Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Publish, Don't Perish: A Book!

Speaking of publishing and perishing....  Coincidental, yesterday a book I ordered arrived, Publish, Don't Perish: The Scholar's Guide to Academic Writing and Publishing, by Joseph M. Moxley. This is an older book, published in 1992. While it is dated around issues pertaining to technology (i.e. sending a self addressed stamped envelope with your paper submission), it is really a very good book. I am half way through the 150 plus page guide, and I am impressed. I am not sure how I missed this one previously.

A few of the sections that I really appreciate are the discussion of pre-writing preparations, and the use of freewriting as a tool. Both the rationale for the use of freewriting and its potential impacts are excellent.  He also provides some good hands on advice for how to use it to increase your productivity.

It is superior to our book on publishing articles in its exploration of actual rhetorical issues- the author is a professor of English, has studied the how his field can impact scholarly publishing, and it shows.

This book is well worth finding and reading- it is a recommended guide to those new to, or looking to jump start, scholarly productivity.


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