For the record, let me say–again–how big a fan I am of the #ArticleRemix concept Katie Pryal wrote about on her blog a week or so ago. (Short version: revise & remix a #fancy smartypants piece to make it accessible & engaging for a wider audience.) “So much academic writing is hidden behind paywalls,” Katie tells us. “And then, when you finally can download an article, the knowledge it contains is hidden behind field-specific jargon (some of which is completely unnecessary for the making of meaning).”
I’d love to see more writers–whether current, academics, former ones, or something else–remix their work and share it with a broader audience. If what we’re writing about is so worthwhile and good, why not share it with others, spread our knowledge, and gain new readers? Or, as Katie asks, “And if we experts can’t share our expertise, then what’s the point of being experts?”
In early 2012, I published a book, Faulkner and Hemingway: Biography of a Literary Rivalry, with Ohio State UP. At the time, I hoped it was my “in” for a tenure-track job in some university English Department. Yet the rules of Calvinball academia kept changing, and the book wasn’t the magic ticket I expected it to be. ‘Tis no matter, though. I loved writing the book, discussing it, and giving presentations on it. It was definitely labor (worth a whopping $3.62 in royalties so far), but one of love & some fun.
An editor at the New England Review approached me not long after the book was published to ask about running an excerpt in an upcoming issue. I had to make some revisions, take out most of the scholarly backbone of the excerpt, and smooth out some parts. New England Review has a solid print and web readership, and they were great to work with.
For those with institutional login info, it should be archived here. For those without such access, I’m sharing the PDF. I hope this encourages you to remix & share some of your own work.
The Consulting Editor 
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