The interconnectedness of you
Congratulations. Another article accepted. Plus, you have that book chapter to work on. And you are waiting to hear from that acquisitions editor on your book idea. A lot going on.
Many authors and academics, however, see their scholarly output in silos. Seeing the panoramic view of your work can create the interconnectedness of you.
The majority of authors have an underlying theme to their writing, even if a thematic approach is unintentional in their work. When considering the impact of your work as a collection, focus more on the similarities among the topics than on the diversity of your interests. In the end, you are the connection!
Here is a list of the many ways to interweave your books, chapters, articles, blog posts, and other writings with each other to reflect best on you:
- Simple one: cite your own work (the right amount). Don’t artificially add everything you’ve ever done in to the new work, but also don’t shy away from self-citation as some people do. If it applies, add it in. You’re the expert!
- When choosing a topic for your next paper or blog post, build on what you’ve done. Start to gather a critical mass of writings on one topic or theme to help focus on your expertise.
- Claim your Amazon Author’s page and connect any books you have. It is easy to do. Add a photo, video, the whole works. Keep it up to date.
- Create your page at Academia.edu, ResearchGate, Mendeley, and the like. Make sure they are fully realized and chock full of information and links about you. Always add your new works to them.
- Create a vibrant, complete page at your university or institution about you. Include as much information as possible. Add links to all new content. And keep your CV (if they post one) up to date as well.
- In the About the Author section of your papers, book chapters, or books, push to have the maximum allowed about you and your work. Link or mention fresh content. Don’t just list your name, degrees, title, and institution. Go wild.
- Please, please, please create a personal website.The stumbling blocks are now very few. They can be incredibly cheap. Many times, you can create it yourself with very basic tools that require almost no technical knowledge. Or for a few extra dollars, you can get a freelancer to it. I use Upwork to find very reasonable freelancers. Here’s a great article on Upwork at Time Doctor. Use your name as the url. If it taken, be creative. I use booksbyjohnbond.com since my name had been claimed by someone else.
Finally, after the countless hours spent on your writing and publishing project, embrace the idea of you as a brand. I understand this is anathema to many academics and authors. But for your work to be read, used, understood, purchased, and appreciated, it is essential. Connect the dots for the reader so they aren’t left wanting more. Get your maximum impact.
John Bond is a publishing consultant at Riverwinds Consulting and the host of the YouTube channel “Publishing Defined.” He has been in scholarly publishing for 30 years. In his career, he has directed the publishing of over 500 book titles and 20,000 journal articles. His newest eBook is Scholarly Publishing: A Primer. Contact him at jbond@riverwindsconsulting.com.
