Chapter and verse

I don't quite understand the prejudice against book chapters either--I've published twelve of them myself and have just agreed to write another one.  However, I'm also a cautionary tale, as book chapters do come with an unfortunate side of extra risk: the book not coming into being.    My first article written at my institution of residence, on Grace Aguilar, nearly got deep-sixed when the original publisher tore up the contract ("it's a great collection, but we don't want to publish anything more about the Victorians right now"); fortunately, another publisher picked up the collection relatively quickly, but not before I had to make some awkward explanations in my annual report.  Some years later, I wrote an article about The Madness of King George and its successors for a collection that didn't have a publisher.  And, after a couple of years of trying, it never found one.  Fortunately, I was able to find a hospitable film studies journal to take the article.  I'm now in the same boat with yet another book chapter, originally finished five years ago, which was destined for a volume of conference proceedings that would up (you guessed it) not proceeding; the article is currently out and about, but this one may wind up mothballed, to be honest.  

The usual problem with journals is a) time to acceptance and b) time to publication.  It is not, however, usually c) the journal's total disappearance.  Journals do cease to exist, but that's a rather less likely problem than an edited collection failing to find a publisher.  If you're a junior scholar and tenure depends in part (or whole) on your scholarly output, then it's probably a good idea to be cautious with book chapters not because of the prestige issue, but because of the "I've spent a year on this and yet there's no sign of a contract" issue.  Even when there is a contract, as my first tale of woe suggests, the publisher may elect to run it through the nearest woodchipper.  At the very least, as my record suggests, it's in your best interests to avoid edited collections unless the editor states upfront that there's a contract already in hand.