September 19, 2023Timelines for Publishing an Academic Book: Why Does It Take So Long? by Jennie GoforthCreating an academic book from start to finish can be quite a long journey—we’re talking about years here. Most authors and editors are prepared for this, but it can come as an unpleasant surprise to some. In this post, I’ll…
March 7, 2023Inclusive Writing for International Audiencesby Jennie GoforthUsing inclusive language makes your audiences feel welcome and respected, reduces distraction for the reader, and maintains your (and our!) credibility. The books in our Open Access Book Series are downloaded by readers across the world, so we pay particular…
January 10, 2023Academic Book Publishing: Formatting Your Manuscriptby Jennie GoforthI can hear many of you authors out there collectively groaning, or perhaps you are putting off actually formatting your manuscript as you look for advice to make it all seem easier. It’s true, formatting your manuscript for submission can…
December 13, 2022Academic Book Publishing: Making Edits during Each Stage of Productionby Jennie GoforthThe book production process is long, and it can sometimes seem complicated. Once you submit your book manuscript, you’ll have several opportunities to make edits. However, there are major differences about what kinds of edits you can make at each…
November 22, 2022Open Access and Usage: Downloads, Citations, and Geographic Diversityby Jennie GoforthA common motivation for authors choosing to publish open access is a desire to reach a larger, broader audience (Pyne et al. 2019). And although usage statistics can be complex and many publishers are secretive about their print runs, research…
March 21, 2022Academic Book Publishing: Tracking Revisions of Your Writing Projectby Jennie GoforthWe’ve all done it. You know, you’re working on a writing project and you have every intention of staying organized. But then, all of a sudden, you have a folder with 43 documents in it—all named “helpful” things like draft2.docx,…
February 1, 2022Academic Book Publishing: Reviewing Page Proofsby Jennie GoforthOur blog series on academic book publishing is chronicling each stage in the book production process. In this post, I discuss a process that happens near the end of production: reviewing page proofs. After a manuscript has been copyedited and…
January 18, 2022Academic Publishing: Diagrams, Photos, and Illustrationsby Jennie GoforthEveryone loves a good graphic, even (especially?) in academic writing. I’ve already written blog posts about creating effective data visualizations and tables, and in this post I’ll focus on other types of graphics that you might include in your publications on engaged learning. …
December 21, 2021Academic Book Publishing: Book Websites and Supplemental Resourcesby Jennie GoforthBook websites are a great way to share information about your book and help readers decide whether they want to purchase or download it. Having a stable URL to share with potential readers can be helpful as you market your…
November 16, 2021Academic Book Publishing: Indexingby Jennie GoforthIn today’s world, when we read so much content on-screen and can so easily use the “find” command, you might question whether an index is still necessary. The answer is yes (read on for why), and that means that once…