Energion Publications » writing

8 Simple Rules for Curriculum Writers

admin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:08:33 +0000

… provided by Dr. Platypus. I’d add, “Have something to write.” And I’m less concerned about passives than most. (If you think the previous sentence is passive, you need to study some more.)

On Self Publishing

Henry Neufeld — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:15:12 +0000

There’s a good article at MLV Writes on self-publishing, titled THREE REASONS TO SELF PUBLISH (AND A BIG ONE NOT TO!). I’m linking to this here not only because we encounter many authors who are considering self publishing, but also because the first three reasons are often involved in choosing a small publisher rather than a large one.

In addition, the big reason not to self publish—to avoid all the hard work of traditional publishing—is also not a good reason to go to a small publisher. If your small publisher doesn’t go through all the hard work, you’re getting less than you should. On the other hand it can be easier to go through all of that hard work with more personal attention, though the extent of that personal attention depends on the particular small publisher.

In any case, the article contains some good advice.

(Energion Publications offers a form of assisted self publishing via our EnerPower Press imprint, which is designed for specialized projects that don’t fit one of the many nearly automated options for getting your book printed.)

Anonymous Reviewer Outed

Henry Neufeld — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:30:49 +0000

This was on Amazon.co.uk, as far as I can tell, but the principle would apply to Amazon.com. It is not only possible, but quite easy for someone to review anonymously. It is both courteous and ethical, of course, to identify any connection one has with the book. For example, an author or publisher reviewing his or her own work anonymously would be wrong. I think we all know that.

But in this case reported by AP (via Google News), the author’s wife gave fairly nasty reviews to he husband’s colleagues and very favorable reviews to him. No doubt, one spouse should love the other, but perhaps this is going a bit too far. And the extremely favorable review of her husband’s work was pretty revealing–and stupid.

Two lessons: 1) Take anonymous reviews, accusations, and so forth with discernment and 2) Always identify any connections you have to the production of a work if you’re going to review it.

Advice for Authors and Editors

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:45:08 +0000

… from Nick Harrison. (HT: Adrian Warnock)

Let me start by saying that good author/editor relationships are very, very important. …

Read! Enjoy! Learn!

Publishing a Scholarly Paper

admin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:00:27 +0000

This isn’t precisely what we do here, though some of this might apply to the Areopagus series, but Neal at Literal-Minded has a post summarizing some points from a panel on publishing a scholarly paper. It brought back memories of the time in graduate school when one of my professors said of one of my papers “this should be published!” Then I discovered the peer review process and even some theological elements involved. In any case, it looks valuable to me.