I recently reached out to winners of the 2016 TAA Textbook Awards and asked them to answer some questions about how they made the decision to write their textbook, how they interested a publisher, what they do to boost their writing confidence, how they fit writing time into their schedule, and more. I will be sharing their answers in a series of posts over the next few weeks. This week’s installment focuses on why they decided to write their textbook, how they got started, and what they do to boost their confidence as a writer.
TAA announces 2016 Textbook Award winners
Seventeen textbooks have been awarded 2016 Textbook Awards by the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA). Three textbooks received 2016 William Holmes McGuffey Longevity Awards, six textbooks received 2016 Textbook Excellence Awards, and eight textbooks received 2016 Most Promising New Textbook Awards.
What is the best way to handle pre-contract communication with a prospective publisher?
TAA Member Kamalani Hurley from Leeward Community College asks: “What is normal in the timeline between an acquisitions editor expressing interest in publishing my material and the written contract?”
Textbook author Mike Kennamer, who is director of Workforce Development at Northeast Alabama Community College, and Julia Kostova, an acquisitions editor at Oxford University Press, share their advice:
5 Key takeaways from today’s OneNote webinar
“Get Organized With ‘OneNote'”, presenter Eric Schmieder shared tips on using OneNote to organize your thoughts, ideas and projects. Here are 5 key takeaways from the presentation:
[Infographic] TAA announces results of 2015 Textbook Author Survey
A survey of 403 textbook authors by the Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA) and digital book pioneer and industry expert June Jamrich Parsons has found that most have the same royalty rates for digital and print. Only 6 percent of respondents reported higher royalty rates for digital versions. This infographic illustrates the key findings of the survey.
5 Ways to minimize writing anxiety & maximize self-efficacy
Academic writers often have high writing anxiety, so you’re not alone if you feel anxious when you write, said Margarita Huerta, assistant professor of educational and clinical studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. They also tend to have low self-efficacy, she said, which can lead to less confidence in their capability to write.