Writing It!
The Podcast About Academics & Writing
About the show
"Writing It! The Podcast About Academics & Writing" dives deep into the world of academic writing and publishing. Join us for conversations with academics and editors as we discuss challenges, strategies, and insights from our writing lives. As we share our experiences and helpful hacks, we make the process of writing and getting published a bit more transparent and a bit less overwhelming.
Episodes
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Episode 23: From writing about a Chicago heat wave to writing about 2020: A conversation with NYU Sociologist and New Yorker writer Eric Klinenberg
May 6th, 2024 | 40 mins 50 secs
biographical availability, biographical profiles, journalist, new yorker, trade press
Today we talk to NYU Professor Eric Klinenberg about how his academic career led to other kinds of writing—and what he's learned from writing a book about a time that many people would rather forget.
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Episode 22: Maurice Samuels on the Challenges of writing Biography
April 22nd, 2024 | 38 mins 21 secs
academic publishing, biography, dreyfus affair, editorial feedback, french history, trade press
We speak with Yale Professor Maurice Samuels about writing biography, and the importance of finding stories we feel compelled to tell. Samuels talks about finding the right writing voice; when to share writing with colleagues and friends; potential benefits and consequences of publishing with a trade press; creating a table of contents that helps readers; the importance of footnotes; and how our career stage might influence the kind of books we write.
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Episode 21: What’s the deal with academics writing for "The Conversation"?
April 8th, 2024 | 25 mins 39 secs
creative commons, editing, humanities scholarship, pitching, publicly-engaged scholarship, the conversation
If you’re like us, you’ve probably noticed that many academics write for The Conversation media outlet. The site does not pay writers, so why is it such a popular site for academics to publish their research? To find out what The Conversation offers, we’re speaking Beth Daley, the site’s Executive Editor. Daley explains that since 4-5 million readers visit The Conversation website every week, the site provides an unusual opportunity for academics to engage with the public. As Creative Commons stories, The Conversation stories can be republished by other publications, including The Washington Post, LA Times, Yahoo News, and local news sites. Daley explains why you don’t need to have a fully formed article to pitch to The Conversation, and what kinds of skills and opportunities writers have received through as a result of publishing in The Conversation.
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Episode 20: Would Nahmanides have had a beard? Creating a graphic history with historian Nina Caputo and illustrator Liz Clarke
March 25th, 2024 | 34 mins 56 secs
graphic history, illustrator, nahmanides, tenure and promotion, visual history
In this episode we speak with historian Nina Caputo and illustrator Liz Clarke about their book, Debating Truth: The Barcelona Disputation of 1263, A Graphic History, published in the Oxford University Press Graphic History Series. We talk about the particular kind of research and writing required for a graphic history; how collaboration between academic and illustrator works; how graphic histories figure into tenure and promotion; what academics can learn about writing from working on a graphic history; why graphic history can be a worthwhile medium for a scholar to reach broader audiences; and what kinds of details illustrators need from academics to create a beautiful book.
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Episode 19: The pitch is the start of a relationship
March 11th, 2024 | 56 mins 53 secs
editors, explainers, op-eds, pitching, public scholarship, public-facing scholarship, religion, social media
We're talking with Liz Bucar, professor of religion at Northeastern University, and a prizewinning author about the program she directs: Sacred Writes: Public Scholarship on Religion. We talk about the essential ingredients of a good pitch (including the ALL-CAP subject line) to a magazine/newspaper editor; how to communicate timeliness; and how to follow up in a way that invites a future relationship with the editor. Liz also explains what kinds of social media might work for scholars.
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Episode 18: “Why is this a must-read book?” How to show a literary agent/editor that your book is important: a conversation with literary agent and former editor, Susan Rabiner
February 26th, 2024 | 1 hr 27 secs
academic press, book proposal, editor, literary agent, narrative non-fiction, publishing, publishing trends, table of contents, trade press
In this episode we speak with Thinking Like Your Editor author and agent, Susan Rabiner about how academics can best present their book project to an agent or editor. We talk about what a strong book proposal, cover letter, and sample chapters need to do. We also talk about what it means to write your academic book with strong narrative; the significance of the table of contents; why academic writers cannot rely on facts alone to make a point; the importance of figuring out your “core audience”; understanding your book’s central questions; what to expect (and not expect) from a literary agent and from a trade press; why an academic press might be a better fit for your book; and why it’s okay not to earn out your advance.
