Writing It!
The Podcast About Academics & Writing
We found 8 episodes of Writing It! with the tag “trade press”.
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Episode 25: The Book Seminar with Sam Freedman
June 3rd, 2024 | 57 mins 18 secs
academic press, book promotion, book proposal, columbia university, journalism, literary agent, trade press
Today, we’re speaking with the award-winning author, columnist, and professor Sam Freedman, of Columbia Journalism School, and the author, most recently, of Into the Bright Sunshine: Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights (winner of the 2024 Hillman Prize for Book Journalism), about his class at Columbia School of Journalism, The Book Seminar. We talk about what Sam teaches his lucky students (this very successful Columbia seminar has been offered for over 30 years, and has resulted in over 100 published books), and about his own decades-long career as an author, and the view of the publishing industry it has provided him. We address what it means to craft a good book proposal; the importance of making the case for your book’s readership; the benefits of landing in an academic press, even if you were aiming for a trade press; how to think about the “comp. titles/authors” section of your proposal; pre-publication blurbs; pitching an agent; planning your own book promotion; and finally, why timing is sometimes everything.
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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 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 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.