I've been asked by 2 publishers to contribute to their book collections over the last year. Never applied, they've asked me!

Making yourself visible & *vocal* in certain spaces (conferences/events..also emails of admiration to your fave academics) is so powerful. Be present!

Another point about emails... you've got to be fearless! I've told film directors, authors, academics etc. how much their work means to me via email & how excited I am to write about them in my own thesis, which has been met with such amazing opportunities & well wishes.

Also, a lot of other amazing opportunities have come from Twitter (news appearance/documentary opp)

Just by sharing my geeky interests with you all ! Being seen is scary because you're now open to judgement but as a researcher we're taught to be critical anyway. So just do it!