A testament to the ingenuity of scholarly presses, "One Book/Five Ways" is a fascinating experiment in comparative publishing. This book records the history of a single manuscript, entitled "No Time for Houseplants," submitted to five different university presses--Chicago, MIT, North Carolina, Texas, and Toronto--and then actually published by the University of Oklahoma Press. Each of the five model publishers agreed to treat the book as a real project accepted for publication and to compile a log of procedures they followed. These logs include correspondence, budgets, forms, layouts, and specifications, providing an insider's look at the path a manuscript takes through the various departments of each press, from editorial to marketing.
With a new Foreword discussing changes in publishing since 1978 and an Afterword commenting on the actual publication of "No Time for Houseplants," "One Book/Five Ways" is a unique educational tool for anyone interested in the publishing process.