With membership in TAA, you are not alone. You become part of a diverse community of textbook and academic authors with similar interests and goals. We are pleased to announce the addition of 30 new TAA members who joined us in June 2020.
Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: July 3, 2020
Do you like what you do? Are you impressed with your writing, your research, and your ability to share your work with others? Maya Angelou defines success as “liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”
In this week’s collection of articles we have found advice on making your research paper more impressive, connecting with others, taking a chance and overcoming imposter syndrome, and ways your age affects your writing. We have also found guidance on marketing in times of crisis, technology trends impacting scholarly communications, and pros and cons of working remotely.
Why you should be podcasting. Right now
TAA Vice President, Kevin Patton, is an award-winning professor and textbook author in human anatomy and physiology (A&P). He has a podcast and several blogs about teaching and writing, including TheTextbookAuthor.org. On Thursday, July 9th, as part of the TAA Summer Webinar Series, he will relate his podcasting experience, outline many different benefits of podcasting, and give you loads of practical tips for starting and running your own podcast in his webinar session, “Why Textbook & Academic Authors Should Be Podcasting. Right Now”.
Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: June 26, 2020
Just “shut up and write”. Right? It seems simple to be a writer, until you realize that it’s not. Writer’s block, editing, reviews and criticism, etc. place barriers in a process that on the surface is quite simple. However, when we stop writing, when we stop moving forward. When we blame the culture, environment, timing, or circumstances around us we avoid failure. But, we also avoid progress.
In this week’s collection of articles from around the web, we see a lot of opportunities to avoid progress as well as ways to embrace change and opportunity. How you perceive the content in this collection will determine your continued success as an author. Whether facing changes and challenges related to COVID-19, equity, open access, and accessibility issues or embracing opportunities for marketing, managing your time, grant seeking, and overall success, this collection has something to learn.
Someone once said, “Avoiding failure is to avoid progress.” This week, let’s focus on failing forward together. Happy writing!
Strategies for revising and editing
During our last #AcWriChat Tweetchat event on June 12th, we discussed the difference between revision and editing in addition to strategies for completing both of these essential elements of the academic writing process. Chat participants Marc Ouellette and Sonal Mehta added their perspectives to the discussion.
Below is a summary of the ideas and resources presented during the event.
Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: June 19, 2020
As we prepare for the official start of summer this weekend, sights may be set on vacations, rest, and relaxation in the academic “off season”, but as evidenced by Meggin McIntosh’s session yesterday in TAA’s Summer Webinar Series, much can be accomplished during this time, especially for those of us focused on writing.
Our collection of articles from around the web shares advice on finding time to write, planning your calendar, and developing a sense of purpose and routine. It continues with research considerations for what to read, practices in the covid era, digital defenses, and tips for becoming an indie researcher. Finally, we close with some global topics of large-scale open access agreements, combatting counterfeiting, and more inclusive and diverse publishing practices.
As Jim Rohn once said, “Remember when you see a man at the top of a mountain, he didn’t fall there.” Set your intentions this week, plan your writing time, focus on the long-term impact of your work, and happy writing!