Clearly there are good and bad books of this type. The success of such a venture depends in part on how one approaches the question of whether or not to attempt publication of the papers presented at a meeting and on how the papers are handled.
Publication and the issues it raises need to be considered early in the planning of a scientific meeting. Quite often the sponsors of a meeting will insist on publication, and there may already be a standing arrangement with a publisher. If there are no prior commitments there are several important reasons to act decisively. For example, some keynote speakers may not want the chore of writing yet another version of their famous lectures. When you approach them, they might ask if you insist on publication, and perhaps be reluctant to participate if you do. Researchers with major new results may not want their data ...
