As an exclusive bonus for attendees at TAA’s 2021 Virtual Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference, twelve textbook and academic authors have shared practical advice through a series of “How To” videos on topics relating to scholarly writing, time management, productivity, publishing, online presenting, and more. Each video is a brief 5 to 10-minute segment packed with information to move your writing practice forward.

We’d like to thank the following authors for sharing their expertise.

Danielle S. Apfelbaum, Scholarly Communication Librarian, Farmingdale State College

Danielle S. Apfelbaum is a Senior Assistant Librarian at Farmingdale State College, where she serves as the Scholarly Communication Librarian. Her primary responsibilities include but are not limited to assisting faculty and staff with navigating copyright, fair use, open licensing, and open access publishing. She received her Creative Commons Certification in October 2018.

Apfelbaum contributed the following videos to the library:

• 8 Tips for a Productive Writing Sprint
• How to Decipher the Creative Commons Licenses
• Partnering with Librarians: Enhance Your Writing & Publishing Experience

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Julie P. Combs, Professor, Sam Houston State University

Julie P. Combs is director of the Center for Research and Doctoral Studies in Educational Leadership at Sam Houston State University. Julie conducts research in the areas of school leadership, doctoral studies, and college readiness. Her most recent publications are “The Hiring Process Matters: The Role of Person-Job and Person-Organization Fit in Teacher Satisfaction” and “The Trust Factor: Strategies for School Leaders” available from Routledge.

Combs shared her expertise in how to “Manage Your References with Mendeley”.

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Dave Dillon, Professor, Grossmont College

Dave Dillon is counseling faculty and a professor at Grossmont College. He curated three OER for College Success courses, including Blueprint for Success in College and Career (Rebus Community, 2018). He recently chaired a California Community college Academic Senate OER Task Force resulting in the appropriation of $6 million for building a sustainable OER ecosystem. Dave is currently a Stanford University Global Studies Fellow and is passionate about student success, textbook quality, access & design.

Dillon contributed “Behind the Scenes of OER Basics: Considerations and Starting Points” to the library.

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Tara Gray, Professor, Director of Teaching & Learning Center, New Mexico State University

Tara Gray serves as an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and the first director of the Teaching Academy at New Mexico State University (NMSU). She has published 50 scholarly works, including four books.Tara is the author of Publish & Flourish: Become a Prolific Scholar. She has been honored at NMSU and nationally with ten awards for teaching or service. Tara has presented her workshops to more than 10,000 scholars at more than 120 venues in 35 states, and in Thailand, Guatemala, Mexico, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Workshop participants report that Dr. Gray is “spirited, entertaining, and informative—she’s anything but gray!”

Gray contributed advice on “How to Write Daily” to the library.

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Ramona L. Hyman, Assistant Vice-president of Faculty Development, Oakwood University

Dr. Ramona L. Hyman serves as Assistant Vice-president of Faculty Development at Oakwood University. Author of two collections of poetry, In the Sanctuary of a South and I Am Black America, her literary work has been published in numerous journals and anthologies. She is a recipient of numerous grants and awards, and has served as an adjudicator for Faculty Research Awards for the National Endowment for the Humanities, Washington, D.C.

Hyman contributed the following videos to the library:

• Creating Your Oral Presentation – Tips
• Grant Writing Tips for State Grants

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Meggin McIntosh, Professor Emerita, University of Nevada, Reno

Meggin McIntosh, Professor Emerita (University of Nevada, Reno), now known as The PhD of Productivity, is an author, coach, and workshop leader. Through her coaching business, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., she works with overwhelmed academics who would prefer to be overjoyed, instead. Meggin has been called “an educational treasure” and has won every teaching award for which she was eligible at the University (locally, state-wide, and regionally). Her mission is inspiring joyful work.

