My friend and colleague, Michael Moffitt, mused about my musings about law review reprints.
Not one to let a good musing go to waste, I hereby muse on Michael’s musing. Michael savors others’ reprints. I savor Michael’s prose.
In my prior musing, I identified some problems with printed reprints of law review articles but I said I missed getting reprints with handwritten notes. I should add the benefit of holding the tangible manifestation of one’s hard work (including oodles of footnotes in Bluebook format).
Michael concurred with my complaints, added some more, and noted some benefits of reprints that I hadn’t mentioned. Holding a reprint can be a satisfying tactile experience (assuming that you’re not trying to keep it open while you are eating). Reading a reprint requires more time to appreciate the ideas (assuming that you want to spend the extra time instead of rushing to do a thousand other things). Receiving a reprint (even without a handwritten note) may interest you in a topic you might not otherwise care about and it may stimulate a reciprocal response.
I particularly applaud Michael’s point about reciprocity, which is about developing and maintaining relationships. People seem so busy these days with work, family, and other obligations. Sending reprints – especially with handwritten notes (which don’t have to be long) – is a way to foster connections in our community.
If you want to share your reprints, by all means send them to Michael, where they will remain on his desk until he reads them.
If you want to share your articles with me, please send me an electronic copy by email. I will take a look and add them to my electronic library. I will give them more attention if you send them only to me instead of including me in a distribution list. I would especially appreciate a paragraph highlighting your key points and/or why I might be interested. Also, you might tell me how you’re doing these days. And you could ask about me too. We might even exchange some emails or have a Zoom conversation.
In any case, this may give you some ideas and inspirations to share your work with your friends and colleagues.
In addition to sending articles after you publish them, sending drafts to colleagues can give you insights, prompting you to improve them before they are set in print. This can be an especially effective way to develop good relationships.