Issues with Lambert Academic Publishing

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Chambi Chachage

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May 20, 2013, 10:15:54 PM5/20/13
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I have deliberately changed the title of the thread to enable us to specifically discuss the concerns that Baruani has raised below about LAP. Coincidentally the day he posted it I met someone who had been struggling to find a publisher for his long awaited book. When I congratulated him for at last publishing it, he exclaimed 'but the book is not being bought at all!' I told him to consult a local publisher and book seller who happened to be within the vicinity. Little did I know about these criticisms of LAP.

In this forum we have two if not three people who have recently published their books with LAP. I hope they will share their experiences. I am also sharing this thread with two other people who have published with LAP as well as other academic writers.

From: Baruani Mshale <baruani...@gmail.com>
To: wanazuoni <Wana...@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 18, 2013 5:36 AM
Subject: Re: [Wanazuoni] My new book on Education Policy in TZ

 
Dear Godfrey,
 
Belated congrats but I feel compelled to make a few critical observations about your publisher Lambert Academic Publishing (LAP). They are not a worthy publisher and publishing with them will hurt your credibility as a reputable scholar in the long run. For anyone who has completed an MSC or PhD or presented at an international conference recently, you probably have received numerous solicitation from LAP (o.rusu) for publishing your work with them.
 
Their publishing process does not go through a rigorous academic review process. Take for example Godfrey's book title: It does not mention that it focuses on Tanzania and needs several improvement for a good book title. From the summary on Amazon, it is very difficult to understand the central argument the your book and the supporting evidence and methods. The few sentences contain several terms hat aren't clear and are repetitive in ways that is a bit incoherent. But they (LAP) do not care about that. They care about making money out of your book. Look at the price of Godfrey's book on Amazon $89: do you think your book should be selling at that price? And you will never get a single coin out it. Tell me if you have received updates on your book sales and if and when you will get your first loyalty check?
 
Of course it looks nice on your CV but the academic world is increasingly paying attention to such details. Just the same way that journals are ranked, publishers are also ranked and LAP is a no-go zone.
 
Another thing, for those wanazuoni who have expressed interest of buying the book once its on the market, that will not happen. You have to order a print from the publisher. They do not stock their sellers. They print on demand to minimize costs/loss an maximize profit.
 
You can go online and read more about other people's reviews of LAP.
 
The first time I received a solicitation from LAP was in 2008 and I was super excited that a publisher was interested to publish my masters thesis. But after consultation with my academic advisors, they strongly suggested that I stay away from this publisher.
 
This is just a caution, it is not to criticize your work Godfrey because I have not read it, but to warn others and also caution you that incase you apply for international jobs, you may want to omit your book from your CV because it will clearly hurt your credibility.
 
All best.


On Fri, Feb 8, 2013 at 3:21 PM, Godfrey Telli <godfre...@yahoo.com> wrote:
 
Asante sana Chambi!

Sent: Thursday, February 7, 2013 9:18 PM
Subject: Re: [Wanazuoni] My new book on Education Policy in TZ
 
Da, ndio kwanza naona tangazo hili - belated hongera tena hongera sana!
 
-------
My mission is to acquire, produce and disseminate knowledge on and about humanity as well as divinity, especially as it relates to Africa, in a constructive and liberating manner to people wherever they may be.

Address: 41 Banks Street # 1, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
Cellphone: US = +1 (857) 413 - 9521/TZ = +255754771763
Skype: chambi100
Twitter: @Udadisi

From: Godfrey Telli <godfre...@yahoo.com>
To: "Wana...@yahoogroups.com" <Wana...@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2013 8:39 PM
Subject: [Wanazuoni] My new book on Education Policy in TZ
 
Mpendwa Mwanazuoni:
 
I just want to quickly share my new book with you: Re-defining Quality of Education: Stakeholders Opinion. Please, click here for more information. You are invited to buy a copy.
Thanks
Godfrey Telli, Ph.D.



--
Baruani Mshale
Doctoral Program
SNRE
University of Michigan
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Chidi Ezegwu

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May 21, 2013, 9:00:19 AM5/21/13
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Thanks Baruani et al,
This information is timely. I was considering sending my work to them. When we completed our dissertations at the University of Ibadan, some of my colleagues published theirs and were encouraging me to do so. I was not motivated to join them. Presently, my supervisor at the IoE University of London encouraged me to publish my recent project and LAP was the only publisher on my mind. Few minutes before reading this email, I emailed her about the publisher.
I would be glad to know other better publishers, especially those that publish with little or no cost.
Chidi

From: Felix Kayman <felix...@gmail.com>
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com
Cc: "Wana...@yahoogroups.com" <Wana...@yahoogroups.com>; Chambi Chachage <cham...@yahoo.com>
Sent: Tuesday, 21 May 2013, 10:51
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Issues with Lambert Academic Publishing
My first encounter with Lambert Academic Publishing (LAP) dates back to 2008 when they solicited for my M.A. dissertation for publication. However my supervisor suggested that I publish papers out of my work rather than lock the entire thing into a book that might not be read by anyone. Perhaps he did not know of their reputation at the time, or he just wanted to avoid discussing that with me. In any case, I took his suggestion on board and I must state that I have been better for it. After that encounter I have read more about the unsavoury reputation of  LAP and have consciously avoided them. Last year a friend forwarded an amazon link to me indicating that his Master's dissertation has now been published into a book, by no other publishing house than LAP. His book provided me with first hand experience of the poor quality of LAP publications. The blurb at the back of the book was filled with errors of syntax and grammar, that I thought could have been spotted and avoided by professional editors. I pointed out to my friend that he did a lazy job of editing the work before sending it to LAP and that he should not have allowed them to publish the work in that state. In my naivety, I thought that my friend would appreciate these observations. However, his response was that I should not pull down his efforts simply because I have not been able to get a book published. He asked if I want to claim to know better than the 'reputable publishers', meaning LAP. I did not respond because till present my friend believes that I am jealous of his efforts, given that he, a graduate student in an African university got a book published before me (a graduate student in a UK university). But I still refer others to the link as evidence of poor editorial work and by extension evidence of poor publishing ethics. 
On Tuesday, May 21, 2013 3:15:54 AM UTC+1, Chambi Chachage wrote:
I have deliberately changed the title of the thread to enable us to specifically discuss the concerns that Baruani has raised below about LAP. Coincidentally the day he posted it I met someone who had been struggling to find a publisher for his long awaited book. When I congratulated him for at last publishing it, he exclaimed 'but the book is not being bought at all!' I told him to consult a local publisher and book seller who happened to be within the vicinity. Little did I know about these criticisms of LAP.

In this forum we have two if not three people who have recently published their books with LAP. I hope they will share their experiences. I am also sharing this thread with two other people who have published with LAP as well as other academic writers.
Baruani MshaleDoctoral ProgramSNREUniversity of Michigan
.
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Biko Agozino

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May 21, 2013, 11:01:40 AM5/21/13
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Farooq A. Kperogi

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May 21, 2013, 2:57:08 PM5/21/13
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Lambert Academic Publishing is a borderline scam operation. I wrote about it in one of my Weekly Trust columns. Read it here:http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2012/05/print-on-demand-book-scams-and-nigerian.html

Farooq A. Kperogi, Ph.D.
Department of Communication
Kennesaw State University
1000 Chastain Road, MD 2207 
Kennesaw, Georgia, USA 30144
Cell:  (+1) 404-573-969:
Personal website: www.farooqkperogi.com
Twitter: @farooqkperogi

"The nice thing about pessimism is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised." G. F. Will
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