This week’s post is jam-packed full of great articles for academic and textbook writers. So instead of writing some long paragraph about why I think you should read these articles—news on more predatory publishers, helpful tips, overcoming writing anxiety, motivation, revise and resubmit advice, just to name a few—I’m going to get right to the point. These articles are must reads! So allow yourself to be distracted, only momentarily, and enjoy the articles below. Happy writing!

Why A Fake Article Titled “Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs?” Was Accepted By 17 Medical Journals
First I’d like to make a shout-out to TAA member, Mike Kennamer, who shared this article in our online member community—thanks! By now, thanks to people like Jeffrey Beall and stories like those from Laura Frost, academics know that predatory publishers are lurking all around the academic journal world. This article is another example of how apparent this issue has become and how cautious academics need to be when selecting a journal to publish their work.

GradHacker to the Rescue!
Not only is this an excellent piece by Ashley Sanders, it also is like a bonus article for you because she has links to all sorts of other great articles! Sanders talks about her academic writing anxiety and offers tips to help others move past that anxiety and gain greater confidence.

5 Writers Quotes To Keep You Inspired Until Spring
A feel-good piece of quotes to help you stay motivated. This is the perfect read for those days when you just need a break from staring at a blank page and to spark a little motivation to fill your blank page with words.

Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Writers
It’s no secret that I find Rachel Toor’s writing to be fun, thought provoking, often blunt, and always on my to-read list when she publishes something new on The Chronicle. This piece is no exception. Toor talks about the pain of being an author, as she says here, “It’s excruciating to reread pages you’ve sweated over and realize you can’t use any of them. They may be fine—good, even—but they don’t belong in this book. Highlight and delete.”

Should You Skip Revise and Resubmit?
Karen Kelsky explores whether it is wise to revise and resubmit or abandon the thought of publishing it in that particular journal, make little to no changes and submit to another journal. Read this article to see which Kelsky believes is the wiser choice and if you agree. Then come back here and share your thoughts in the comments below. Should you skip revise and submit elsewhere?

Break the rules: write out of order
For a wonderful reminder that it’s okay to “break the rules” and write out of order I highly suggest this read. I equate this to fitness and diet: You don’t have to wait until Monday to start a new fitness or diet routine. If you are inspired on a Thursday to start, start! In writing too, it’s okay to start where you feel most inspired.

Storify of 22 January Twitterchat
This is a different kind of article than the normal I usually share. This is a curation of tweets from an academic writing chat hosted by @Acwri. Some of you may be completely lost in what a “tweet” means, but trust me when I say I think you’ll find this post to be helpful and motivating. Basically it’s other academics sharing their experiences and motivational tools. Just trust me on this one.

the pluses and minuses of #acwri self-diagnosis
I really enjoyed reading this piece by Pat Thomson. Although in all honestly unless you wish to hear about her dogs growing older, you can skip down to the paragraph right below the dog photo. Thomson gives a reality check on the struggles of academic writing.

Seven Habits Of Organized People
Because we all could probably use a little more organization in our lives I’ve included this post on Seven Habits of Organized People.

Membership in TAA at No Cost to You!
My final note to you this week is to check out this great post by Kevin Patton. Yes, it’s a post about TAA, but I think it’s an important read if you are on the fence about becoming a TAA member. (Spoiler alert: We’re offering a free 60-day trial membership until March 1, 2015! You’d be crazy not to at least try it. That’s my shameless plug for the week.)