Planning and Managing a Book Project
Presented by: Janet Salmons, PhD
People talk about “writing a book.” Of course, writing is essential, but organizational issues are the ones that can cause the greatest frustration. Academic writers do not simply draw on their imagination. We have the literature, resources about methodology and ethics, and results from our research. We must be mindful of guidelines and feedback from publishers, editors, and reviewers. This webinar will offer practical strategies learned the hard way, through 12 authored, co-authored, and edited books with five different publishers.
Janet Salmons PhD is a qualitative methodologist and writer. She serves as the Research Community Manager for SAGE Publications’ online community, www.MethodSpace.com. Her most recent books are: Doing Qualitative Research Online, 2nd edition (2022). What Kind of Researcher Are You? (2021), Reframing and Rethinking Collaboration in Higher Education and Beyond with Narelle Lemon (2021), and Publishing from your Doctoral Research: Create and Use a Publication Strategy with Helen Kara (2020). She lives and works in Boulder, Colorado.
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Do note: 12pm EDT converts to 18pm ECT
Here are some of her recommendations kept in mind:
Create one system – and use it all the time through!
Writing the book could mean: organizing in chapters that can stand independently.
Will the chapters be on sale in bits and pieces?
Is the book an e-book, ready for interactive use?
Why should one read this book? Is the author qualified? Why?
Are you, the author, established in the field and how?
What else is out there?
What is unique on the own topic?
How do you stay up to day on your topic?
What is the special value on your offer?
Encapsulate your key-points.
What is the concept with your nuts and bolds infos?
What is the compelling description?
Detailed table of contents needed.
Prepare a sample chapter.
Who is your acquisition editor, are your peer-review-folks?
What are the format and citation requirements?
Again: a different file for each chapter or one file for the manuscript.
Version controls / internal cross-referencing / glossary / digital resources.
Images (implicated biases, all the rights cleared, in colour ore b&w)?
Label carefully, keep a list of figures and tables.
Discuss the results of the peer-reviews, keep track of what you’ve done.
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What are the production steps and timing?
Is there continuity in the relationships?
Cover Design: What are your ideas?
Who is indexing the pre-print-files?
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