Gift Ideas for Scholarly Writers (Spoiler: they are books!)
It’s getting near the holidays and, if you’re like me, shopping can be stressful. So I’m going to make it easier for you this year by offering some suggestions of good books to get for your friends who are academic writers. While these books are geared towards scholarly writers, some might be of interest to people who are other kinds of writers as well. These books can of course also be gifted at any time, so are great for birthdays and so on.
And you don’t have to buy them for someone else! You also deserve a writing present this year!
These are all books that I’ve read in the past year (for my work as an academic editor). When I read books on scholarly writing, I try and think about what kind of academic writer they would be most helpful for. So below I provide quick summaries of the books as well as some commentary on what kind of author they might appeal to. They can all, of course, be read and enjoyed by other kinds of scholars, but if you aren’t sure what your scholarly writing friend might like (or what you yourself might need), I hope those tips will help.
Every Day I Write the Book (Duke UP, 2020) This was my favorite book on scholarly writing that I read this year. Professor of English, Amitava Kumar, explores scholarly writing, both his own process as well as broader musings on the current state of scholarly writing and what it could be. It’s unlike any book about academic writing that I’ve read before, with some chapters quite short and most deeply reflective. While he provides some practical suggestions, including on how to get writing done, this book is primarily an exploration about what it’s like to be an academic writer and how scholarly writing can reach more readers. As he puts it, he hopes for “writing that felt out of place in academia but was so compelling that it created a new space for its kind inside academia” (27). He provides many suggestions of scholarly books to read that have compelling, engaging writing, which can serve as useful models for other writers.
This book is probably best for scholars who are somewhat established in their writing careers and who would be willing to take a step back to explore their writing potential. It could risk overwhelming early career writers who might benefit from a more practical guide, though if your scholarly writer enjoys reflecting deeply on writing, buy this book! It’s perfect for who authors who are feeling frustrated by the conventions of scholarly writing and who might be willing to step outside of the box.
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021). This book is not exactly about writing per se, but it is one that could be useful for many academic authors. As the title suggests, Oliver Burkeman tackles time management, but in a fresh way that I found really welcome (in that it wasn’t a book loaded with tips about how to be more productive). The premise of the book is that we have limited time on earth (about 4,000 weeks on average). He urges readers to truly embrace this fact, arguing that, if we do, it can push us to dramatically rethink how we perceive of and organize our time. While it may seem initially depressing to embrace one’s own finitude, doing so ultimately, Burkeman argues, pushes us to make time for the things that really matter. The book is full of tips on how to do that. I find that many authors who I work with deeply value their writing, but it often becomes one of the first things they push aside when other obligations appear (as they always do!). Burkeman makes a compelling case that prioritizing the things we care about is possible (if not always easy) and that doing so will help us to lead happier, more fulfilling lives.
This book would be useful for scholarly writers who are stressed out and overwhelmed by all they have to do and who would be open to conceptual ideas about rethinking their time and how to use it. It could also be helpful for faculty authors who are perhaps thinking about leaving academia since it provides lots of opportunities for readers to reflect on their priorities and what they want life to look like.
Getting it Published: A Guide for Scholars and Anyone Else Serious About Serious Books (The University of Chicago Press, 2016, Third Edition) In this book, William Germano (a long-term university press editor and now professor), leads readers through the scholarly publishing industry. The book deals with everything from selecting a publisher to understanding contracts to dealing with permission issues (getting photos and other materials in your book). It’s clearly written and Germano’s years of experience definitely come across. It doesn’t focus on the process of writing a book, so look elsewhere if that’s what your scholarly writer needs most.
This book would be great for a writer who really likes knowing how things work, in this case, the academic publishing industry. It probably would be most useful for first-time book authors, though more experienced writers could certainly get plenty out of it as well.
Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write (Harvard UP, 2017) Helen Sword is one of my favorite authors who focuses on scholarly writing. As a social scientist, one of the things I love about her work is that it is based on extensive research. This book explores what makes some writers “successful.” To answer this question Sword interviewed 100 academic writers and surveyed many more. The answer might be surprising. Alas, Sword didn’t discover a magic formula (write at 6 a.m. for 60 minutes five days a week); instead she learned that there are four habits that most of these writers enact. These include behavioral habits (making time and space for writing), artisanal habits (nurturing the learning, development, and skills that are important for writing well), social habits (finding ways to work with others on writing), and emotional habits (thinking in ways that emphasize the pleasurable aspects of writing, as well as challenging oneself). The book explores each of these practices, sharing ideas from the various authors on how they nurture them in their own lives. [Looking to develop social habits? Consider joining one of my scholarly writing groups - the next round is starting in January 2024!]
This book would be especially useful for someone who is struggling with getting writing done and who would not be overwhelmed by a lot of ideas for how to improve their writing experience. It would also be good for writers who want to enjoy the process of writing more.
The Book Proposal Book: A Guide for Scholarly Authors (Princeton UP, 2021) I recommend this book to all my clients who are working on book proposals. A book proposal is a document scholars write and share with presses, often before the book itself is written. In it, they make a case for why their books are important and why this publisher should consider publishing them. As you can imagine, this is no easy task. But this book makes it as easy as it possibly could be by breaking the process down into manageable steps that build on each other until you end up with a book proposal at the end. Author Laura Portwood-Stacer also does a great job of explaining what acquisitions editors are looking for when they read these proposals, thus demystifying the process.
This book would be great for scholarly writers who are in the process of writing a book, but who haven’t pitched it to presses yet. It’s best for writers who like systematic thinking and would enjoy being led step-by-step through a process. If your writer is anxious about the proposal, reading this book should help.
Elements of Academic Style: Writing for the Humanities (Columbia UP, 2014) Eric Hayot’s book is geared towards scholars in the humanities, but it is also be helpful for social scientists or other scholars writing narrative books. This is a book that focuses on the nitty-gritty stylistic elements of academic writing as well as important bigger-picture elements, including argument. While the book has lots of helpful advice about writing generally, I found his sections on how to get writing done really useful as well as his advice about how to create a compelling narrative that propels readers forward throughout the book. He also has short chapters on many elements of writing, including titles, jargon, transitions, and so on.
This book would be useful for authors who want to think about the writing itself, including style. Many of his examples do come from literary scholars so they can be dense and might be difficult to follow for writers outside of the humanities, although the book still makes a lot of sense even if you skim them.
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I hope this list gives you some useful gift ideas for the academic writers in your life! If you have someone in mind and don’t feel like one of these books would be right for them, feel free to reach out as I have many other ideas! And if you’ve read a book on scholarly writing in the last couple of years that you love, I’d love to hear about it. Happy writing and thinking and gifting!
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