When: Thursday, August 7, 1-2 p.m. ET

Presenter: Dr. Erica Machulak, Founder, Hikma

Marketing doesn’t need to be flashy to be effective. The best marketing plan for your book will build on your strengths, move your work forward, and foster connections with your ideal readers and collaborators. In this session, we’ll explore how to align your book marketing strategy with your professional goals so that you can sidestep some of the challenges that many academic authors face come publication day. Erica will share stories and learnings from the launch of her new book, Hustles for Humanists: Build a Business with Purpose (Rutgers University Press, 2025). You will take away:

• A framework to situate your work in context
• Three steps toward a low-key book launch
• A brief exercise to jumpstart your book marketing plan

This session is designed for emerging and established authors with book projects at any
stage of development.

Erica Machulak, PhD, is a medievalist turned entrepreneur and the author of Hustles for Humanists: Build a Business with Purpose (Rutgers University Press 2025). As the Founder of Hikma, she leads a social impact startup with a mission to mobilize scholarship for the public good through consulting, capacity building, and storytelling. Over the past five years, Hikma clients have secured $12M+ in funding to create evidence-based resources and tools, inform policies, and craft accessible communications published by Forbes, the CBC, and other platforms. Erica has delivered training at universities around the world and through “Plan for Research Impact,” a Hikma course certified by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. As a writer, editor, and facilitator, Erica believes that the world needs to hear more from people who resist easy answers. Her work has been featured in Inside Higher Ed, the Journal of Electronic Publishing, and Humanities, the magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and other major publications. She holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the University of Oxford (MSt.), and the University of Notre Dame (PhD).

About the Book

Hustles for Humanists: Build a Business with Purpose (Rutgers University Press 2025) 

Purchase from Rutgers University Press with code RUP30 for 30% off US orders. 

As a humanities professional, your skills are in demand. Despite the challenges of a competitive job market, the unique skill set that you possess is highly transferable to various industries and roles. Knowing how to position your creativity, knowledge and empathy is vital for achieving meaningful employment and professional growth. 

Hustles for Humanists provides a detailed roadmap for humanities professionals who want to leverage their valuable skills to find or create meaningful work. Drawing from her experiences as a medievalist turned entrepreneur, Erica Machulak gives practical advice on how to connect with your core values, market yourself, build relationships with clients, and negotiate fair compensation. 

This is an essential field guide for finding work that aligns with the core values of your humanities scholarship and practice. It demonstrates how the professional strengths of the humanities can be drawn upon to create fairer, more just and equitable entrepreneurial approaches—whether you’re launching a business, job hunting, or looking for inspiration. Hustles for Humanists helps you unlock the value of your humanities practice and explore exciting new pathways to achieving economic stability both within and beyond academia.