25 May 2010

Writing Academic Books

What exactly is a successful academic book? One which sells a lot of copies, or one which helps to promote your career? Most people would trade the first success for the long-term benefits of the second. Anthony Haynes starts his guide to scholarly authorship by considering the possible justifications for writing: financial, self-esteem, altruism, and even the desire to learn. But these are all rendered almost redundant by the current climate in the academic world. There is now an overwhelming requirement to publish - unless you want to end up in one of those mind-numbing departments of 'Maintaining Academic Standards' or 'Human Resources and Professional Development'... Writing Successful Academic Books >>

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