What Does It Mean to Write a Popular Book?

Episode Outline:
0:00 Why don’t more academics write books for general audiences?
0:29 Megan introduces the topic of popular or trade books
0:52 Bart on birthdays, academic family, and time moving too fast
4:00 What a “trade book” actually is
5:54 Why trade books usually do not help with tenure
8:19 How Bart chooses topics for popular books
11:04 Why marketability matters for publishing a trade book
13:56 How Bart researches a trade book
16:13 Bart’s outlining process and how he writes so quickly
20:50 Why writing a good trade book is much harder than academics think
23:42 How publishing a trade book differs from publishing academic work
29:08 Why scholars write trade books in the first place
32:33 Are popular books becoming more acceptable in academia?
35:37 Why public humanities matter right now
36:01 Webinar promo: Gospel authorship
38:00 One-year anniversary livestream Q&A announcement
41:37 Listener Q&A: changing one’s mind, Jesus’ self-understanding, and sola scriptura
48:10 Final summary: what trade books are and why they matter

Episode Description

Most scholars write books and articles for other scholars, using jargon and presupposing knowledge available only to experts trained in their discipline. But some scholars write books designed for popular audiences about their fields of expertise. Why do most scholars choose not to do so? Are there pitfalls in trying to communicate complex knowledge in simple terms? Is it possible to do so without "dumbing it down"? And why do so many academics look down on fellow-scholars who try to do so?

Also watch these episodes:
New Testament Scholarship for Non-Scholars
New Testament Scholarship for Non-Scholars

Can Christians Study the New Testament Honestly?
Can Christians Study the New Testament Honestly?

Stories about Jesus Before the Gospels: Oral Traditions in the Early Church
Stories about Jesus Before the Gospels: Oral Traditions in the Early Church

Megan asks Bart:

-What exactly are academics talking about when they say “popular book”?

-Do trade books give a college/university professor any advantages over their colleagues when it comes to tenure and promotion?

-How do you decide what to write a trade book on, and do you write on the same things as your academic publications?

-Is market viability a consideration for you when deciding on topics?

-Is the research process for a trade book very different from when you’re writing scholarly work?

-Can you describe the writing process?

-What are the hardest parts of writing a trade book, and is it harder than academic writing?

-How about the publication process - does your popular work go through peer review, and did you have a hard time finding a non-academic publisher who was willing to put out your work?

-If writing trade books is frowned upon, and can adversely impact your career, what then is the draw for writing them in the first place?