We asked 2026 TAA Textbook Award winners what strategies they use to fit writing into their schedules, and they delivered. From early risers to the Nordstrom women’s sofa lounge, you’ll find a tip and location that speaks to you.

Q: What strategies do you use to fit writing time into your schedule? How much time do you spend writing each day?

A: Kristen Carioti, author of  Introduction to Personal Finance: A Step-by-Step Guide to Financial Freedom (1e), and winner of a Most Promising New Textbook Award:

“I was fortunate to receive a semester sabbatical from my University. Sabbaticals really help, but writing a textbook will stretch out much longer than one semester. I also had my fourth baby at the end of that sabbatical, which created a hard deadline for completing my first draft! Writing brings me balance and joy, so I’m motivated to prioritize it. I fit writing in by blocking time on my calendar, using winter and summer breaks, and hiring a sitter for weekend writing time blocks since my husband works weekends.

I bring my Mac with me everywhere. It’s always in my purse, so no matter where I am, I can write (if I feel like it!). I’ve gotten quite a bit of words down in my minivan, the Nordstrom women’s lounge sofa, and in the gym lobby while my baby was at the gym childcare.”

A: James Foulds, co-author of Data Mining, 5th edition and winner of a Textbook Excellence Award (co-authored by Ian H. Witten, Eibe Frank, Mark A. Hall, Christopher J. Pal, James R. Foulds):

“I discovered that carving out the time to write a textbook while holding down a full-time tenure-track job is very difficult. I stayed up late and worked on it after my wife and cats (and colleagues, and graduate students!) had gone to bed. I focused on it during the breaks between semesters as well. During the semester, I chipped away at it for 1-2 hours each day.”

A: David Tong, author of Lectures on Theoretical Physics (volume 1: Classical Mechanics, volume 2: Electromagnetism, volume 3: Quantum Mechanics, volume 4: Fluid Mechanics) 1e, and winner of a Textbook Excellence Award:

“I’m not the right person to ask about this. My intended strategy was to get up at 6 and get a couple of hours in before the day started. Then I’d get carried away and realise it was lunchtime and I’d missed meetings.”

 

A: Paige Allen, co-author with Oreta M. Samples of McCurnin’s Clinical Textbook for Veterinary Technicians and Nurses, (11e) and winner of a Textbook Excellence Award:

“I had several different strategies I used during the editing process.  I was working on this near my retirement date so I had to balance work, editing, private life.

• Time Blocking: Specific slots were reserved on a calendar to ensure work happened every day.
• Deliberate Balancing: Time was intentionally managed to balance editing with a professional career (near retirement) and private life.
• Incentivizing Progress: Milestones in the process were celebrated with “something special” to maintain motivation.
• Reader-Centric Review: Chapters were reviewed from the perspective of a new learner to ensure clarity and logical flow.
• Daily Time Commitment: My work was limited to a few hours each day. This specific duration was chosen to ensure focus remained sharp and the quality of the content didn’t suffer from fatigue.”

A: Regina Luttrell, co-author of Social Media and Society: An Introduction to the Mass Media Landscape (2e) (co-authored with Adrienne A. Wallace), and author of Social Media: How to Engage, Share, and Connect (5e) and winner of the Textbook Excellence Award:

“First, writing a book really takes a village. I could not do what I do without the support of the people at home. My husband and children, their encouragement, patience, and help make it possible for me to dedicate the time and energy that a project like this requires.

I also rely on being highly organized. Because my schedule is busy, I have to be very intentional about protecting writing time. I tend to get up early and do most of my writing in the morning, when my mind is freshest and there are fewer distractions. For me, consistency matters more than any single long writing session. Even when I cannot spend an entire day writing, making steady progress through regular, focused work helps keep the project moving forward.”

A: Chad Painter, co-author of Media Ethics: Issues and Cases (11e) and winner of a McGuffey Longevity Award (co-authored with Erin Schauster, Lee Wilkins, Philip Patterson):

“I’m currently a department chair, making my writing time quite limited. So, I set aside one day per week (for me, it’s Thursdays) as a research day where I stay away from campus and its many distractions and concentrate on writing. Each of the four co-authors comes from a media background (i.e., newspapers, advertising), so we’re all deadline-driven writers. We basically determine the manuscript due date with our editor, and then we work backwards on a timeline to ensure that every chapter is completed before that deadline. We also try to put in a little slack in case something breaks late. For example, the 10th edition of the book was due in February 2021. The book basically was finished minus some fine-tuning by the beginning of January, which was fortuitous for us when the January 6 riots happened and we could dedicate the time to figure out the best way to approach it in the book.”

A: Heather Miller Kuhaneck, co-author of Case-Smith’s Occupational Therapy for Children and Adolescents (9e) and winner of the Textbook Excellence Award (co-authored with Jane Clifford O’Brien):

“I am not able to start and stop in short bursts so I schedule entire writing days or at least 1/2 days, as often as I am able and then get fully immersed in it for the entire time I have. If I plan well, I can usually get to write one day a week (although that is sometimes on rainy weekends).”