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Episode 17: Writing while Parenting
February 12th, 2024 | 53 mins 50 secs
caregiving, covid trauma, creating writing communities, non-traditional academic careers, scheduling, time-blocking, writing groups
You don’t have to be a parent to get something out of our conversation with Professor Laura Yares about “Writing While Parenting.” In this conversation, we speak about how to get writing done while caretaking; how to best take advantage of limited time to write; writing when the family stakes are high; time-blocking; lingering Covid trauma; finding and building an academic writing community; letting our writing lie fallow; dealing with the loneliness of parenting within academia; leaning in to the creative parts of our academic jobs; and the importance of modeling good “professor-ing with a family” boundaries.
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Episode 16: When you need lots of images in your book
January 29th, 2024 | 37 mins 39 secs
book events, book launches, book prices, book promotion, bookstores, comics history, fellowships, images, lgbtq history, permissions, publicists, second book
We’re speaking with UF English Professor Margaret Galvan about writing a book with lots of images; how to find a press that can accommodate image-rich manuscripts; what a book publicist will actually do for you; how to cultivate a relationship with your publicist and editor; how to be thoughtful about book promotion; when and why to apply for a fellowship for book two; the importance of finding colleagues and friends who will get excited about your book; and handling the details of getting a manuscript ready for production.
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Episode 15: The Path to a Pulitzer
January 16th, 2024 | 46 mins 22 secs
award, book editors, literary agents, macdowell, pulitzer, rejections, trade publishers
Today we’re speaking with Pulitzer Prize winning scholar, Jack E. Davis, who is a UF professor of history and the Rothman Family Chair in the Humanities specializing in environmental history and sustainability studies. Jack talks with us about writing for a broader audience; what makes writing fun for him; the not-so-easy task of finding an agent; what it’s like to be an academic with a fellowship at MacDowell; and the experience of winning a Pulitzer.
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Episode 14: What’s so important about your book’s meta-data? Understanding publishing from the perspective of a university press
January 2nd, 2024 | 1 hr 5 mins
academia, academic careers, academic job applications, academic job market, academic journal, academic monograph, academic presses, academic publishing, acquisitions editor, agents, associate professor, book covers, book launches, book markets, book price, book promotion, book publicity, book publishing, book reviews, book-writing, co-authorship, cover letter, cover letters, creative non-fiction, creative writing, developmental editor, dissertation, editing, editor, editors, first book, full professor, honorariums, journal articles, literary agents, literary non-fiction, manuscript editing, marketing, meta-data, networking, non-academic job applications, non-fiction, non-traditional academic, peer-review, personal statement, post-tenure, publicity, publishing, publishing timelines, religious studies, revision, revisions, sample chapter, second book, social media, teaching statement, teaching statements, trade division, trade press, women's history, writing, writing academic book, writing biography, writing coach, writing feedback, writing groups, writing styles, “crossover books”
Today we’re speaking with UF Press Editor in chief, Stephanye Hunter and UF Press Marketing Manager, Rachel Doll. Among our many topics, we discuss recent changes in the academic publishing world; important considerations in titling your book; what you can reasonably ask/expect of your editor; how to think about writing an op-ed, before book publication; what kind of publicity you can do on your own—and at what point—before publication; what kind of book events are most appropriate for your academic book; how a press decides if yours is a “crossover book”; what to consider when making suggestions for your book cover; What is meta-data?
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Episode 13: Why publish with a ‘trade division’ of an academic press?
December 18th, 2023 | 47 mins 57 secs
academia, academic careers, academic job applications, academic job market, academic journal, academic monograph, academic presses, academic publishing, agents, associate professor, book launches, book markets, book promotion, book publishing, book reviews, book-writing, co-authorship, cold war history, cover letter, cover letters, creative non-fiction, creative writing, developmental editor, dissertation, editing, editor, editors, first book, full professor, honorariums, jewish studies, journal articles, literary agents, literary non-fiction, manuscript editing, marketing, networking, non-academic job applications, non-fiction, non-traditional academic, peer-review, personal statement, post-tenure, publicity, religious studies, revision, revisions, sample chapter, second book, social media, teaching statement, teaching statements, the rosenbergs, trade division, trade press, women's history, writing, writing academic book, writing biography, writing coach, writing feedback, writing groups, writing styles
Today we speak with Martin Siegel, author of the recently published, Judgement and Mercy: The Turbulent Life and Times of the Judge Who Condemned the Rosenbergs about writing a biography over many years, and publishing with the trade division of an academic press.
