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Introducing the "PEERS Framework": Quality control for book self-publishing
Sunday, November 27, 2016


Part 1: Updated “PEERS” Framework
Quality Control for Self-Published TEC-VARIETY book
Curt Bonk, Professor, Indiana University, cjbonk@indiana.edu
November 2016

Back in May 2014, I self-published a book related to online motivation and retention (see blog post from two years ago). This particular blog post concerns the peer review process (PEERS) that we put the book through. It only took me 2.5 years to finally finding some time to make this post.

It is important to point out that I originally dreamed of this book back in 2000 with my colleague Vanessa Dennen of Florida State University (Vanessa's blog). It only took 14 years to come to fruition. And my co-author was Dr. Elaine Khoo from the University of Waikato in New Zealand, while Vanessa became one of the book editors.

The book title: is “Adding Some TEC-VARIETY: 100+ Activities for Motivating and Retaining Learners Online.” This book offered a new framework for online motivation called TEC-VARIETY.  Each letter of TEC-VARIETY stands for a set of overlapping motivational principles. There are 100 activities in the book (10 for each principle of motivation). Online instructors can learn how to foster curiosity, design a safe climate for learning, give feedback, foster interaction and collaboration, nurture student autonomy and creation of products, and much more. The intent is for higher online learning retention and the development of more self-directed online learners. 

With the 100+ activities, it follows the same format as my Empowering Online Learning book published by Jossey-Bass back in 2008 with a model called Read, Reflect, Display, and Do (R2D2) (Amazon). This new TEC-VARIETY book has a brand new set of 100+ activities and a focus on learner motivation and retention.

Elaine Khoo and I made this book free as an e-book. We used Amazon CreateSpace as our publisher along with OpenWorldBooks (which I own). AmazonCreateSpace were some of the most wonderful people in the world to work with. They were highly polite and customer service oriented.

To date, over 80,000 people have downloaded the entire book in English and tens of thousands more have downloaded individual chapters. Scholars at Beijing Normal University in China have recently translated it to Chinese (also free as an e-book) and the Open University of China has published it in print. Anyone can now download, share, and, with permission, translate it in English or Chinese. By the way, my son Alex produced the book cover.

TEC-VARIETY Book Homepage: (full book download: English and Chinese)
Individual Chapters and Entire Book, see "Free Stuff": http://tec-variety.com/freestuff.php
Amazon (paperback and Kindle and hardcover by request)

A common question of self-published books relates to quality. See below for the "Peers framework which I designed and used for this book so as to address quality. Others might find it a handy guide when self-publishing their own books.

Reference:  Bonk, C. J., & Khoo, E. (2014). Adding Some TEC-VARIETY: 100+ Activities for Motivating and Retaining Learners Online. OpenWorldBooks.com and Amazon CreateSpace.  Note: Free eBook available at: http://tec-variety.com/
   

PEERS Framework (for review of a self-published book):
1.       Peer Review: Three e-learning and educational technology experts were hired to review the entire book during the summer of 2013 (admittedly, however, this was not a blind review). The authors made their changes and sent the revised manuscript to the copyeditor. In addition, the copyeditor also took on a role of editor throughout the process and made some solid suggestions on deletions, modifications, combinations, additions, etc.
2.       Extensive Planning and Pilot Testing: The book 14 years to plan, 7 years to collect articles, and 3 years to write. In addition, the framework in the book was discussed to large as well as a small audiences at conferences, workshops, institutes, summits, webinars, university classes, etc., for more than a decade. Tens of thousands of people attended those talks. Feedback was received from hundreds, if not thousands, of such people during that time.
3.       Expert Team Approach: As with all book publishers, we contracted with many experts to produce a book of the highest quality. We hired editors, copyeditors, research assistants, website developers, proofreaders, graphic artists, illustrators, indexers, formatters, converters to other formats (e.g., Kindle, hardcover, etc.), computer programmers, book publishers, consultants, etc. Each were paid a fee (not cheap). We also talked about the process with several others who had self-published a book in the past.
4.       Relied on Format of Proven Book: Most importantly, the “Adding Some TEC-VARIETY” book followed the exact same format as the “Empowering Online Learning: 100+ Activities for Reading, Reflecting, Displaying, and Doing” book which was published in 2008 by Jossey-Bass. In effect, the format works and was deemed to be high quality by a major publisher. And unlike many activities book, this is a theory to practice with not just 100+ activities but with extensive references and theoretical backing. In addition, this book had the exact same first author as that book who went through the same process in writing this book. As with the earlier book, he partnered with an expert to co-author it.
5.       Sharing Samples: Sample chapters were sent to other experts in the field and other interested scholars, educators, and researchers for the past three years as were the chapter resources, tools references, and citations. Everything was shared as much as possible. The feedback that was received helped us fine tune each chapter.

