Legal Commentary

Throughout the summer, I have been considering the value of sending reprints to others whose scholarly interests align with my own.  To be honest, I don't send out many reprints at all--perhaps 20 or 25.  These sometimes generate nice e-mails, but rarely anything more.  I do, however, popularize my work in other ways, such as by soliciting feedback on drafts from other senior and junior scholars, and by e-mailing those who write in my area to provide them with an article abstract and links to the full version.  And of course there is SSRN.  After talking to several other junior faculty from other schools, I don't believe that my reprint practices--or perhaps lack thereof?--are that unusual.  It just seems that that is the logical trend in a post-paper world.  As I enter my third year, however, I have wondered about the benefits of reprints in terms of self-promotion...

Is it best to be diligent in sending out reprints?  If so, how many?  Is the similar practice of sending out e-mails with abstracts and links a satisfactory replacement for reprints?  After all, it is much cheaper and more environmentally friendly.  Or are such e-mails instead supplemental, or even unnecessary?  Assuming one presents at conferences and is otherwise careful to publicize current scholarship, are there additional advantages to sending out reprints in terms of the tenure process?  And what about interdisciplinary articles--these seem to complicate the question of what constitutes "best reprint practices."  Should reprints of interdisciplinary articles be sent out only to other legal scholars, or also to faculty in other relevant departments?  Are reprints more valuable when the piece is published in another discipline's journal that most legal scholars won't read (I have enough trouble just keeping up to date on relevant scholarship posted in general law reviews!)? 

Any thoughts?