Pictures in Scholarly Writing, Part 3

By Janet Salmons, PhD

Want to liven up your writing without using AI?

When I see AI-generated illustrations I read no further. I suspect that if the writer felt that images made with AI were acceptable, they probably wrote the note, post, or article with AI. Maybe its just me, and other readers don’t make that assumption. But if you are someone who wants to convey authenticity and build credibility, create or find original images. Being able to build trust in your work is essential to scholarly and academic writers, as well as investigative journalists and others so let’s look at human-generated alternatives.

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Illustrate your writing with AI-free Comics, Part 1

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?

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Curate Your Own Work

By Janet Salmons, Ph.D.

“The past is prologue.” – William Shakespeare in The Tempest

We know how to proof and edit without mercy. We are accustomed to having our writing reviewed by editors and peers. What happens when we take these processes to the next level and initiate a critical review with an eye to a radical update, synthesis, and new publication(s) based on the writing we’ve done throughout our careers? That is the project I am undertaking as a fellow of the Center for Advanced Internet Studies. The concept grew out of a TAA conference session, so I look forward to sharing lessons learned and inviting you to consider curating your work.

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Routledge Sells Out Authors to AI

by Janet Salmons, PhD

An unassuming post on LinkedIn asked “Have you ever published with Taylor & Francis, Routledge, CRC Press, F1000 or Dove Medical Press? If so the rights for AI to harvest your work have been sold to Microsoft which it will use to power MS Co-Pilot.”

Really. Funny thing, I never heard a peep about this from Routledge, even though I have three books published with them. I wrote to ask what the heck is going on, and received this response from a Taylor & Francis/Routledge Editor:

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Writing under duress (or, Writing 2020!)

On one hand, with social isolation and no distractions from travel, concerts, theatre, or friends, it has been a productive year. I’ve completed three short books, and two more are in press. Writing has given me focus and kept me busy. (Alas, no sourdough…) On the other hand, it has been extraordinarily difficult.

My writing practice is centered on books and blogs. This year I discovered a big difference—besides the obvious one of length.

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Writing an award-winning book: Interview with Dr. Cheryl Poth

Innovation in Mixed Methods Research: A Practical Guide to Integrative Thinking with Complexity won the 2020 Most Promising New Textbook Award from the Textbook & Academic Authors Association. In 2019 Dr. Poth was awarded TAA’s McGuffey Longevity Award as co-author of Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design. Given that last month we focused on mixed methods and this month we are focusing on careers, I wanted to chat with Dr. Poth about her book, and strategies that might help prospective textbook authors succeed.

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