Part 2: The Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing
Curt Bonk, Professor, Indiana University
November 2016

Here is a list 10 advantages and 10 disadvantages of a free self-published book. See what you think of these items. Please enjoy some TEC-VARIETY.

Advantages of Self-Publishing:
  1. Impact: Life impact. The ideas in the book related to teaching and learning can impact others around the world. And perhaps there will be some life impact or personal change from a few of them. There is also the potential for curriculum impact, resource impact, innovation impact, etc.
  2. Longevity: Longevity of ideas. Someone could find or use or modify this book long after the authors are gone. Digital archivists and educators might stumble upon this book centuries from now.
  3. Rural and Disadvantaged: A free book helps people in the developing world learn new content. In addition, teachers and course designers can ramp up online and blended course development.
  4. Control: This IS the big one. The authors can design and change things how they want. Use the book titles and subtitles that they want and the examples that they want. And, yes, 2-3 experts peer reviewed the book just like another publisher (e.g., Jossey-Bass/Wiley) would have done.
  5. Experiment: It is an experiment. The authors can learn what works. We can practice marketing skills. We can share with others about self-publishing. We can start OpenWorldBooks.com. And we can continue the experiment with the next book.
  6. Less to Pack: Less guilt when someone has a request or when you visit a country with no gifts. I can always give people this book (or at least the link to download it).
  7. Fun and Novel Invitations: The authors can trade book royalties for interviews, discussions, invited panels, consultations, and speaking invites.
  8. Parting or Meeting Gift: It is something the authors can give to students, guests, and visiting scholars. I can send to anyone who visits or calls to interview me on the phone.
  9. Growing Network: The network of contacts around the world expands.
  10. Reputation: It brings attention to author reputation or brand and everything else that one does.
Disadvantages of Self-Publishing:
  1. Personal Time and Effort: This project has been my baby for a long time. And I made it free? This was not just 3 years in the making. I had an IST master’s student collect articles 7 years before completion. And Vanessa Dennen and I discussed a possible book on online motivation 14 years prior.
  2. Cost: The authors spent much out of pocket money designing and developing this book. Proofreaders, researcher assistant, Web designer and programmer, copy editor, editors, indexer, formatter, graphic designer, publisher, and website costs. It was not insignificant (I’m happy to share the costs via email).
  3. Potential for Failure and Looking Foolish: It could backfire and no one could find out about the book. If that happens, one could look foolish.
  4. Perceptions of Self-Published Book: People might think that it is low quality since it is being given away for free. The author reputation could take a hit. Some scholars/academics might look down on someone who self-publishes.
  5. Piracy and Plagiarism Battles and Legal Fees: People could more easily plagiarize this book. They could copy it, sell it, and post it online. There could be many moles to whack via attorney letters.
  6. Fairness to Self (i.e., potential for psychological and physical problems): My body could tell me that I am an idiot after expanding so much energy to get this far and not get much in return.
  7. Fairness to Co-Author: My book writing colleague, Dr. Elaine Khoo, deserves some remuneration.
  8. Translation Negotiations: The authors have to negotiate book translations rights and contracts, instead of the publisher. Tough decisions have to be made about selling the book in another language or offering only free versions. It takes time to produce a new version of the book.
  9. Marketing and Dissemination Requirements: The authors have many ways to market the book with organizations that have hundreds of thousands of connections; however, they will lack the connections and networks of a major publisher (e.g., conference exhibits, newsletters, Website promotions, etc.).
  10. Future Expectations: In the future, how can the authors justify charging a fee for any book that takes less than 14 years to produce?

