I've just joined the forum and would much appreciate any advice. Since passing my PhD viva last year, I have submitted some book proposals based on my thesis to a few publishers. Because I have been waiting to hear back from those publishers, I have not been doing the alternative of submitting chapters to journals; I thought that if I got something published in a journal, I cannot then use it in a book. Is this the case? Also, there is just one publisher I am waiting to hear back from - I submitted my proposal last October and they replied quickly saying that they would discuss it with colleagues and get back to me soon. I still haven't heard and while I don't want to pester them, I would like to know if it is still under consideration or long forgotten about...so that I can get on with trying to submit some chapters instead. What would you recommend, should I get in touch or leave it a while longer. Thanks again for any help.

What is your subject?

I've found that generally, publishing in quality journals is perhaps preferable over books, unless books are produced through quality academic publishers, in which case they are the preferred form.

You cannot publish things from your book into journal articles as it's considered material already published and therefore considered self-plagiarism.

I think you should get in touch, it's been enough time. That way you can work on drafting chapters into journal articles.

Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it. My subject is English Literature and the publishers I currently have my proposal with is a University press. I was hoping that no news is good news as they said they were discussing it and would get back soon...but then it has been a while and I'm feeling the pressure to get something published in order to improve my job prospects.