By John Bond
I have spoken to a fair share of happy authors over the years. Conversely, I have spoken with some disenchanted ones. They may have submitted their book idea (or whole manuscript) to several publishers and gotten no offer of publication. Also, some authors may submit a manuscript they labored over to a peer review journal and gotten nothing but the dreaded reject. No doubt this is a disheartening experience. It can hurt.
Business and Professional Communication Playbook, by Michelle T. Violanti and Stephanie Kelly, teaches students the essentials of business communication and necessary skillset that employers look for today. The authors use engaging examples, provide tips on how to carry yourself professionally, and incorporate real-life experiences from recent graduates to teach students how to communicate like a professional through focused, bite-sized chapters. Published by SAGE.
TAA member Steven Barkan, a retired professor of sociology at the University of Maine, recently published an updated edition of his textbook, Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World, Brief Edition Version 4.0 (FlatWorld, 2025). This update includes a new “Critical Thinking About the Media” feature that discusses contemporary news or social media to stimulate analysis and class discussion and incorporates over 30 embedded hyperlinks to streaming videos to enrich online and hybrid courses. Congratulations, Steven!
By Dr. Noelle Sterne
Q: How do I tell my chair I don’t want his suggested topic for my dissertation?
— Scared of Retaliation
A: As an advanced graduate student, you face many hard situations: finally writing the dissertation, explaining to your family why you can’t spend any time with them, and breaking up fistfights between your chair and committee members. More students than you’d imagine encounter another high-anxiety-making scenario: when your chair suggests your dissertation topic.
Early in the dance, your professor’s “suggestion” could be a replication of the study he just had rejected, the study she’s just started, his secondary research interest, or her department head’s major obsession.
The “Getting to Yes” Guide for ESL Students and Professionals, by Barrie J. Roberts, guides non-native English speakers though Getting to Yes, the international bestseller on “win-win” negotiation. Each chapter provides a lesson plan and activities along with page-by-page explanations of words, idioms and concepts. Use this book to help non-native English speakers negotiate on an equal footing with fluent English speakers. Published by the University of Michigan Press.
I’m sure many people wished you “Happy New Year.” But what does it mean when it comes to writing? In other words, what can you do to feel happier in your writing practice? To address this question, it’s essential to first define what happiness means.
According to Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness and The Myths of Happiness, happiness is to be happy in and with our lives, meaning that you (a) experience more positive emotions than negative ones, (b) feel that your life is good and meaningful, and (c) are satisfied with the progress you are making toward your life goals.
In this article, I outline specific actions you can take to cultivate a greater sense of happiness as a writer, based on these three aspects of happiness.
