Have you ever wanted to start a blog to write about science, but don’t know how to get started, or how to build an audience for your blog, or just how to survive the rough-and-tumble nastiness that the internet can often be?  Well, wonder no longer — on March 1st, Yale University Press will be releasing Science Blogging: The Essential Guide!

Edited by the extremely talented science bloggers Christie Wilcox (Nerdy Christie), Bethany Brookshire (Scicurious) and Jason Goldman, this guide collects essays from many of the best online science communicators in the business on a variety of topics.  And it includes one by me, as well!

You can read interviews with the editors at The Open Notebook, which is hosting the official website for the volume.  There are 26 chapters in all, along with an afterword; here is the full list of what’s included:

• To Blog or Not to Blog, by Christie Wilcox
• From Page to Pixel: A Personal History of Science Blogging, by Carl Zimmer
• How to Set Up a Science Blog, by Khalil A Cassimally
• Using Science Art and Imagery in a Blog, by Glendon Mellow
• Building an Audience for Your Blog, by Ed Yong
• Ethical Considerations for Science Bloggers, by Janet D. Stemwedel
• The Deal with Networks, by Danielle N. Lee
• Indie Blogging: On Being a “Ronin”, by Zen Faulkes
• Getting Interactive, by Rose Eveleth
• Brevity is the Soul of Microblogging, by Joe Hanson
• Science and the Art of Personal Storytelling, by Ben Lillie
• Using Social Media to Diversify Science, by Alberto I. Roca
• I’m Not Going to Tell You How to Be a Woman Science Blogger, by Kate Clancy
• Blogging as an Early Career Journalist, by Colin Schultz
• Institutional Blogging, by Karl Bates
• Blogging as a Resource for Science Education, by Marie-Claire Shanahan
• Communicating Science as a Graduate Student, by Jason G. Goldman
• Blogging on the Tenure Track, by Greg Gbur
• Metrics: Measuring the Success of Your Blog, by Matt Shipman
• Toot Your Own Horn: Self-Promotion in Social Media, by Liz Neeley
• Blogging at Scientific Conferences, by Travis Saunders and Peter Janiszewski
• Tackling the Hard Sciences, by Rhett Allain
• Blogging about Controversial Topics, by Emily Willingham
• Persuading the Unpersuadable: Deniers, Cynics and Trolls, by Melanie Tannenbaum
• Who’s Paying? Science Blogging and Money, by Bethany Brookshire
• From Science Blog to Book, by Brian Switek
• Afterword, by Paige Jarreau

I’ve met, or know of, almost everyone who has written for this collection, and I can say that they all know what they’re talking about!  The book has something for everyone who might have in interest in science blogging, from graduate students to professors to journalists to authors to activists.  I just got my own copy a couple of days ago and am sure that I will learn a lot reading what everyone has to say.

My own chapter, “Blogging on the Tenure Track,” was inspired by my curious distinction of being one of the first faculty members to include blogging in his tenure package — and have it received well!

This is a great collection, and well-worth checking out if you’re interested in starting a science blog or already blogging.

A special thanks to Christie, Bethany and Jason for asking me to be a part of such a wonderful project!