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 148 new TAA members who joined us in October 2020.
Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: October 30, 2020
Mark Twain once said, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is … the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” Writing is a continuous search for the right word, the right fit, and the right connections.
As textbook and academic authors, that search for what’s “right” may be in the relationships with co-authors and editors. It may be what’s right from a social justice perspective. It may be what’s right in our preparation, process, and delivery of content. Or it may be what’s right for publishing our work.
Busy TAA People: Cassandra Baker
TAA member Dr. Cassandra L. Baker’s first book, Key Tools of Writing and Research: A Guide for the Student Writer, was published by Kendall-Hunt Publishing in January 2020. Baker is an instructor of business management at Gwinnett Technical College and founder of Prama Publishing and Sugar Hill Research and Consulting.
“TAA was exactly what I needed to assist me in succeeding with my project,” said Baker. “I am now writing my second book. Thank you TAA! I use the resources that TAA provides to continue educating myself on publishing and the publishing industry.”
TAA Membership Marketing Manager, Eric Schmieder, is a panelist on upcoming SAGE webinar
As part of Academic Writing Month (AcWriMo), TAA’s Membership Marketing Manager, Eric Schmieder will be participating in a SAGE Publishing webinar on Monday, November 16 titled “What do Publishing Trends Mean for Academic Writers?” moderated by TAA Council of Fellows member, Janet Salmons.
Today’s landscape of academic publishing encompasses much more than the traditional journal article. While academic writers still write books and articles, forms and formats are changing. Electronic journals can include links to media, and increasingly open access journals make it easier to reach academics, professionals, and practitioners outside a specific discipline.
2020 Academic Writing Month (AcWriMo) is coming soon!
Every November, the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA) joins with academic authors around the world to recognize and promote the month-long academic write-a-thon event, Academic Writing Month (AcWriMo). Started in 2011, this event encourages academic authors to focus on daily writing habits that move their projects closer to completion.
For the past three years, TAA has expanded their bi-weekly discussions to host weekly TweetChat events at the Twitter hashtag, #AcWriChat during the month of November.
How authors build structural equity and inclusion practices through open access
This year’s Open Access Week theme is “Open with Purpose: Taking Action to Build Structural Equity and Inclusion”. According to Nick Shockey in his #OAWeek blog post announcing this year’s theme, “Diversity, equity, and inclusion must be consistently prioritized year-round and integrated into the fabric of the open community, from how our infrastructure is built to how we organize community discussions to the governance structures we use.”
With this in mind, the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA) is exploring the author’s role in building those priorities into our work – in both open access and traditional publishing environments.