Writing It!

We’re talking with Sharon Avni (CUNY) and Laura Yares (MSU) about co-authoring a book and why their partnership works and what a scholar might want to look for in a potential co-author. We discuss why choosing the co-authorship route for a second or third project might be helpful in making progress when you have other simultaneous writing projects, and the kind of encouragement you can only get from someone else who is working on the same project.

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We talk with Tilar Mazzeo, writer and literary and cultural history scholar about her Yale University Press book, How to Write a Bestseller: An Insider’s Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction for General Audiences. Tilar is the author of more than eight books. Tilar’s 2008 bestselling book, The Widow Clicquot, was made into a film. We talk about Tilar’s path from holding an endowed chair in English at Colby College, to becoming a bestselling author. Other subjects include making the transition from academic writing to trade press writing; which tools of fiction are helpful; the value of media training; why a book tour is not what you think it is; what she actually misses about academia; and what ways of building an author’s platform are and are not worth the effort.

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We're speaking with philosopher and writer John Kaag, who is chair and professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. Kaag specializes in American philosophy. In addition to several books, Kaag's writing has been published in The Paris Review, The New York Times, The American Scholar, and Harper's. We talk about learning to write again after tenure; what it means to develop a voice and why that is particularly helpful in writing for trade; moving past writer's block and bringing our personal experiences into our writing.

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We’re talking with Joanna Sliwa, a historian of the Holocaust and Polish Jewish history about her co-written book, *The Counterfeit Countess: The Jewish Woman Who Rescued Thousands of Poles During the Holocaust* about turning a historical memoir into a trade book. We talk about Sliwa’s experience with a co-writer, agent, the trade press book proposal, considering potential editors and trade presses, book tour, and book publicity.

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We’re talking to Columbia University Professor of History Rebecca Kobrin about writing her most recent book, Credit to the Nation: Eastern European Jewish Immigrant Bankers and the Shaping of American Finance, 1873–1930, and about putting individuals at the center of our histories. We also talk about how leading walking tours leads to writing better histories, and Kobrin’s involvement in the online Mapping Historic New York project.

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Jeff Kopstein, Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine, talks with us about putting together a compelling application for academic jobs. We talk not only about assistant professorship applications, but about the shift in tone and content for associate and full professorship applications.

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We’re speaking with Elissa Sampson, Research Associate in Cornell University’s Jewish Studies program about entering the academy writing game when you’re in your fifties, and the challenges and deep satisfactions of co-editing a volume that draws on your own university’s archives.

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We're speaking with Claudia Rizzini of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University about the institute's fellowships. We speak about what they're looking for in potential fellows, who does the selecting, what stage the proposed project should be, and where applicants make mistakes in their applications. We also talk about what the institute requires of its fellows, in terms of residence and attendance at events, as well as the freedoms of this particular fellowship, and how applicants can best make the case for themselves.

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We’re speaking with Laura Portwood-Stacer, Ph.D., publishing consultant, developmental editor, and author of The Book Proposal Book: A Guide for Scholarly Authors) and [Make Your Manuscript Work: A Guide to Developmental Editing for Scholarly Writers], both published by Princeton University Press. We talk about the importance of clarifying your argument as a way to show the value of your book. We also talk about the challenges of turning a dissertation into book; the many meanings of “platform” for authors, what a “comparable books” section of a book proposal can do for you; what your title signals to a potential press (even if it ends up changing); how to think about your conversation with a potential editor; why it’s so important to practice talking about your book; why being in marketing mode is really about figuring out how to connect with readers.

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We’re speaking with Princeton University Press publisher, Fred Appel about what distinguishes Princeton University Press and what he and his colleagues look for in the book proposals they receive. We talk about the editor-author relationship, how an academic book can land in the trade/crossover section of a university press; the problem with proposing that your book is for the “general reader”; word count; appropriate time to completion; the advantage of publishing your accessible book with a university press, instead of a trade press; and what make for a great book title.

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