Mark Twain once said, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is … the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” Writing is a continuous search for the right word, the right fit, and the right connections.

As textbook and academic authors, that search for what’s “right” may be in the relationships with co-authors and editors. It may be what’s right from a social justice perspective. It may be what’s right in our preparation, process, and delivery of content. Or it may be what’s right for publishing our work.

No matter what’s “right” for your writing this week focus on finding what’s truly right instead of settling for what’s “almost right”. The lightning has a much stronger impact than the lightning bug. Happy writing!

Twelve top tips for co-editing a book series

This post is co-written and simultaneously published with Helen Kara to coincide with the launch of the Insider Guides to Success in Academia book series.

Collaborative editing for convivial and inclusive global scholarship

While we acknowledge that not all collaborations are going to be like this, we would like to conclude by offering some thoughts on what has worked for us in the form of eight lessons that might hold for collaborative editing in general. We hope our positive experience provides encouragement to others.

Action Research Podcast: Interview with the editors

This podcast series is aimed at the researcher who wants to learn more about the scholarship and practice of action research. In the podcast’s prequel episode, Adam and Joe talk briefly about what The Action Research Podcast is, why they created it, and what you can expect to hear in the series.

In search of equity and justice: Reimagining scholarly communication

Forced to slow down and stay in one place, 2020 has been a year of deep reflection for me. Both personally and professionally, I’ve been privileged and lucky. I can comfortably work from home, my organization has proven itself to be creative and resilient, and my close circle of family and friends are all doing fairly well. At the same time, there have been many moments when events have pierced that bubble of security and I’ve felt wrong-footed, uncomfortable, frustrated, angry, guilty and deeply saddened. As I reflect on the work PLOS and many other scholarly communication organizations are doing to address the current racial reckoning, I’ve come to the same conclusion both personal and professional: it’s not enough.

On developing reading habits

While this short musing is not a proof of any sort, I do think it gets easier to get to more complex prose as you read more, more frequently, and from a wider range of genres.

Those who can, DO *AND* TEACH – on what teaching entails

One of the sayings that irks me the most is that old one: “those who can’t do, teach”. As a professor, a teacher, an educator and someone who has spent basically his entire life minus 10 years teaching, educating and mentoring students, I cannot stand the systematic devaluing of the teaching profession, and of educating as an activity. This lack of proper valuation is both systematic and widespread.

Of publications past, present and future

Well, he says these papers are mainly with his PhDs and former PhDs. But he reckons that he is involved in every one of the papers – he makes an intellectual contribution – he talks about being involved in the design and oversight of research projects and critical review of the papers.

Video is here. Time to embrace it.

Video is everywhere these days. It’s on YouTube of course. And TikTok. Twitch. Instagram. Twitter. LinkedIn. Netflix. Prime. Hulu. Vimeo. And, Zoom. So much Zoom. But, you know where video isn’t? On academic publishing platforms.

Don’t hold out for publishing to make you feel seen. Here’s another goal instead.

Publication may feel like the thing you’re yearning for, but in reality, it’s something deeper. What you’re yearning for is the sense of being seen. That’s what drives us to spend the untold hours required to write a book, to tighten down each scene and sentence until it truly holds the emotion we’ve poured into it, the insight we see in it—to the point where what’s inside us can be understood and experienced by others.

Where publishing meets the pandemic

In a program created for the 2020 Frankfurt Book Fair, panelists share real-time data about the coronavirus correlation on disruption in scientific publishing, how it drives their investments, and shapes the innovations they hope to bring to market.

Wiley accelerates innovation in research publishing

John Wiley & Sons Inc., a global leader in research and education, continues to innovate its publishing business, announcing today two technologies that advance how scientific research is published, delivering greater value to researchers.