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30 Writing Tips Revisited and Expanded a Decade Later: Ten Years After and Before
Tuesday, November 08, 2016
Writing anyone? How about publishing? I was at a conference last Friday at the University of Houston. It was titled "Education 20/20: Innovative Teaching and Learning at a Distance." My talk slides are posted. I did the opening keynote as well as a breakout session right after it and a discussion session.

Prior to the conference, my colleague, Dr. Mimi Lee, asked me to speak about writing and publishing to doctoral students in curriculum and instruction at the University of Houston last week. So I did. I also spoke on forming solid research questions. I crafted a two-page handout of these tips and suggestions which was handed out to the budding scholars in the audience. It is recapped below.

Question: Why did I label this part "Ten Years Before." Well, now, you will just need to read to the end, won't you? Aha.

Part 1: Ten Years Before
Tips on Writing and Publishing for Doctoral Students

You can find these 30 writing tips about a decade ago at my blog. I add explanations of each one and some pictures. Curt Bonk (2007, January 27). A Quick 30 Writing Tips for the Start of an Academic Career. TravelinEdMan (Blog), Note: This blog post was later re-published in: Curt Bonk (2010, April 2), 30 Writing Tips: Curtis J. Bonk offers advice for thestart of an academic career. Inside Higher Ed.

A Quick 30 Writing Tips for the Start of an Academic Career

  1. Edit your papers a lot (but, in truth, better to be a Combiner than a Mozartian or Beethovenian).
  2. Get feedback.
  3. Stay current.
  4. Be part explorer.
  5. Be part bumblebee in gathering ideas from different places (and later part butterfly, moth, or bird).
  6. Be a voracious reader (and ponderer).
  7. Persist like an ant.
  8. Be creative in your figures, models, frameworks, charts, and graphs!
  9. Try to publish the paper or as a chapter before presenting at a conference (but after your conference proposal is sent in and accepted--i.e., do not scramble to write your conference paper at the last minute).
  10. Maintain a list and network of potential research and writing collaborators.
  11. Share your publication efforts.
  12. Find emerging areas to research that you are passionate about or at least interested in.
  13. Think ahead about the publishing potential of each project.
  14. Treat graduate students as colleagues.
  15. Find international and national colleagues to work with.
  16. Schedule time for writing.
  17. Have a plan or direction for the next few years and beyond--Goals are critical.
  18. Read a paper on how to create a writing plan.
  19. Organization.
  20. Use presentations as starter material.
  21. Get paid to write and research.
  22. Find professional balance.
  23. Find personal balance.
  24. Do not design too many new courses.
  25. Find a niche or direction for your research and drill down.
  26. Write all the time.
  27. Avoid high quality journal fixations.
  28. Quantity matters as well as quality (sometimes more so).
  29. Prioritize.
  30. You are just a grasshopper, so get a mentor and use him/her.
Again, read my original blog post from January 2007 for more details on the above.

I then brainstormed 20 more writing and publishing tips since I first wrote that blog post (and article) about a decade ago. See below and let me know what you think. I labeled this part "Ten Years After" since the original list came "Ten Years Before."

Part 2: Ten Years After (do you remember the rock band from the 1960s and 70s? And their song, "I'd love to change the world?" (longer live version).
More Tips on Writing and Publishing for Doctoral Students
Professor Curtis J. Bonk, Indiana University, IST Dept, cjbonk@indiana.edu Thursday November 3, 2016

