke about the price of an electric car. The car itself costs $200, but the extension cord costs $25,000. One can print a small run of books for about $5.00 a copy. However, all the ancillary services to bring a book to readers (order taking, packaging, shipping, storage, advertising), along with the cost of readying a book for printing (copy editing, graphic design, print readiness, etc.) is quite expensive.

In the end, what made the most economic sense was to publish a book series through an existing publisher under the auspices of JAPA. Arnie Richards, editor of JAPA, was an enthusiastic supporter of this idea. The other members of the American's committee to investigate book publishing (Sandy Abend, Nancy Chodorow, Ellen Fertig, Leon Hoffman, Peggy Hutson, Harold Kulish, Chuck Rothstein, Alan Sugarman) saw Richards's fervor for expanding the exposure of JAPA to all those interested in psychoanalytic ideas as an ideal atmosphere for bringing this new medium to a psychoanalytic audience.

TAP: Aren't there enough books published already?

FB: While there are many excellent publishers with a long-standing commitment to the proliferation of psychoanalytic ideas, we were concerned with what seemed like shrinking interest (an apt phrase), in some quarters, for publication of psychoanalytic ideas. A good example was the small number of publishers who deemed it significant to have their books displayed at the annual meeting in Toronto.

TAP: Will the book series have a guiding philosophy?

FB: The book series will focus on bringing to print creative, well-written books. We will start small (two or three books per year). Our sole goal is to bring to a psychoanalytic readership original books that bring new understanding to a psychoanalytic area, with the ideas presented in a manner that makes them accessible. We hope to set a standard for new thinking that is usable and meaningful to a psychoanalytically interested audience. We plan to focus our attention on individual or jointly authored books, but not edited collections.

The book series has the opportunity to be generative in a number of ways. Promising books will receive a full editorial review that we hope will be constructive to authors. In this way we hope to help turn good ideas into good books. We also hope to bring promising scholars into the editorial process early on, so that the publishing a book becomes part of their thinking. Further, with the editor of the book series a member of the American who has been active in many parts of the organization, it is hoped that authors will approach publication of a book as not so remote and daunting as many of us felt when considering our first book. It is hoped that we will also be able to offer advice about approaching other publishers when a book does not fit our format. We hope to be ready to review manuscripts after the May meetings in Washington, D.C.

TAP: Will the book series be an unofficial voice of the American?

FB: If there were to be a voice of the American at this point in time, it would have to be a polyphonic one. It is likely this has always been the case, but significant differences in theory and technique have been papered over, creating a false sense of unity that can impede the creative process. Productive thinking comes about as much by the highlighting of differences as by finding a commonality of ideas. If you are asking whether there will be any attempt by the organization or its officers to influence the type of books accepted, the answer is absolutely not. Will the book series only be open to authors from the American Psychoanalytic Association? Again, absolutely not.

TAP: What are your thoughts as you undertake this rather formidable task as editor of the book series?

FB: I feel very fortunate to have been trusted with this task. It is an opportunity to contribute in a unique way, at a time when significant debates on our methods of working, and the underlying paradigms that guide us, are being debated. Adding to the debate by helping others bring creative ideas to it is a gift.

The endeavor seems quite daunting. It is not only that an entire apparatus must be created to do the job, but we cannot afford to make too many rookie mistakes. The success of the book series is dependent on its usefulness, and we need to build trust in the books we offer. On a more personal note, I am concerned about the effect of the editorship on my own writing. Finally, as with almost all positions of importance in the American, the pay is lousy.