7. Predatory Paradoxes: What Comes Next?

Abstract

In Chapter 7, ‘Predatory Paradoxes: What Comes Next?’ Amy Koerber and Jesse C. Starkey conclude the book by summarizing the many complexities that surround the term predatory. The authors offer insights and case studies based on our interviews with forty-eight individuals who are stakeholders of various sorts in the game of scholarly publishing—ranging from real-life stories of authors who have fallen ‘prey’ to predatory publishing practices to people involved in the publishing industry who feel their publications have been wrongly accused of being ‘predatory’ in some capacity. They examine the misunderstandings and misperceptions that many people have about predatory publishing, and they provide readers with accurate and complete information to combat these misunderstandings and misperceptions. They advocate a view of predatory publishing that emphasizes gray areas and individual responsibility rather than lists or hard and fast distinctions between journals or publishers that are predatory and those that are not. In this final chapter, we hope to leave readers with a set of tools and knowledge that makes them prepared to succeed in the game of scholarly publishing and to mentor those who come after them to be similarly prepared and equipped.