Probably most of the people on this listserv group hope to place a book manuscript with a university press. For them there is an interesting (and dismaying) article in the most recent Perspectives by the new AHA president Robert Darnton. Although his focus is on monographic books, his most startling statistic concerns an editorial series. The first volume of the papers of Benjamin Franklin sold over 8000 copies, the most recent upteenth volume a few hundred. Understandably academic presses are shifting much of their lists to more salable titles and away from specialized monographs. Even when they get good reviews, they don't sell enough copies to meet costs. Darnton plans to recommend electronic publication as a partial solution.