今天收到老板转发的一封邮件，来自德国一个名为VDM（Verlag Dr Mueller）的出版社，说是有兴趣审阅我的博士论文，希望得到我的EMAIL。

于是我老板告知了该出版社，随后我也收到信，内容大体相似，问是否有兴趣出版论文。

作为学校最底层小人物，出版压力自不待言。我回复，可否提供进一步信息。

对方迅速回复，大体介绍了下自身情况，说若有兴趣，可发送论文电子文本给他们审阅，并随信附上给作者的详细信息。

大致浏览一下，如被接受，

1. 费用完全由出版社承担，还强调出版社对书稿质量要求很严格；
2. 作者可免费得样书一本；
3. 书有国际标准书号;
4. 作者仍拥有书的版权，80%内容可以另行发表而不需取得出版社许可；
5. 书的出版数量由订单决定（Print-to-order）;
6. 作者可抽版税（12%），前提是版税平均每个月达到50欧元以上；
7. 作者可优惠购买，按购买数量打6-8折。

出版社利润来源何处？不硬性要求作者认购一定数量的书，而且学术书籍（尤其出自名不见经传人之手）的阅读对象极其有限，通过市场渠道盈利可能性不大——当然，有订单才印刷可以大大降低风险。唯一的可能是，作者本人，出于虚荣心（比如送一本给父母瞧瞧），买上那么几本？运气好，碰上个冤大头作者，一气买很多送人也未可知。

我不否认，免费出版的诱惑还是很大的。有限的经验告诉我，作者基本要掏几万块钱，出版社才肯出市场很小的学术书籍。不过，世上没有免费的午餐，too good to be true?不会是PHISHING吧？

于是GOOGLE之，果然，收到类似邮件的人不乏其人，吾道不孤。

VDM主要针对刚毕业的研究生，桥段类似，通过导师询问学生联系方式和出版意向。考虑到硕博论文大多在图书馆蒙尘，不见出版天日，所以这个OFFER还颇让人心动。

网上褒贬不一，贬者质疑其没有专业审稿人，没有严谨审稿，编辑水平也不高，称其为vanity press。曾经在VDM出版书的人也承认所谓审稿非常迅速，形同虚设。贬者一个强有力的观点是，在一个信誉不好（或至少鲜为人知）的出版社出书搞不好还破坏自己的声誉。

褒者则说反正也没什么损失，免费出版也许永远没有出版机会的论文，免费得样书5本（跟我收到的信息不一样），还可以加长自己PUBLICATION LIST，何乐不为？也有说反正博士论文已经拆了几篇发在学术期刊上，再出书也挺好的（如果已经发表在期刊上，不是要向期刊取得许可才能在别处出版吗？）。褒者还说，VDM代表出版社发展新趋势，按需印书，既降低成本，又环保。

在亚马逊网站上搜索，VDM已有6631本书待嫁闺中，价格不菲，盛惠40-120 美刀不等。VDM这种模式倒真是迎合了一众苦熬学子出版的迫切需要。不期然想起《围城》方鸿渐来。

GOOGLE的结果还出来些FACULTY的CV，端端正正把在VDM出版的书列在publication，看了其中两个人，一个是SUNY at Albany的新faulty想必出版的是博士论文；一个是澳大利亚国立大学的senior lecturer，不会也是博士论文吧？由此看来，VDM也不是完全没有credential？

给我老板的信：

In the course of an Internet research, I came across the dissertation (注：此处为我论文的题目).

As we would like to make his/her work available to a larger audience, I would be interested to get in touch with your former student to find out if he/she would like to submit the manuscript for review.

Therefore, I would be grateful if you would be so kind as to provide me with his/her email, or even simply forward this e-mail. Thank you.

Best regards,

VDM Publishing House Ltd.

17, Meldrum Str. | Beau-Bassin | Mauritius
Tel / Fax: +230 467-5601

m.michaud@vdm-publishing.com | www.vdm-publishing.com
Business Registration No.: C07072290
Board of Directors: Katalin Bontenakels, Benoit Novel

In coorperation with:
VDM Verlag Dr. Müller AG & CoKG (www.vdm-verlag.de)
LAP Lambert Academic Publishing AG & CoKG (www.lap-publishing.com)
SVH Südwestdeutscher Verlag für Hochschulschriften AG & CoKG (www.svh-verlag.de)

给我的第一封信：

I am writing on behalf of the German publishing house, /VDM Verlag Dr. Müller AG & Co. KG/.

In the course of a research on the Internet, I came across a reference to your thesis on "(注：此处为我论文的题目)".

As we would like to make your work available to a larger audience, I am wondering if you may be interested in publishing your thesis in the form of a printed book.

Your reply including an e-mail address to which I can send an e-mail with further information in an attachment will be greatly appreciated.

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

第二封

Thank you for your response and your interest in our publishing house.

I would be glad to send you more information on VDM Publishing House (see attached). We publish about 4000 books annually, mainly in economics and social sciences and are therefore one of the leading academic publishing houses in Germany. VDM Publishing House is an associate member of the American Booksellers' Association (www.bookweb.org) and the Booksellers' Association (www.booksellers.org.uk) of the UK and Ireland.

We publish books in the form of a monograph, which means that our books are independent scientific publications (and not journal articles). Thus, we would be interested in publishing your work as a whole. VDM books and distributed by global wholesalers worldwide. You can review them on  www.amazon.de <http://www.amazon.de/>, www.amazon.co.uk <http://www.amazon.co.uk/>, www.amazon.com <http://www.amazon.com/> or www.bookbutler.de <http://www.bookbutler.de/> (the easiest way is to go on our website www.vdm-publishing.com <http://www.vdm-publishing.com/> and choose 'Portfolio').

If you are interested in working with us, please submit your work by e-mail along with a telephone number at which you can be reached. You will then receive feedback as to whether we will publish your work, as well as any requests for corrections if applicable. Although this goes without saying in publishing, I would like to expressly guarantee that your work will only be used for in-house review. Should we not arrive at an agreement, all your data will be deleted from our records.

Please note that a VDM author retains the right to submit major parts (up to 80 percent) of the work for publication in academic journals without the permission of the Publisher. According to the German copyright law if you rewrite/add/remove 20% of a monograph that you have already published, you are welcome to republish it without the permission of the publisher as it is considered a completely new project. This 20% is based on word count and it is up to you which 80% you would like to republish later on.

I look forward to hearing back from you. Should you have any questions, feel free to contact me.