Book Launch: Whitney Hegseth, Part I

Being a scholar is often lonely. Sometimes it feels like you’re forging a path no one has ever walked before.

That’s why I have a Scholar Voices section of this newsletter. Hearing more about how others navigated their careers can make the path feel less lonely. Today, I’m excited to share an interview with Dr. Whitney Hegseth. Whitney is a professor at the University of La Verne. She just launched her first book, Just talk to us normally, from Oxford University Press. I asked her about her book journey, from publication to launching.

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Q: Congratulations on your new book! What is it about?

Thank you! Just talk to us normally is a guide for those who seek to systemically improve how we see and teach young people. I demonstrate how to effect culture change. Specifically, I show how to leverage educational infrastructure — both direct and indirect supports to teaching and learning — to challenge deeply held assumptions about youth and their capabilities.

Q: What was your journey to publication like?

I graduated in the midst of a fearsome job market (January 2021), and post-COVID, and without one of my key mentors (who had passed away). I was advised to produce articles as quickly as I could. And so I did.

During my postdoc and my ongoing battle with the academic job market, I gained some real clarity around MY priorities, and where I was and was not willing to compromise in this game of academia. Even before I landed my assistant professor job at the University of La Verne, I had decided to write this book. And, I decided to write it for K-12 leaders instead of for scholars. I knew that I was in a field that, by and large, does not incentivize these choices. I also knew I no longer wished to be in higher ed if I couldn’t make these choices. This was always supposed to be a book, and I’m glad I wrote it after coming into my own a bit more, so I could mold it into the exact support I intended it to be.

Q: What strategies worked for you?

No one tells you when you go to write a book that you will be the main person promoting it. I don’t know about others, but that is decidedly not my skill set! My first strategy was one I often lean on: I talked to as many people as I could about book promotion. I also paid attention to the promotional moves people were making as they launched their own books. I’ve learned quite a bit from those conversations and observations over the past eight months.

While it’s too early to say what is working, I’ll share what I’ve been trying. First, I’m REALLY clear on who my target audience is: current or aspiring educational leaders, whether they lead at the classroom, school, or district level. I’m also clear on my ability (and limitations) in accessing that audience. For example, I’m better positioned to promote to those folks who support ed leaders: the faculty who teach in MEd, EdD, or PhD programs related to educational leadership. I’ve spent this past summer emailing my higher ed contacts across the country. The ever-wise Betty Lai gave me the tip to lead with offerings vs asks, and so I’m offering to either send the book to these faculty, or to guest lecture for their classes at some point this academic year. The hope is that, once I’m in front of these current or aspiring ed leaders, they’ll become interested in the book and will bring it back to their own leadership teams to read and discuss. So far folks are saying yes to the Zoom guest lectures!

Q: What challenges did you encounter along the way?

Again, the main challenge is that I don’t have the skill set for promoting this book. One thing I tried was asking my students (all of whom are ed leaders) about the leadership conferences they attend. This past spring I submitted to present at several of these conferences, and I was rejected by every.single.one! See my earlier point about accepting one’s limitations. I clearly don’t know how to get directly in front of this audience yet. So what do I plan to do? 1) Keep talking to people, specifically the ed leaders who attend these conferences, to learn about what makes for a productive session; 2) I’m investing in some PR support, and from them, I’ve learned that sometimes it’s more powerful when someone else pitches you, versus you pitching your work yourself; 3) Another wise mentor, Jennie Weiner, suggested that I get leaders who have read and benefitted from my book to participate in a panel presentation, discussing how they applied lessons from the book to their practice. I’ll try that with the next round of conference submissions.

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Thank you to Whitney for sharing her book journey. You can order Whitneys’ book here. Stay tuned for Part II of Whitney’s interview, where she shares concrete advice on launching your next book.

If you’re looking for more career advice, check out how to deal with your inbox and create a data management and sharing plan. If you know someone who might benefit from today’s newsletter, would you mind forwarding it to them? Thanks for reading and believing that scholars deserve support for incredible ideas.

Betty

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P.S. I’m about to get the typeset pages for my new book, How to Be a Public Scholar. Whitney’s advice could not be more timely!

P.P.S. If you ever have free time in the Atlanta airport, One Flew South is a fun restaurant.