2018 Textbook award-winning insight (Part 1): Deciding to write and getting the interest of a publisher

We recently reached out to winners of the 2018 TAA Textbook Awards and asked them to answer some questions about how they made the decision to write their textbook, how they interested a publisher, what they do to boost their writing confidence, how they fit writing time into their schedule, and more. We will be sharing their answers in a series of posts over the next few weeks.

This first installment of the four-part series focuses on why they decided to write their textbook, and how they got the interest of a publisher.

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Beware of fake journal acceptance letters

An April 18, 2018 article on the Society for Scholarly Authors’ blog, The Scholarly Kitchen, called attention to a scam in which unknown individuals, using fake acceptance letters, are promising publication in the journal of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The article’s author, Angela Cochran, ASCE’s associate publisher and journals director, said that over the last five years, the society has become aware of seven fake acceptance letters for its journals.

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Rejecting the premise of writer’s block: Write your way out

When you talk with academic writers about productivity, you are likely to hear the term ‘writer’s block’. Despite the prevalence of this term, I am resistant to identifying common academic writing difficulties as writer’s block. Most writers who are struggling with their writing are actually struggling with their thinking. That isn’t just a semantic quibble: it matters that we grasp exactly what is inhibiting our writing processes. When we diagnose ourselves as having writer’s block, we can start to believe that we aren’t currently able to write. If you find yourself with a sore leg, it may well be that avoiding walking is a sound strategy. If you find yourself unable to write, might it be a sound strategy to avoid writing? The answer to that question is almost always no. Not writing has little-to-no curative power, in my experience.

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Member Spotlight: Noelle Sterne

TAA member Noelle Sterne is an Independent Academic Editor, Author, Consultant, and Writing and Creativity Coach. She is an industry professional with experience in the English, Education, Nursing, Faculty Development, and Social Sciences writing disciplines.

Her most recent publication is Challenges in Writing Your Dissertation: Coping With the Emotional, Interpersonal, and Spiritual Struggles (Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2015). She published two other books previously: a spiritual self-help book and a children’s book of original dinosaur riddles. She has also published over 400 essays, writing craft articles, short stories, poems in print and online publications and blogs. She contributes regularly to four publications: TAA’s blog, Abstract, Two Drops of Ink, Transformation Coaching, and FromAddict2Advocate.

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Member Spotlight: Kathleen P. King

TAA member Kathleen P. King is a Professor at the University of Central Florida, CEO of Transformation Education LLC, and both a textbook and academic author in the education, faculty development, and adult learning writing disciplines.

Her most recent publication, Technology and Innovation in Adult Learning published by Wiley/Jossey-Bass, is a 2018 Textbook Excellence Award (“Texty”) winner. She has published 32 books – 22 as author/co-author/editor and 10 as series editor.

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4/25 TAA Webinar: ‘How to Structure and Write an Article Abstract’

What makes for a strong article abstract? How much is too much, not enough, and just right? What goes in and what stays out? The abstract to your article is often the first thing that readers and reviewers see, and setting the right tone up front can influence the way the rest of your text is received. Join us Wednesday, April 25 from 3-4 p.m. ET for the TAA Webinar, “How to Structure and Write an Article Abstract”,  presented by Mark Pedretti, Director of the Center for Writing and Rhetoric at Claremont Graduate University.

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