Tips for doing public philosophy?

There has been some good discussion recently on what we should do as philosophers in these politically turbulent times. I myself have increasingly felt--especially as a moral and political philosopher--as though I should get more involved in "public philosophy": publishing pieces in non-academic outlets for a broader audience.

To that end, dating back to early last summer, I composed a handful of pieces on contemporary social, political, and economic affairs. Alas, I haven't (yet) had any luck with them (a few of them have been under review, others turned into academic pieces and submitted to journals, etc.). I've also really struggled as a writer to feel like I can hit the right level of sophistication versus accessibility. On the one hand, whenever I write something short and super-accessible (the kinds of things popular venues tend to publish), I feel like the piece is terrible--too polemic, glossing over important intricacies and supporting facts or theories (I think it's important to base public arguments on facts!). On the other hand, whenever I write something I feel better about, it seems more like an academic piece (much longer, rife with citations, etc.).

In any case, because doing "public philosophy" isn't something that most of us academic philosophers have experience with or training in, I thought it might be good to get some tips from people who have done it successfully. Here are just a few questions I have:

1. What's the best way to go about the process (i.e. submitting proposals, pieces, etc.)?
2. Do you need to have an "in" with an editor to be successful?
3. What tips do you have for "hitting the right level" for readers?
4. Which venues would you suggest?

I'm particularly interested in question (2), in part because as John Scdwenkler notes here, "I have written a bunch of reviews and essays for popular publications. It's always been by way of contact with an editor (sometimes initiated from their end). I have tried submitted unsolicited things once or twice, and I don't think that's ever worked out."

Any public philosophers out there have any helpful tips for those of us who want to get more involved?

Comments

[Former-publisher]

I used to work in academic publishing, and part of my job involved helping our authors place articles in the popular media. I'd concur that it's pretty hard for academics to place an article without an 'in' - e.g. having been asked by an editor to contribute, or knowing the editor personally, etc. Unsolicited pieces rarely get published.

What to do if you lack such an 'in'? Well, one thing that makes a big difference is if you have someone acting on your behalf - either an agent or a publicist. Most academics aren't agented, but many have published books. Some publishers (most?) will have a publicist who should be more than happy to use their contacts to place articles by authors on their list, especially if the article somehow relates to the book (however tangentially), so that at the bottom of the article they can insert a plug for the book. Placing such articles is part of a publicist's job. They'll have contacts, they'll (hopefully) have the ear of some editors, and can do a lot of the grunt work of sending emails to editors for you. So I highly recommend engaging with publicists at publishers where you've published books.

If you ever find yourself weighing up which publisher to publish a book with, one thing you should consider is how good their publicity team is. Some places offer virtually nothing; others offer you access to a decent publicist.