One of the most unique and rewarding features of textbook and academic authoring compared to other genres is the intentional sharing of learned knowledge with others through our writing. In addition to authoring, I have had the opportunity to teach college level courses for nearly two decades and continue to be amazed at how much I learn with each class I teach and with each book or article I write.

This week is no exception as the preparation of this article has opened my eyes to a citation revision strategy, improving conceptual framework development through theoretical alignment, and new opportunities in publishing through the pandemic, in the digital age, for dissertation publication, and in self-publishing and open access arenas.

Joseph Joubert said, “To teach is to learn twice.” This week I challenge you to learn something new (or learn something old in a new way) and then teach it through your writing so you get to learn it again through your own voice. Happy writing!

Making your writing authoritative – a citation revision strategy

One of the most prominent ways that authority is signalled in an academic text is via citation. The ways in which we deal with other people’s words and works demonstrates the degree to which we assert our command of the literatures and show that our reading and interpretations are sound and believable.

Theoretical windows and conceptual mirrors: Using theoretical frameworks to arm your conceptual framework

Creating a theoretical framework that aligns with your conceptual framework allows the research to both have a map for discovery as well as an infrastructure for analysis that will explicitly align with the qualitative variables under consideration. This ensured that the codes that I would use to identify themes were grounded in the language of the theory and unpacked the mysteries of the conceptual framework.

How the pandemic is affecting book publishing

More people are shopping online than ever before due to the pandemic, and consumer behavior hasn’t shown any sign of reverting to pre-pandemic routines. During two recent webinars hosted by Ingram Content (the largest US book distributor), marketing experts described a dramatic change in the consumer environment. The US has experienced 10 years of ecommerce growth in three months, with books, music, and video seeing some of the most dramatic shifts to online sales. This new environment makes it critical that publishers and authors adjust marketing and sales strategies and build new skill sets, as these changes are likely to become permanent.

Product development for the digital age – how do you drive value and innovate?

Traditionally, scholarly publishers have not separated or defined the different innovation streams needed to both support existing products and develop new ones. This often means failure to do one or the other – or to do them well. But this must change if publishers are to prosper amidst an ever-changing landscape.

Springer Nature launches new publication portal for dissertations

Researchers wishing to publish their dissertation or postdoctoral thesis with Springer Nature can now benefit from a new streamlined and author-friendly publication portal. BookSubMarine (Submitted book Manuscripts are in evaluation) supports authors of theses in STM (Science Technology Medicine) and HSS (Humanities Social Sciences) throughout the entire publication process.

Global, wide self-publishing with Mark Leslie Lefebvre

How can you reach every reader on every platform in a global, distributed reading environment? How can you take a long-term, relaxed attitude to your author career? Mark Leslie Lefebvre talks about self-publishing wide in this interview.

Feasibility, sustainability, and the subscribe-to-open model

In this post I’m going to be discussing the feasibility and sustainability of open access (OA) business model du jour: subscribe-to-open (S2O for short). Briefly put, S2O is a model whereby a journal shifts from subscription access to OA, but the libraries who were subscribers under the old model continue paying in order to keep the journal financially viable.