Essential knowledge about scholarly book publishing that every author should have. Get weekly tips on writing and publishing your scholarly book from developmental editor and publishing consultant Laura Portwood-Stacer, PhD.
Black Feminist Writing: A conversation with Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans
Published about 2 months ago • 3 min read
The Manuscript Works Newsletter
Essential knowledge on scholarly book publishing that every author should have
Hello, Reader!
Last week, I shared an excerpt from the new book Black Feminist Writing: A Practical Guide to Publishing Academics Books by Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans. This week, I want to tell you how you can hear more about the book and Dr. Evans' process of writing it.
First, here's a summary of Black Feminist Writing from the publisher's website (SUNY Press):
Writing scholarly books is stressful, and academic publishing can be intimidating—especially for women, queer folks, and scholars of color. Black Feminist Writing shows scholars how to prioritize their mental health while completing a book in race and gender studies. Drawing on Black women's writing traditions, as well as her own experience as the author and editor of nine university press books, Stephanie Y. Evans gives scholars tools to sustain the important work of academic writing, particularly in fields routinely under attack by anti-democratic forces. Evans identifies five major areas of stress: personal, professional, publishing-related, public, and political. Each chapter includes targeted discussion questions and tasks to help authors identify their unique stressors, create priorities, get organized, and breathe. Whether working on your first scholarly book or your tenth, this robust, heartfelt guide will help you approach writing as an ongoing practice of learning, creating, and teaching in ways that center wellness and collective self-care.
The book releases in just a couple weeks and you can preorder it here.
Personally, I preordered the book as soon as I saw it shared by SUNY Press online. As the author of a book about navigating the scholarly book publishing process, I was well aware of the comparable titles in this field. To date, none (that I'm aware of) have centered the experiences of writers who work in race and gender studies or related fields. I was therefore keen to read Dr. Evans' unique take on the topic of writing and publishing.
I didn't end up having to wait long to do so, because shortly after I preordered the book, Kate Seburyamo, Senior Marketing Manager at SUNY Press, reached out to me by email to ask if I would consider writing an endorsement for the back of the book. Of course I said yes! I got to read a PDF of the book and furnish a blurb that I hope helps to pique the interest of potential readers.
The back cover of Black Feminist Writing featuring a summary, author bio, and two blurbs (one by me). Thank you to Dr. Evans for sending me a signed author's copy.
Although Dr. Evans and I did not know each other before this whole exchange, we realized her book's release would be a good opportunity to collaborate on sharing our knowledge about publishing academic books. To that end, we're holding a free webinar this Friday and you're invited!
The webinar will be held live via Zoom on Friday, August 16th, 2024 from 1-2pm Eastern (10–11am Pacific). All registrants will be provided with a recording and transcript. Live attendance is strongly encouraged, but you can register even if you don't plan to attend live.
We'll be discussing how Dr. Evans conceived and wrote this book and will dig into some of her specific advice for scholarly authors, with an emphasis on centering mental health and wellness. Academic writers and publishing professionals at all career stages are welcome!
I hope to see you there on Friday. You can also keep scrolling this newsletter for more resources on scholarly book publishing.
This newsletter is coming to you from Laura Portwood-Stacer, PhD, professional developmental editor and publishing consultant. I help scholarly writers navigate the book publishing process with more ease and agency.
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Join me on August 16th for a conversation with Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans about her newest book, Black Feminist Writing: A Practical Guide to Publishing Academic Books
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Essential knowledge about scholarly book publishing that every author should have. Get weekly tips on writing and publishing your scholarly book from developmental editor and publishing consultant Laura Portwood-Stacer, PhD.