Writing It!

In our conversation with Wayne State University Press editor Sandra Korn we address a number of interesting questions on the minds of our listeners: 1) What does it mean when an editor replies to your submissions with, "This isn't a good fit for us"? 2) What's the best way to approach an editor? In the book exhibit hall, during a conference? Through an email? 3) What parts of my manuscript does a university press editor actually read? 3) What does an editor do differently for her writers who are part of the trade division of an academic press? 4) What does an editor think of book publicity events? 5) What excites an acquisitions editor?

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We speak with Elesha Coffman, Associate Professor of History at Baylor University about writing a book that takes its shape from turning points in history. Coffman is the author of Turning Points in American Church History: How Pivotal Events Shaped a Nation and a Faith. Baker Academic, 2024; Margaret Mead: A Twentieth-Century Faith. Spiritual Lives Series, Timothy Larsen, series editor. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021; and The Christian Century and the Rise of the Protestant Mainline. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. We talk about changing academic institutions and changing our writing priorities; the ways tenure and promotion requirements influence our writing; the advantages of books that allow you to “write short”; and the benefits that come with creating writing groups.

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We speak with Associate Professor of English Jennifer Glaser (University of Cincinnati) about her writing life. When she was in graduate school, Glaser wrote an essay that was published in the NYT’s “Modern Love” section, and which affected her understanding of the kinds of writing she wanted to do as both a scholar and a writer. We talk about being a “serious academic” who finds satisfaction in a variety of writing genres. We talk about writing into uncomfortable subjects and the kind of risks involved in writing more personally, as well as the many benefits of having a more creative and personal writing profile, in addition to a scholarly writing profile.

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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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We’re speaking with the editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Andrea Jain, who is professor of religious studies at Indiana University, Indianapolis, and the author of Peace Love Yoga: The Politics of Global Spirituality (2020) and Selling Yoga: From Counterculture to Pop Culture. 2014. Jain tells us about her own path to her editorial position, and speaks about what academics can do to position themselves for journal editor roles. Jain talks about the importance of taking initiative in approaching editors, how to be considered for an editorial board, and how respond to readers reports. We also speak about the importance of taking time off.

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Contacts us with questions, possible future topics/guests, or comments here: https://writingit.fireside.fm/contact