WIPO Publishes Contracts Toolkit for Authors and Publishers

The World Intellectual Property Association (WIPO) has published a new toolkit for authors and publishers that includes “a checklist of the most essential considerations while drafting and concluding a contract.”

Contracts in Publishing: A Toolkit for Authors and Publishers, was drafted by Brian Wafawarowa, Chairperson of the Publishers Association of South Africa (PASA), and Isobel Dixon, a renowned South African poet and Head of Books at Blake Friedmann Literary Agency in the UK, in consultation with several international author and publisher organizations.

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Macmillan Learning CEO Susan Winslow on ‘How Authors and Educators Can Shape AI’s Future in Education’

Macmillan Learning’s Marisa Bluestone posted an article in the publisher’s online Macmillan Community about CEO Susan Winslow’s Keynote presentation at the 2024 TAA Conference, “The Very Human Experience of Learning.”

The article, “How Authors & Educators Can Shape AI’s Future in Education,” shared how Winslow’s discussion with the authors in attendance, many of whom are also faculty, “focused on the critical role that they can and should play in guiding AI use in the classroom.” Bluestone recapped Winslow’s key message in her Keynote, that “learning is very much a human experience and while the integration of AI and other tech tools in educational settings may change how teachers teach and learners learn, the core of the experience—what makes us want to learn—has not.”

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Author Tech Tool Suggestions: For the Tech Bewildered

By John Bond

We are living in a Golden Age of technology for authors. But sometimes these new or improved tools can be intimidating. Here are some simple steps for getting started on considering these tools that might improve your writing output and quality.

Before we start, take an inventory:

  • Currently am I making the best use of my time?
  • Will new tools make me more productive?
  • What’s wrong with your current tools?
  • What is available to you now through your institution?
  • What’s your motivation for a change?

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Generative AI from a Writing Coach’s Perspective

By Dave Harris

Following last week’s conversation circle, I was thinking about the fear that AI may take our jobs. Professionally, as a writing coach, this struck me because fear is one of the great dangers to a writer. Personally, however, I’m not interested in using AI as a tool because I have my own ideas to explore and writing, teaching, and research all help me develop those ideas. My internal curiosity won’t disappear if some AI takes my job, nor will my need to find good ways to occupy my time. For those reasons, I will continue my work as a writing coach, teacher, and researcher.

If you have fears about AI taking your job, I want to encourage you to keep writing, teaching, and researching because it’s worth it. It’s worth it to keep writing because:

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Using an Epoxy Glue Analogy to Explain the Usefulness of Generative AI

By J. Anomdeplume

As to AI, here is the Epoxy Analogy. Wood-joiners have always required skill & patience. They use angled cuts & precise drilling to join wood for furniture and more. Then came epoxy glue.

Even at the private-workshop level, not in any factory, speed of production increased. It was a parallel to the Industrial Revolution. With, say, 24 hours of set time, wood-joiners now went on to other Projects, having invested only 10 percent of their “before the advent of epoxy” time on Project One. Economy of scale blossomed.

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New TAA eBook on Artificial Intelligence & Authoring Now Available

TAA recently published a new eBook, “Artificial Intelligence & Authoring: How Textbook & Academic Authors Are Navigating AI Tools Like ChatGPT,” that includes the results of two TAA surveys on AI and authoring and several articles showcasing how TAA members are utilizing AI tools.

AI tools like ChatGPT are being used by textbook and academic authors to increase productivity, generate first drafts, organize research, and more.

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