Shapley, along with others such as astronomer Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (also at Harvard), instigated a campaign against the book before its publication. Initially, they were highly critical of a publisher as reputable as Macmillan publishing such a pseudoscientific book, even as a trade book. Their disapproval was re-invigorated when Macmillan included "Worlds in Collision" among other trade books of possible interest to professors listed under the category "Science" in the back of a textbook catalog mailed to college professors. Within two months of the book's initial release, the publishing of the book was transferred to Doubleday, which has no textbook division.