Student Interview: Brooke Scudder
Biography:
Brooke Scudder (she/her) is in her second year of the George Washington University MPS in Publishing program and is part of the Marketing Committee for the GW Journal of Ethics in Publishing. Outside of the program, she enjoys writing and exploring DC with friends. She’s lived in five different states before Virginia and is eager to see where the publishing industry takes her—hopefully to acquisitions or book design.
What does “ethics in publishing” mean to you?
Publishing can—and should—encompass a variety of voices. In addition to diverse voices, it is important to have discussions about what is being published. There is a long history of the industry getting into its own rut, and without publications like this journal there aren’t many spaces for industry issues to be pointed out. Ethics encompasses addressing issues and their implications, and starting a conversation where others may have been hesitant to do so.
How would you describe your experience with the journal?
Everyone on the staff cares immensely about making the journal the best version of itself. The Marketing Committee created an Instagram account last semester; our managing editor and journal staff have been in full support of advertising for our authors and the program. There are so many talented people working on the journal, and the opportunities to use their skills for the journal are challenging but unique.
How does the Marketing Committee handle the ethical balance between promoting the journal and maintaining credibility in academia?
Especially since we began to prioritize cultivating a larger online presence for the journal, we have had to focus on what exactly we post and spotlight. Of course, we want to emphasize the topics of our articles, but when ethical issues occur every day, there is a question of what we should and shouldn’t use as part of our online presence. We don’t want to emphasize every little thing possible. Instead, we would rather focus on what contributes to the journal’s ethical mission and the goal of academia to promote discussion and not discord.
How do you go about marketing the idea of “ethics in publishing” in a way that is both interesting and accessible to an audience with varying levels of knowledge on the subject?
It’s not too difficult to find an interesting topic from the articles submitted to the journal. And because our authors are themselves interested in the subject of ethics in publishing, that carries over to their writing. We usually find an engaging quote from the article and use that as the core of our social media posts. This has proven to be the best way to entice both people familiar with the topics and more of a general audience.
Do you find that the mission of the university and journal heavily influences what your committee creates?
Yes. We function as a kind of voice for the journal and, by extension, GW. We want whatever we create to be easily recognized as connected to the university. I would call our mission more than just an influence–it is something that is built into our journal structure and a primary consideration when marketing for the journal.
What lessons have you learned that you want to carry forward into your publishing career–either ethical, marketing, or otherwise?
I’ve learned that importing ethics into a journal or publishing house’s procedures may not always be as simple as just keeping it in mind when choosing what to publish or what to market. Even as a journal that is focused on ethics, we still have to make the time and effort to consider the implications of our decisions. It can be a difficult discussion to have, but putting the effort in is already a step forward for any journal or publisher.