Considering Writing a Textbook? Questions to Ask

By Sierra Pawlak

In her November 9, 2022, TAA webinar, “Textbook Authoring Inspirations, Insights, and Innovations”, award-winning textbook author Jamie Pope shared several questions you should ask yourself before writing a textbook. Those questions include:

  • What’s the book’s primary focus and level?
  • Who’s your target audience?
  • What are your qualifications to author the book?
  • How does it differ from other books on the market?
  • Why would someone adopt it over your competitors?

She used these questions to contrast what went right with her successful textbook, Nutrition for a Changing World, the recipient of a 2020 TAA Textbook Excellence Award, and what went wrong with a creative trade book proposal that was never published.

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Writing is Thinking: Why It Should Be Integrated Early in the Process of Earning Your PhD

One discussion during a December 2023 TAA Conversation Circle on Writing a Dissertation centered on why writing should be integrated early in the process of earning a doctorate. Three academics who have earned their doctorates weighed in. Here are their thoughts.

Dr. Vernetta K. Mosley, a consultant and writing coach with Cultivate the Writer, explains that in her experience, students in non-writing intensive PhD programs tend to wait until the very end of the program to focus on writing, when it should be part of the process from the beginning.

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Busy TAA People: TAA Member Angelica Ribeiro Authors New Book on How to Create Happiness at Work

TAA member Angelica Ribeiro, Ph.D. recently authored a new nonfiction book, How to Create Happiness at Work: Seven Evidence-Based Strategies to Enjoy Your Day (Kindle Direct Publishing, March 2024).

Based on scientific evidence and her own journey toward happiness in the workplace, Ribeiro shows how to create happiness at work, especially if we have experiences such as too much sitting; too little movement; too much time stuck in traffic; too little time building positive habits; too many tasks to do; too few hours of sleep; too much computer work; and too few social interactions.

Combining storytelling and science, Ribeiro shares how we can transform such experiences into happiness strategies, including making time to move, building positive habits during traffic, and creating social connections at work.

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New TAA Professional Directory Listing: ‘Being Lazy and Slowing Down,’ A Service Provider for Academics’ Wellbeing

Being Lazy and Slowing Down, a service provider for academics’ wellbeing led by Kimine Mayuzumi, was recently added to TAA’s Professional Directory in the Academic Writing and Productivity Coaching category.

Being Lazy and Slowing Down offers a globally acclaimed blog emphasizing the significance of speed bumps and holistic perspectives for academics. Their services assist overwhelmed academics in transitioning from anxiety and burnout to ease, focus, and fulfillment while maintaining productivity on their terms.

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Busy TAA People: TAA Council President Paul Krieger’s A&P Books Transformed From Print to Digital

TAA Council President Paul Krieger has been busy transforming his popular Visual Analogy Guide book series from print into digital and interactive books with Top Hat. His anatomy & physiology book, A Visual Analogy Guide to Human Anatomy & Physiology, went live on the platform at the end of January and his anatomy book and physiology books, A Visual Analogy Guide to Human Anatomy, and A Visual Analogy Guide to Human Physiology, will go live at the end of February. Congratulations Paul!

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Macmillan Learning’s Susan Winslow to Give Inaugural Michael Sullivan Lecture on Textbook and Academic Authoring

Susan Winslow, from Macmillan Learning, has been selected to give the inaugural Michael Sullivan Lecture on Textbook & Academic Authoring as Opening Keynote at the 2024 TAA Conference on Textbook & Academic Authoring in Nashville, TN June 21-22. Her presentation, “The Very Human Experience of Learning,” will dig deep into the moments that make learning special: the emotions, the bonds we form, the aha! moments, and those big motivations that stick with us for life.

As AI becomes a bigger part of education, we can’t forget that at its core, learning is a human thing. It’s all about finding the right mix of tech and touch. The session will help us to understand the different ways to blend modern tech with the timeless human side of learning to help engage and inspire students.

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