"I invest time and money into writing a book that incorporates research, I'd want a return on that investment." If you're an academic, you won't get it. The w

"I invest time and money into writing a book that incorporates research, I'd want a return on that investment." If you're an academic, you won't get it. The way academic publishing works is that you do the research, write it up, prepare the illustrations, then sign over copyright of the whole lot to a publisher such as Elsevier. They will then publish the book, make a tidy profit, and pay you: nothing. Nothing at all.