We recently reached out to some of our authors to hear about their experience in writing their book, advice they’d like to share with any of you considering writing a book and crucially, would they do it again?
Next in our series of profiles is Jacopo Iannacci. Jacopo is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Centre for Materials and Microsystems at the Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) in Trento, Italy. His primary research area is in MEMS technology, focusing on compact modelling, design, optimisation, integration, packaging and testing. He has published over 300 refereed journal articles, books and book chapters.
Jacopo has published two works with IOP ebooks RF-MEMS Technology for High-Performance Passives (Second Edition): 5G applications and prospects for 6G and RF-MEMS Technology for High-Performance Passives: The challenge of 5G mobile applications.
- Why did you pick IOP ebooks as a publisher for your book?
It all happened by chance. I was not planning to write a book at that time, despite I had previous experience in writing authored manuscripts. In late 2016 a submitted a research article to the IOP-JMM. Since the work was rather lengthy, I split the article in two distinct submissions (part 1 and 2). The technical reviewers suggested to reduce the amount of data discussed, and to compact the two works in a unique one. I did it, and the work was then published after the second round of review. While this process was ongoing, I received a message from Leanne Mullen, who was the handling editor of my submission at that time. In a nutshell, Leanne asked me: “Have you ever considered writing an ebook for IOP?”, and my reply was like: “No, but I will consider it.” A little later, in early 2017, I submitted the book proposal form, which was accepted, and during the spring of the same year I started working on the manuscript. The plan was to publish the book in early 2018, but writing it was faster than expected, and with the support of IOP, we manage to publish it ahead schedule, in November 2017. The book scored good numbers, and in early 2021 I was offered to write the second edition. I was delighted by this opportunity, and the new book was published in July 2022.
- How did you find the experience of working with the ebooks team?
Well, this is probably the most relevant added value, at least from my point of view. Working with the ebooks team at IOP was always and is still today good and pleasant. From the beginning, it was very nice working with Leanne Mullen. However, shortly after I started working on the first edition, in 2017, Leanne had a role change within IOP, and John Navas was my new contact person. I really enjoyed working with John, and from time to time we drop an email to each other, just to know how the book and we are doing. I also met John personally, in a conference in Glasgow, back in 2017.
In general, I must say that, regardless of the specific tasks that IOP people I interacted with were managing, I always had in front of me kind people, efficient in doing their job, available to listen the doubts, questions, and suggestions of the authors, and proactive in always finding the best solutions, making everyone happy, i.e., the author and the publisher.
- What was the most challenging part of writing your book?
Undoubtedly, the need to merge two scientific topics which are related to each other yet are placed at two very different levels of complexity/abstraction, and that are common, in turn, to different scientific communities, which usually have very little interactions. Stepping into a little more technical discussion, I put in the same work the analysis of 5G/6G (5th and 6th generation of telecommunication services), which are system-level paradigms, with the discussion of Microsystem (MEMS) based technology, for the realization of very simple and miniaturized Radio Frequency (RF) passive components, like micro-switches, variable capacitors, etc. This technology, known as RF-MEMS, bears relevant potential to be employed in 5G/6G context. However, I must say that the challenge of building a homogeneous discussion involving such distant topics, is at the same time the main strength of the work.
- What advice would you give to anyone thinking of writing a book?
Well, there are many things I learned while writing books. If I must pick one amongst other items, I feel like saying that the creation of a book is a long process, that starts well before, and ends a long time after its actual writing. What I want to say, is that the author must do more than filling the agreed number of pages. To this end, there is a lot to do about developing the idea of a book that must significantly differentiate from other existing titles, while being at the same time recognizable by a certain scientific community. Then, after the manuscript is out on the market, the author must accompany his/her creature, for the years to come, in its promotion, as well as in stimulating new ideas within the scientific community.
- Would you recommend IOP ebooks to any new author?
Certainly yes. I think that my answers to the previous points make unnecessary any further statement in this sense.