Another Quick 20 Writing and Publishing Tips
  1. Find good people to work with: life is short - avoid egomaniacs and people who lie.
  2. Form research questions: Record gaps in research, find creative opening, keep tweaking,
  3. Mark days in your planner when you will be writing. Find or create chunks of time.
  4. Find, save, and use starter text where possible. Helps to overcome writer's block.
  5. Save research articles for a rainy day (i.e., create file folders of articles on different topics).
  6. Make both short term and long-term plans and goals. Review and revise those goals often.
  7. Perhaps draft a timeline or multiple timelines for your publications with flexible goals.
  8. Make a list of prominent journals (e.g., SSCI journals) and go after them one by one.
  9. Look for special journal issues that you might contribute to.
  10. Organize conference symposia which could lead to special journal issues and books.
  11. Get to know the journal editor(s). Write to the journal editors with questions.
  12. Look at the available journals and decide on the best 3 or 4 for your article.
  13. Always look at the reference section to see where people are publishing similar articles.
  14. Sponsor visiting scholars who want to work with you; they often have writing plans.
  15. Become second or third author sometime in order to spread your limited time.
  16. Listen to your colleagues and team and shoot for the journals to which they aspire.
  17. Recap the reviewer points and how you have attempted to address them.
  18. Be polite and thankful to the journal or book chapter editor(s).
  19. Review your CV/resume: check in process, in review, in press, and published articles and chapters. Remind yourself of your annual accomplishments. Remind yourself of your shortcomings.
  20. Celebrate your writing accomplishments with friends. These do not happen often enough.
Ok, that is 50 total writing tips. What do you think about them? Which are the best 2-3 tips? Which are the worst ones?

Do you want more? If so, my splendid friend and colleague from graduate school days at the University of Wisconsin in the late 1980s, Dr. Cecil Smith, detailed a bunch of writing tips back in 2004 in a paper for the AERA conference in San Diego. I helped him out for some of them...see below. People interested in this paper can contact Cecil via email for a copy. Cecil is now the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education and Professor of Learning Sciences and Human Development in the College of Education and Human Services at West Virginia University (where I worked a quarter of a century ago).
 
See also: Cecil Smith (2004, April 12). Advice for new faculty members: Getting your writing program started. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Conference (AERA), San Diego, CA.


1.     Assistance, Or Getting by with a Little Help from My Friends.
  1. Find a writing mentor-someone who is honest, direct, and quick with feedback.
  2. If you form a research team, commit to a time and place for weekly or monthly meetings.
  3. Identify good writing models in your field.
  4. Be careful being lured onto the research projects of others and senior faculty.
2.     Organization is the Key.
  1. Do your research and writing prior to your teaching and class preparation.
  2. Use bulletin board with push pins and index cards of writing projects to indicate progress.
  3. Set small writing goals for each week.
  4. If you must teach in the summer for the $$$, teach short or intensive courses.
  5. Try to familiarize yourself with the journal and the manuscript style and format.
  6. Find a direction for your writing. Rework dissertation to the gleast publishable unit.h
  7. Do not be afraid to call a senior person in your field for advice.
  8. Think about multiple papers from one project; e.g., publish both the research AND the model.
  9. If you find a niche area, keep publishing in it; go deep! Applied and theoretical articles is fine.
3.     Persistence + Priorities = Productivity.
  1. Try not to ever give up on a piece of writing. Persistence and grit wins the day.
  2. But still be willing to cut your losses and move on when needed.
  3. Avoid doing too many conference presentations. Finish your papers first.
  4. Get an effective laptop, tablet, or writing device for writing on planes and in airports and cafes.
  5. Try not to feel guilty declining a committee or other service or requests.
4.     Money, It's a Hit.
  1. Get grants and inquire about other sources of funding to give you time off to write.
  2. Attend workshops on grant writing.
  3. Find small pots of money from university for small projects and start-up research.
Ok, that is enough writing tips for one day...especially on election day. Ug! I hope that they help and perhaps provide a little ray of hope in this sea of mad madness.



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About Me

Name: Curt Bonk
Home: Bloomington, Indiana, United States
About Me: I am a former accountant and CPA and a former educational psychologist. I am now Professor of IST at Indiana University and also adjunct in the School of Informatics. I founded and later sold SurveyShare. As president of CourseShare, LLC, I run around the world training instructors to teach online and give motivational talks about emerging learning technologies. I also write and edit books related to e-learning and blended learning. See bio and vita.

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Click here for information about my recent book, The World is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education.

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