Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: October 16, 2020

Andre Gide once said, “The most beautiful things are those that madness prompts and reason writes.” As academic authors we balance the creative process of writing (and ideas that may be perceived as madness) with the need to express those ideas through reason and logic. Along the writing journey we have to, therefore, be willing to prompt progress with madness and continue writing with reason. In this week’s collection of articles from around the web, we find advice on both.

Included are mental models for writers, unusual essay writing tips, and completely maddening ideas like planning to rest. These are balanced with practical advice on things like style, tone and grammar, launching a book during a pandemic, and building a credible web presence.

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8 Reasons to get started with social media

Engaging in social media can be an effective strategy for authors to share details about their work and build relationships with their readers. However, many authors feel overwhelmed by the range of social media platforms available and may not know how to get started. During the 2018 Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference, Katie Linder shared ideas for those “Getting Started with Social Media”.

More important than the platform you use, the content you post, or even the technical “how tos” of working with social media, however, are the goals you have for being on social media, Linder says. To help you identify your goals for using social media, consider these eight common goals Linder shared during the session.

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Leveraging our authoring experience in electronic media

The publishing industry is quickly evolving, and with it, the role of an author is changing as well. Where once instructional and academic material was destined mainly for a printed book or journal article, today the landscape looks very different, with electronic media options continually growing. But while these changes can be disorienting for experienced and new authors alike, the new world of electronic media offers many new opportunities for people with specialized knowledge, strong communication skills, and the ability to meet deadlines. Whether you want to supplement existing written work or work in a new medium altogether, the opportunities are exciting – and perhaps the best part is that you don’t need an acquisitions editor to get started!

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Author website or social media? Oh, the choices!

Congratulations! Your book is written. It passed peer review and the final changes have been made. It’s with the publisher and they are full steam ahead. They anticipate publication in four or five months. It is now seeming all too real. But that pesky marketing reminder keeps popping up on your calendar. Your day is already jammed packed. How will you fit it all in?

One of your published colleagues raved about the power of their author website and the results they saw. Another said blitzing social media brought them great contacts and increased visibility. With your limited schedule, which should you do?

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Can writers be social online?

Social media or social web? I posed that question last year in a guest blog for the British site, Discover Society. Given recent scandals involving hacking and profile misuse on commercial social media sites, I’d like to revisit this question as it pertains to academic and textbook authors. To what extent should we post original writings on social media sites?

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How to include your publications in your LinkedIn profile

So your LinkedIn profile includes your current work, your relevant experience, and perhaps some interests as well. But what about the work that textbook and academic authors alike pour so much of ourselves (and our time) into – our publications?

Fortunately, there are a couple simple ways you can incorporate your publications into your profile to highlight all that work.

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