Back in 2007 there was a call for people to contribute to an encyclopedia called ‘Women in American History.’ I ended up writing two book entries and then later submitted a third. It was all very exciting, especially when I was paid $20.00 for the first two entries ($10.00 for each). The encyclopedia was originally to be published in 2010, but that never happened and then there were rumors of a name change and the date of publication changed again and then no news. No news for years. I recently sent an email asking about the encyclopedia and was told that the project and publisher disappeared. Now I have had other items submitted for publication cancelled or rejected due to a variety of reasons (I once had an editor decline two articles for a book due to their lateness, which was totally my fault and which I understand, but then she went and stole my original ideas and gave them to someone else to write about. So not cool). But this is the first time a project just disappeared and the editor did not have the decency to let authors know what was happening. Very bad manners in my opinion.
The encyclopedia entries that will now never be published:
“Mary Akeley” in Women in American History: An Encyclopedia, New York: Facts on File (Forthcoming).
“Anna May Wong” in Women in American History: An Encyclopedia, New York: Facts on File (Forthcoming).
“Aviation” in Women in American History: An Encyclopedia, New York: Facts on File (Forthcoming).