McIntosh contributed the following videos to the library:

• Ten Techniques for Writing Productively
• Ten Tricks for Writing Productivity

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Erin McTigue, Writing Coach, The Positive Academic

Presenter: After being a tenured professor at Texas A&M University, Erin McTigue started her own business, The Positive Academic, through which she mentors and coaches academics in writing and productivity, as well as runs workshops. While at Texas A&M, she co-directed a university-wide writing support program and developed an academic writing course for international students. Erin is widely published, has won teaching and mentoring awards, and continually aims to bring a lightness of spirit to the weight of academia.

McTigue contributed her experience on “How Kanban Flow Can Help Writers: How and Why to Use It!”

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Felicia Moore Mensah, Professor, Teachers College at Columbia University

Felicia Moore Mensah is an Associate Dean and faculty member in the Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology at Teachers College Columbia University. Her research addresses diversity and equity in science education. She advises and mentors students and faculty across the college and other institutions. Felicia has sponsored more than 35 doctoral student dissertations and has served on more than 90 dissertation committees, including international. Through Sister of the Academy Institute, she has been a member of TAA for 12 years.

Mensah contributed her expertise on “How to Use OneNote to Construct a Literature Review” to the library.

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Kevin Patton, Professor Emeritus, St. Charles Community College

Kevin Patton Ph.D., is a textbook author and active in TAA as Vice-President/President-Elect and member of the TAA Council of Fellows. His experience as a podcaster, host of the AcademicPodcasting.org community, and his work with media that led him to write a best-selling book on remote teaching, has taught him a lot about sounding professional in when presenting virtually, podcasting, or teaching online.

Patton shared the following videos in the library:

• Polishing Your Virtual Persona: Easy Tips to Look Better
• Polishing Your Virtual Persona: Easy Tips to Sound Better

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Eric Schmieder, TAA Membership Marketing Manager, Author/Co-author of Computer Technology Textbooks

Eric Schmieder is the Membership Marketing Manager for the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA). He has taught computer technology concepts to curriculum, continuing education, and corporate training students since 2001. A lifelong learner, teacher, and textbook author, Eric seeks to use technology in ways that improve results in his daily processes and in the lives of those he serves. His latest textbook, Web, Database, and Programming: A foundational approach to data-driven application development using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, MySQL, and PHP, First Edition, is available now through Sentia Publishing.

Schmieder added the following two videos to the library:

• How to Use Styles to Build a Table of Contents and Document Framework
• How to Create a Manageable Routine for Publishing Social Media Content

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Nic Voge, Senior Associate Director, Center for Teaching & Learning, Princeton University

Dominic (Nic) Voge is Senior Associate Director of Princeton University¿s McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning and co-author of Life Beyond Grades: Designing College Courses to Promote Intrinsic Motivation (Cambridge University Press). His doctoral work at UC Berkeley focused on college literacy, particularly socio-cognitive approaches to the study and teaching of reading and writing. Nic also writes and speaks about motivation, student engagement, and understanding and overcoming procrastination (TEDx Princeton).

Voge shared ideas on “Reconceptualizing Writing To Increase Productivity: A Cognitive Processing Model of Text Composing” in the library.

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Sean W. Wakely, Vice President of Product and Editorial, FlatWorld

Sean Wakely is Vice President of Product and Editorial at FlatWorld. Sean possesses extensive higher education publishing experience gained by working at Cengage Learning, Thomson Learning, Pearson Education, and Houghton Mifflin’s college division. He’s held positions as a sales representative, college acquisitions editor, professional books editor, editorial manager, and, just prior to founding Academic Author Advisers, was a senior executive for Cengage Learning’s global product planning team and National Geographic Learning group. He is also coauthor of Writing and Developing Your College Textbook: A Comprehensive Guide, published by TAA.

Wakely contributed his advice on “How to Work Productively with Your Publisher: Investigate, Collaborate, Communicate”.

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Gain access to this library of helpful tips and tricks and take part in the remaining sessions at the 2021 Virtual Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference by registering now! Conference registrants can access the videos here.