Reflecting on 2019

Before we set down our pens on the year that has past and turn the page in our journals to the new one ahead, we offer a final post for 2019. 

It’s been a busy year for us here at the Textbook & Academic Authors Association. Nearly 600 new textbook and academic authors have joined us, 11 webinars were hosted, 31 textbook awards were given, about 150 members convened in Philadelphia for our annual conference, 29 TweetChat events were held, and more than 200 new articles were published on the blog.

As we look forward to the exciting things on the horizon for 2020 and beyond, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of the things that made 2019 great at TAA.

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7 Ways to maintain a writing practice between academic terms

During our final #AcWriChat TweetChat event of 2019 on Twitter, December 13th, we focused our discussion on ways to maintain a writing practice between academic terms. Now in the final week of the year, amidst the holiday season, in the middle of most academic breaks, we wanted to share the list of TAA article resources included in that event.  

If you’re looking for a little inspiration to boost your productivity, adjust your routine, focus on your writing efforts, or enjoy a little break from the academic term, there’s surely something below for you in these seven ways to maintain a writing practice between academic terms.

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Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: December 27, 2019

As is often the case during this holiday season, sources of academic writing experience and wisdom are quieter than usual, and those making noise across the internet are often reflective as we close one year and prepare for the next. In this week’s collection of articles from around the web, we found both advice for improving writing, research, and impact, as well as reflections on some of the accomplishments and best advice of 2019.

Ray Bradbury once wrote, “And what, you ask, does writing teach us? First and foremost, it reminds us that we are alive and that it is a gift and a privilege, not a right.” In this last weekly post of 2019, we remind you that your writing is a gift and one that you should treasure year-round. See you again in 2020! Happy writing!

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Take some time away from work to work

We often think of the December-January holiday break as the midpoint of the academic year. Faculty need recuperative time to gear up for the semester or term, for course planning, fine-tuning, or writing syllabi.

But, what about your own writing projects? In early December, many of my clients need to step away from their daily writing practice to dive into their grading, with final grade deadlines looming. We talk about scheduling for the first week of January, and then we talk about how it will be more likely the second week of January before they sit down to begin writing again. In fact, I start to get a little nervous for them, because I know that come the second week of January, for many of them, the course planning and syllabus fine-tuning will take place that did not happen after the grading in December. And, that is okay. I get it.

However, as you look ahead to classes beginning again in mid-to-late January, what about your own writing? Does it stress you out? If it does, let’s do this instead.

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The 2019 textbook report

As we near the end of the decade, textbook authors face a myriad of changes in industry structure and public perception reflected and fueled by the headlines in the news. In her annual textbook report, veteran author June Jamrich Parsons shared some of those headlines and the details behind them with attendees at her 2019 conference session in Philadelphia, PA.

Below is a summary of her presentation, including key takeaways about industry profitability, textbook prices, publishing formats, and instructor perceptions.

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Top 5 tips for creating and maintaining a successful coauthoring relationship

Frank Carrano and Timothy Henry have coauthored two editions each of computer science textbooks Data Abstractions & Problem Solving with Walls And Mirrors C++ and Data Structures and Abstractions with JAVA. Here they detail their top five tips for maintaining a successful coauthoring relationship.

1) Have a Coauthoring Contract or Agreement

When you and your coauthor decided to work together, you may have been long-time friends and coworkers, you may have been connected by your publisher, or you may have met at a conference. However the relationship was established, it is important to have your writing relationship clearly stated in a contract. A coauthoring contractual agreement should specify royalty splits, writing responsibilities, and future edition commitments. If you have not worked together previously, you may want to consider a work-for-hire arrangement to test your ability to collaborate. This can reduce the risk to future editions. Another option is to add the coauthor for the current edition only. That is, amend your contract for one edition at a time.

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