Writing and Publishing: The Librarian's Handbook

ALA Member
$60.30
Price
$67.00
Item Number
978-0-8389-0996-6
Published
2010
Publisher
ALA Editions
Pages
199
Width
8 12"
Height
11"
Format
Softcover
AP Categories
A
C
E
G
I

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  • Description
  • Table of Contents
  • About the author
  • Reviews

Have you ever considered writing or reviewing for the library community? Are you interested in publishing a book on your favorite author or hobby? Do you need to write and publish for tenure? If so, Writing and Publishing is for you. Practical how-to guidance covering fiction, poetry, children's books/magazines, self-publishing, literary agents, personal blogging, and other topics will help you write

  • As an expert for other library professionals
  • Creative copy and information about your library
  • Copy for websites, blogs, and online columns
  • Bibliographic essays and lists
  • Book reviews (formal and informal)

Writing and Publishing will serve as a great resource, whether in taking the anxiety out of writing or refining your style, you'll use this book as much as your pen or keyboard!

Foreword by Bob Blanchard
Preface

Part I Why Write?
Know Your Audience: How Writing Helped Me Be a Better Librarian by Elizabeth A. Stephan
Narrative and Librarianship by John Glover
Writing for Professional Development by Dawn Lowe-Wincentsen
Why Write on Nonlibrarian Topics? by Valerie J. Nye
Writing for Tenure by Robert P. Holley
Coauthoring for Tenure by Valerie J. Nye
Poetry and Librarianship by John Glover

Part II Education of a Writer
Getting Started
Don't Find Time to Write—Make Time by Gabriel Morley
A Pep Talk on Writing the Awful First Draft by Paul Blobaum
Writing 101: Reading with a Writer's Eye by Jan Siebold
Becoming an Expert—Finding Your Niche by Bruce R. Schueneman
Find Out What's Currently Being Published in Children's Books by Mary Northrup
Building a Writer's Portfolio by Kris Swank
MLS, MFA: The Working Librarian Pursuing a Degree in Creative Writing by Colleen S. Harris
Bringing Creative Writing Lessons to the Library Literature Worktable by Georgie Donovan
Writing with Others
Nurturing the Writer within Using Mentors and Guides by Paul Blobaum
Writing with Colleagues: Strategies for Getting the Work Done by Georgie Donovan
Librarian Writing Groups by Stephanie Mathson
Writing Groups by Nancy Kalikow Maxwell
Networking and Serendipity in Publishing by Aline Soules
Revise, Revise, Revise
245 Field Meets Chicago Manual of Style: Formatting Your Manuscript by Kathryn Yelinek
Editing Your Writing by Beth Nieman
The Librarian's Guide to Dealing with Revision Requests by Michael Lorenzen
Working with Book and Journal Editors to Revise Your Manuscript by Patrick Ragains
Lessons from Publishing
Preparing for Publication: Strategies for Identifying Potential Library Journals by Deborah H. Charbonneau
The Path to Representation: Finding a Literary Agent by Anika Fajardo
Treat Yourself as a Patron: Tracking Your Submissions by Kathryn Yelinek
Interdisciplinary Publication: Thinking beyond Library Journals to Write What Your Clients Read by Michelynn McKnight
The End or the Beginning? Learning from Rejection by Anika Fajardo
Self-Publishing by Bruce R. Schueneman
DIY Publishing Projects: Broadsides, Chapbooks, and Beyond by Lisa A. Forrest
Spreading the Word by Robert S. Nelson
Twenty-five Years at BookExpo: What I Learned about Librarian Authorship by Elizabeth Morelli

Part III Finding Your Niche in Print
Books
Niche: Writing about Diversity through Books by Vandella Brown
Publishing Mystery Fiction by Kris Swank
Writing for Reference Books by Sigrid Kelsey
Writing Sequels by Janet Husband
Tips for Compiling a Publishable Bibliography by John R. Burch Jr.
Newsletters and Newspapers
Being an ALA Newsletter Editor by Stacy Russo
Partners: Helping Your Hometown Paper Promote the Local Library by Beth Nieman
Press Kits and News Releases by Faye C. Roberts
Writing a Newspaper Column by Faye C. Roberts
Reviewing
Book Reviews by Sigrid Kelsey
Reviewing Books for a Newspaper by Tom Cooper
Learn How to Review Books by John R. Burch Jr.
Keys to a Healthy Reviewer-Editor Relationship by Douglas King
Peer-Reviewing by Robert P. Holley
Ten Tips for Becoming a Successful Restaurant Reviewer by Ruth Pennington Paget
Writing Video Reviews by Douglas King
Magazines and Professional Journals
Advice from an Editor: Writing for a State Library Journal by Elizabeth A. Stephan
Find Your Niche in Magazine Writing by Kay Marner
Freelance Magazine Writing for Librarians by Nancy Kalikow Maxwell
Writing What You Know for Service to Others: Professional Journals by Elaine Sanchez
The Hero's Journey to an Academic Paper by Dawn Lowe-Wincentsen
Research Evidence in Qualitative Data: Finding Out Why and How, Not Just How Many by Michelynn McKnight
Team Writing: Professional Journals by Elaine Sanchez
Essays
Crafting a Compelling Bibliographic Essay by Beth M. Sheppard
The Librarian as Essay Writer by Elizabeth Morelli
Textbook Writing
Textbook Writing: Locating and Working with Textbook Publishers by Ann Marlow Riedling
Writing New Editions of Your Textbooks by Ann Marlow Riedling
Children's Literature
Children's Librarians! Use Your Skills to Fill Your Collection Gaps by Margaret Read MacDonald
From Storytime to Picture Book: A Path for the Children's Librarian by Margaret Read MacDonald
The Public Library as Picture Book Publisher by Kay Marner
Writing for Children's Magazines by Mary Northrup
Writing on Specific Subjects
Writing Biographical Sketches for Professional Development by Janet Butler Munch
Do You Want to Be an Anthologist? by Carolyn Davis
The Librarian-Researcher Who Is Disabled by Carolyn Davis
Writing Regionally by Stacy Russo
The Poet-Librarian: Writing and Submitting Work by Colleen S. Harris
Diversity Shout-Outs! Writing Articles about Diversity by Vandella Brown

