I used to throw massive temper tantrums inside of bookstores. Screaming that would make your eyes scrunch up and your eyebrows furrow, as I lay belly down on the floor, pumping my legs madly to make a disjointed beat.
This isn’t a lie; it’s a story my mom loves to share.
I wasn’t crying because I wanted to leave the bookstore. No, I was crying because I didn’t want to leave the bookstore, and the very thought of walking out with any less than ten books was absolute nightmare fuel. So I guess that’s where my love for books and the written word began.
Fast forward about 20 years, with improved coping skills (though leaving bookstores is still deeply upsetting!), and here I am starting my journey as Scholastica’s new marketing communications specialist. In this role, I’ll run Scholastica’s social media channels and contribute to this blog, so I figured I’d introduce myself and what you can expect from me as I work to support Scholastica’s customers and our broader publishing community.
From books to scholarly publishing to software… I know it seems like a big leap. But it’s all felt quite natural.
Finding My Place in Scholarly Publishing
When you tell someone outside of the publishing community that you’re going into publishing, you’ll get one of two questions: “So, you’re going to write a book?” or “So, you want to edit other people’s books?” and if you’re really lucky…you’ll get both. For most people, trade publishing defines the publishing industry as a whole.
For me, scholarly publishing has always stood out because the purpose is fundamentally different. While trade is focused on bringing information and entertainment to a broad consumer audience, scholarly publishing has an explicitly knowledge-driven mission: to communicate research, advance disciplines, and contribute to an ongoing academic conversation. I find the development of knowledge and efforts to expand its accessibility particularly meaningful, and the publishing process itself absolutely fascinating. With complex systems of submission, editorial management, peer review, revision, production, publication, discovery, and preservation, scholarly publishing is unique.
While completing my undergraduate degree at Daemen University as one of four people pursuing English degrees in my class (you read that right, it’s a small liberal arts school), I was exposed to research writing firsthand, learning from professors who were experts in their field and actively publishing scholarly works. From then on, I knew I wanted to be part of that world.
That led me to the MPS in Publishing program at George Washington University. In courses such as Copyright Law with American Psychiatric Association Senior Licensing and Subsidiary Rights Manager Puja Telikicherla and Book and Journal Publishing with Duke University Press Director Dean Smith, among many others, I learned just how broad the scholarly publishing industry is and began to see it as a particularly interesting intersection of research, communication, and mission. In my mind, a big flashing arrow read: “This is the Way!”
Joining Scholastica as a Marketing Communications Specialist
Having gone through the scholarly publishing process while writing my undergraduate thesis, I understand that it is multifaceted. Workflows, resources, and publishing focus areas vary from journal to journal, and this is what made Scholastica’s approach so intriguing to me. The modularity of Scholastica’s software and services defies a one-size-fits-all mindset, enabling scholarly organizations to publish their journals on their terms. When I learned about Scholastica’s mission to help academic organizations make quality research available more efficiently and accessibly, it deeply resonated with me, and their focus on serving as both a community resource and a software solution is something I was eager to be a part of.
That brings me here. I’m so excited to join Scholastica as a Marketing Communications Specialist. My goal is to create content that helps Scholastica users and our broader community understand our products and services, benefit from our team’s publishing workflow expertise, and learn about new industry developments (we’ll be doing that together!). I aim to build bridges to connect Scholastica with the many different stakeholders in scholarly publishing.
What You Can Expect From Me
So, with all that said, I’m sure you’re wondering what you can expect from me moving forward (right?).
My goal is to touch on a range of topics that will appeal to anyone and everyone in the scholarly publishing community. In addition to Scholastica-specific updates, areas I’d love to cover include: evolving journal publishing practices and industry trends, emerging open access models, AI in scholarly publishing, peer review workflows, and making better use of scholarly publishing technology.
My goal is to become a voice in this community, learning, analyzing, translating, and sharing valuable publishing news and insights with you.
Looking Forward
I’m so thrilled to begin this new chapter (pun intended). My path has led me to many places, from crying in the bookstore, studying English at a small liberal arts school, getting my Masters in Publishing at a not-so-small global research university, to now working at Scholastica. Still, one thing has remained constant: my love for communication.
I’m looking forward to learning from more brilliant people in the publishing industry and contributing my perspective where I can. Above all else, I hope you’ve gathered my passion for this industry and those in it, and understand that I feel a deep-rooted pull to bring guidance, positivity (and maybe some entertainment!) to everyone involved.
