TAA has hosted many dynamic audio conferences focused on increasing writing productivity and writing project success. Following are five specific…
The value of blogging about your textbook
As a supplement to a February 2012 TAA webinar, “The Benefits of Blogging About Your Textbook”, presented by Kevin Patton,…
How to negotiate textbook contracts strategically
Many textbook authors, especially new authors, are intimidated by the idea of negotiating their contracts, but strategic and artful contract negotiation is essential to ensure that you get the best offer possible.
“It is very important to negotiate your contract, because the first offer will not be the best deal, so you’ll just be leaving money on the table if you don’t negotiate,” said Stephen Gillen, intellectual property attorney at Wood, Herron & Evans.
Traditional vs. open textbook authoring: An interview with Steven Barkan
Steven Barkan is a Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Sociology Department at the University of Maine. He is…
3 Things book indexers wish you knew
1. Indexing is an editorial function. You own a spellchecker, so why do you continue to work with editors? That’s…
The writers’ workshop at work
When I first went back to graduate school in creative writing, after a lifetime in the publishing ‘hood, I told my friends that if they ever heard me use “workshop” as a verb, they should shoot me.
But now, with one foot in the academic world and the other in the muck of teaching creative writing, I think the writers’ workshop is an appropriate model for academics who want to make their manuscripts better. Creative writers have been “workshopping” each other’s stuff for a long time. The workshop model can lead to tears, to bruised egos, and, occasionally, to black eyes. But the right group can produce better work.