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2011-10-09-08-07
06-05-04-older

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"Publishers drink champagne from the skulls of their authors..."

The cardiologist who coined this expression said that he knew what he was talking about. Having just finished the seventh edition of a medical textbook about cardiology, he estimated that the economic return for his effort would be extremely modest considering the time he had spend on the text.

It should be noted, however, that historically publishers of medical textbooks have always done a fantastic job. They had to do

• the typewriting
• the proofreading
• the printing and
• the distribution

Only with the advent of computer technology and Internet has the central role of medical publishers been put in question. Most of the tasks that are involved in the production of scientific literature are now being controlled by the authors themselves. The medical community has begun to realize that it is surprisingly self-sufficient in distributing the information that it produces. We all know the basics of word processing and Internet connectivity, and most of us are capable of making PDF files out of our articles.

Think about it:

• WE write the books or book chapters, mostly in the evening and during weekends. We neglect our families, sacrifice part of our vacation. We do that partly for vanity and partly for careers, but nonetheless, WE write the books, not the publishers, and we generally do it for a ridiculous amount of money.

So what will the role of medical editors be in the future? Do we still need them?

(to be continued)

Bernd Sebastian Kamps
AMEDEO