Part IV Finding Your Niche Online
Blogging Tips for Librarians by Michael Lorenzen
Blogging: Writing Op-Eds by Michael Dudley
Librarians as Personal Bloggers by Nicole C. Engard
Ten Reasons to Publish an Online Column by Ruth Pennington Paget
Writing for Library Websites by Beth M. Sheppard
Confessions of an Amazon.com Reviewer by Corinne H. Smith
Promoting but Protecting Yourself Online by Corinne H. Smith
Turning Sequels into a Database by Janet Husband

Part V Maximizing Opportunities
Writing for Publication as a State of Mind by Diane Stine
The Academic Librarian as Writer by Janet Butler Munch
Surveys as a Writing Prompt to Get Started in Publishing by Diane Stine
Editing Books by Wayne Jones
Nurturing a Book Concept to Publishing Success: Lessons Learned from a First-Time Book Editor by Deborah H. Charbonneau
Editing a Library Association Magazine by Wayne Jones
Editing Conference Proceedings by Stephanie Mathson
Strategic Publication by Robert S. Nelson
Librarians as First-Time Book Editors by Nicole C. Engard
Publishing by Leveraging New Technologies by Aline Soules
My Very Own ISBN Number: A Librarian's Path to Publication by Jan Siebold
Maximize Your Opportunities to Get Published by Gabriel Morley
Interviewing for Publication by Patrick Ragains
Librarians and the Local Literary Community: Making Space on the Same Shelf by Lisa A. Forrest

Afterword by Wayne Jones
List of Contributors
Index

Carol Smallwood

Carol Smallwood received her MLS from Western Michigan University and her MA in history from Eastern Michigan University. She is the author or editor of numerous books for Scarecrow, McFarland, Libraries Unlimited, Pudding House Publications, Peter Lang, and others. Some other credits include The Writer's Chronicle, Journal of Formal Poetry, Detroit News, Instructor, English Journal, and Michigan Feminist Studies. Her novel, Lily's Odyssey, appeared in 2010; she coedited the anthology Contemporary American Women: Our Defining Passages (2009), and she has a short story in Best New Writing 2010. A 2009 National Federation of State Poetry Societies Award Winner and a finalist for the 2009 Eric Hoffer Award for prose, she has experience in school, public, and special libraries and has served as a library consultant. Smallwood appears in Contemporary Authors, Who's Who in America, and is a member of the American Library Association. She received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.

"This book's wide range of topics ensures that any librarian can find at least one article geared toward her/his particular needs. While anyone seeking tenure or publishing ideas and advice could find help here, it is aimed at librarians and is a resource they can turn to again and again."
--Library Journal

"An invaluable instructional reference and resource with its succinct and thoroughly ‘user friendly' information on how to write book reviews for not only library newsletters, but library Websites, librarian and personal blogs, online book review columns, and more … will prove indispensable for the novice and provide a great deal of value for seasoned professionals as well."
--The Midwest Book Review

"Since certain information will benefit many aspiring writers, the collection is recommended for all public libraries."
--Reference & Research Book News

"The reveals an ambitious editorial agenda that encompasses the entirety of the writing enterprise within a comparatively slim volume. Readers will be inspired and edified by the casual first-person style and pleasingly unburdened by the brevity of the 91 entries (1,000 to 2,000 words each), which feature advice on how to write in a variety of genres and formats including the omnipresent blogosphere."
--Internet Reference Services Quarterly

"Just reading the title of the first paper in this anthology will have any dedicated librarian firmly hooked – ‘How Writing Helped Me to Be a Better Librarian'. And each one of the subsequent 91 papers, contributed by 47 librarians whose work has been published, similarly aims to help the reader use the process of writing and being published to improve their job performance as a librarian' ... Librarians at work are daily surrounded by an environment conducive to writing – they are surrounded by books, people and technology. This environment provides the maximum opportunity to write, not only professionally, but also all forms of creative fiction and non-fiction. All that is needed is a catalyst to get us started, and what a brilliant catalyst this book is. It will prove an invaluable reference for any librarian who was ever tempted to write, as well as an interesting compendium of the experiences of other librarians who have found themselves wanting or needing to write."
--The Australian Library Journal

"For those who are just getting started and looking for resources in writing and publishing, as well as those who are experienced and looking for some creative ideas and directions, this book is an excellent resource."
--Public Services Quarterly