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Episode 12: The Truth About Book Promotion with Sandra Fox
December 4th, 2023 | 34 mins 35 secs
academia, academic careers, academic job applications, academic job market, academic journal, academic monograph, academic presses, academic publishing, associate professor, book launches, book markets, book promotion, book publishing, book-writing, co-authorship, cover letter, cover letters, creative non-fiction, creative writing, developmental editor, dissertation, editing, editor, editors, first book, full professor, honorariums, jewish studies, journal articles, literary agents, literary non-fiction, manuscript editing, marketing, networking, non-academic job applications, non-fiction, peer-review, personal statement, post-tenure, publicity, religious studies, revision, revisions, sample chapter, second book, social media, teaching statement, teaching statements, trade press, women's history, writing, writing academic book, writing coach, writing feedback, writing groups, writing styles
We talk with Sandra Fox about what a first-time author can do to promote her book; what to expect from the publisher; and how best to use the affiliations and connections you have to spread the word about your book. We talk about honorariums, book price, op-eds, and book contracts.
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Episode 11: Figuring out how to write the post-tenure book
November 20th, 2023 | 59 mins 56 secs
academia, academic careers, academic job applications, academic job market, academic journal, academic monograph, academic presses, academic publishing, associate professor, book markets, book publishing, book-writing, co-authorship, cover letter, cover letters, creative non-fiction, creative writing, developmental editor, dissertation, editing, editor, editors, first book, full professor, jewish studies, journal articles, literary agents, literary non-fiction, manuscript editing, networking, non-academic job applications, non-fiction, peer-review, personal statement, post-tenure, religious studies, revision, revisions, sample chapter, second book, social media, teaching statement, teaching statements, trade press, women's history, writing, writing academic book, writing coach, writing feedback, writing groups, writing styles
Yale professor Elli Stern talks with us about figuring out what kind of writing we want to do after tenure—and the importance of building a team of friends and colleagues who can read drafts and provide valuable feedback.
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Episode 10: Getting Unstuck in our Academic Writing with Gillian Steinberg
November 6th, 2023 | 41 mins 14 secs
academia, academic careers, academic job applications, academic job market, academic journal, academic monograph, academic presses, academic publishing, associate professor, book publishing, book-writing, co-authorship, cover letter, cover letters, creative non-fiction, creative writing, developmental editor, dissertation, editing, editor, editors, first book, full professor, jewish studies, journal articles, literary agents, literary non-fiction, manuscript editing, networking, non-academic job applications. teaching statements, non-fiction, peer-review, personal statement, religious studies, revisions, sample chapter, second book, social media, teaching statement, women's history, writing, writing academic book, writing coach
A conversation with developmental editor/writing coach, Gillian Steinberg about replacing negative voices about writing with positive ones and strategies for improving our writing process.
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Episode 09: How to tell your academic story in applications: Special issue for job market/fellowship/graduate school application season
October 23rd, 2023 | 48 mins 32 secs
academia, academic careers, academic job applications, academic job market, academic journal, academic monograph, academic presses, academic publishing, associate professor, book publishing, book-writing, co-authorship, cover letter, cover letters, creative non-fiction, creative writing, dissertation, editing, editor, editors, first book, full professor, jewish studies, journal articles, literary agents, literary non-fiction, networking, non-academic job applications. teaching statements, non-fiction, peer-review, personal statement, religious studies, sample chapter, second book, social media, teaching statement, women's history, writing
Karen Kelsky, of “The Professor Is In” speaks with us about academic job applications and academics applying for non-academic jobs. WE also talk about academic fellowship applications and graduate school applications.
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Episode 08: Writing as a practice for self-understanding
October 9th, 2023 | 50 mins 22 secs
academia, academic careers, academic job applications, academic job market, academic journal, academic monograph, academic presses, academic publishing, activism within higher ed., associate professor, book publishing, book-writing, co-authorship, cover letter, cover letters, creative non-fiction, creative writing, deanships, dissertation, editing, editor, editors, first book, full professor, higher ed administration, jewish studies, journal articles, literary agents, literary non-fiction, networking, non-academic job applications. teaching statements, non-fiction, oprah, peer-review, personal statement, popular culture, religious studies, sample chapter, second book, social media, teaching statement, women's history, writing, writing as a practice
A conversation with Yale University Lex Hixon Professor of Religious Studies and American Studies and Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean of Humanities, Kathryn Lofton about the purposes and challenges of writing while working in higher education administration.