By Janet Salmons, PhD
Drawings, graphics, photos, and media catch readers attention. Sometimes the images are specific to the study, such as data visualizations or tables, maps or pictures of the research setting. Sometimes they help us gain a sense of the place, culture and historical period of the book or article. But they might just be a colorful element that conveys a friendly and amusing touch. How can we create or find images that get our messages across visually?
What does the future of textbook and academic publishing look like in the age of artificial intelligence? According to Bryan Alexander, award-winning futurist, researcher, writer, speaker, consultant, and educator recognized internationally, the answer is already beginning to take shape.
By John Bond
Whatever your political point of view, I hope we can all agree libraries (of all types) and librarians are essential.
For academic authors, they’re more than just hallowed buildings or subscription portals. They’re the infrastructure behind your thinking. If you use them strategically, they can quietly elevate the quality, depth, and efficiency of your work in ways that aren’t always obvious at first.
By John Bond
If you’re an academic venturing into the world of publishing, your author bio is a small but important tool. It travels with your work, shapes how readers see you, and often determines whether media, conference organizers, or potential collaborators take a second look. But too many scholars undersell themselves here. Let me be blunt: humility has no place in your author bio. This is not your departmental webpage. It’s your moment to shine.
By John Bond
Early in one’s career, academics and researchers focus on individual wins (read: getting published). Long term, however, they are better served by developing a personalized Publishing Strategy. This may sound highfalutin, but it is simpler than it sounds and easier to develop and curate over time than most people think.
First, what is a Publishing Strategy? A Publishing Strategy is a long-term, intentional plan for when, where, and how you publish your research, aligned with your academic goals, research agenda, and career stage. Most people only start to think about this after achieving their first position in academia. They’re anxious to get their first publication under their belt. It is gratifying, invalidating. This first publication might enable them to fulfill a requirement for employment or for a research grant. These first few wins are important, but I suggest you quickly move past them to develop a wider plan.
By John Bond
Self-publishing has been through quite an evolution in my lifetime. From decades being thought of as “vanity publishing,” to an emerging option for both print and then digital in the Nineties, to complete acceptance and preference in many genres of fiction, self-publishing has transformed how authors think about getting their ideas and thoughts out to the world.
