Levine: Networking for Nerds

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Networking for Nerds cover image

NETWORKING FOR NERDS
Alaina G. Levine, with Forward by Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt
Wiley, July 13, 2015, $29.95
ISBN-13: 978-1118663585

Levine reports:

My new book is about networking for scientists, engineers, and networking novices. This is a topic with which I am very familiar: in addition to being a science writer, I also am a STEM career consultant, professional speaker, and corporate comedian. I give humorous workshops and webinars for universities, conferences, and government agencies on topics relating to career development/professional advancement. Weaving strategic career planning info with comedic stories and shtick is my forte and passion.

Alaina Levine

The book came about, not surprisingly, as a direct result of networking. In 2011, I needed interviewees for an article I was writing for ScienceCareers. A colleague introduced me to Sarah Andrus, an editor at Wiley, who passed on my request for potential interviewees to her international network of science advisers. Within hours, I had more sources than I needed.

Sarah and I both recognized there was synergy between our interests, and we explored ways to collaborate. I gave a networking webinar as part of the Wiley Learning Institute in 2012. Another discussion with Sarah led to the idea for this book.

I wrote up a formal proposal, and by the end of 2012, had a contract with Wiley. It took about a year to write and edit the book, although I had a head start from career columns I had already written, for publications like Physics Today and APS News, the newsletter of the American Physical Society. What helped me focus was blocking out hours at the local library (away from my home office), so that I could limit distractions.

One of the most exciting developments in writing the book was when Brian Schmidt, a 2011 Nobel Laureate in physics, agreed to author the foreword. Brian is a fellow alum of my alma mater, the University of Arizona. After he won the Prize, I interviewed him for the university’s alumni magazine. I saw him at the 2012 Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting, and interviewed him again at the 2014 Euroscience Open Forum for NatGeo News Watch. When I asked if he would consider writing the foreword, he sent me copy within two weeks. An important note: my attendance at both conferences was generously sponsored by NASW-supported fellowships!

Contact info:

Alaina G. Levine, 520-240-6538, alaina@alainalevine.com
Publicist: Dottie DeHart, 828-325-4966, Dottie@dehartandcompany.com
Book website: www.alainalevine.com
Twitter: @AlainaGLevine
Facebook: www.facebook.com/QuantumSuccessSolutions
LinkedIn group: Alaina’s Alumni: Career Info for scientists, engineers and non-nerds too: tinyurl.com/AlainasAlumni.

NASW members: will your book be published soon? Take advantage of this opportunity for shameless self-promotion.

Tell your fellow NASW members how you came up with the idea for your book, developed a proposal, found an agent and publisher, funded and conducted research, and put the book together. Include what you wish you had known before you started this project, or had done differently.

See https://www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines.

Send info and images to Lynne Lamberg, NASW book editor, llamberg@nasw.org.

Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines for information on submitting your report.

Publication of NASW author reports in Advance Copy does not constitute NASW's endorsement of any publication or the ideas, values, or material contained within or espoused by authors or their books. We hope this column stimulates productive discussions on important topics now and in the future as both science and societies progress. We welcome your discussion in the comments section below.