7 Candidates running for two seats on TAA Council

Seven candidates are running for two open positions on the TAA Council, the association’s governing board. Council members serve three-year terms beginning July 1, 2016.

To be eligible to vote, individuals must be members in good standing. Members received an email with a link to the election ballot on March 4. If you are a TAA member and cannot vote electronically, contact Kim Pawlak at Kim.Pawlak@TAAonline.net or (608) 687-3106 to request a paper ballot. The deadline for voting is April 1, 2016. Winners will be announced April 6, 2016.

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The most important thing you’re ignoring: Ergonomics

Writing is a necessary part of your career. Whether your goal is to become a successful textbook author, gain tenure at your university, or publish various other types of scholarly works, you will have to make writing a large part of your life. Just as anyone who lifts weights, runs, or bikes knows, the proper form and equipment are necessary to avoid injury and stay on track with their training. These same principles are true for writers. To stay at peak performance level, that is to say, to stay writing (and comfortably) it is imperative that you have the proper ergonomics.

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8 Academic blogging questions answered by veteran blogger Mark Leccese

There are various benefits academics can reap from blogging. Mark Leccese, author of The Elements of Blogging: Expanding the Conversation of Journalism and the blog The Elements of Blogging, shared many of those benefits with TAA members in his webinar, Blogging for Academics: A Journalist Turned Academic Offers Tips, Techniques, Inspiration and a Few Warnings. What perhaps is even more valuable is what Leccese shared in regards to how academics can reap those benefits. Below you’ll find his answers to eight pressing questions academics have in on blogging.

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The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: February 26, 2016

Print this quote and keep it next to where you write. This way, you will always be reminded, “The first draft is nothing more than a starting point,” as Andrew Stanton urges. You do not have to get the words out perfectly the first time; you just have to get them down. Remember, editing (and editing over and over again) exists for a reason! Below you’ll find excellent articles from around the web this past week. From the future of textbooks to how to get your first academic paper published, and so much in-between, I know you’ll find an article that is useful to you. And, as always, happy writing!

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Join us 3/10 for the TAA webinar, Get Organized With ‘OneNote’

Learn the power of Microsoft OneNote 2013, an unsung hero of Microsoft Office that can be used to organize your thoughts, ideas and projects in one place, accessible whenever and wherever you need them. Join us Thursday, March 10 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET for the TAA webinar, “Get Organized With ‘OneNote”, for an overview of OneNote 2013, its features, and the ways to access and edit your OneNote notebooks from a PC to web browser, or mobile device. Register

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The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: February 19, 2016

What sorts of strategies do you use to catapult you into your day’s writing? Do you do as Jerry Jenkins does and start the day with “a heavy edit and rewrite” of the “previous day’s work”? Maybe you do as Rachel Toor suggests: “leave off at a point where it will be easy to start again.” Rachel adds: “Some writers quit a session in the middle of a sentence; it’s always easier to continue than to begin.” Various other writers suggest using bullet points at the end of a writing session that point them in the direction they want the writing to go when they next return to it. Perhaps you have a completely different method altogether. If you do, I hope you will share it in the comments below this post. Happy writing!

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