By John Bond
If you’ve ever stared at a blank screen and wondered how wide or narrow you should write, you’re in good company. The tension between writing narrow versus broad lives at the heart of scholarly publishing. It’s a classic dilemma: go deep and speak to a specialized very knowledgeable audience that truly gets it or go broad and frame your knowledge for readers across multiple disciplines. Let’s look at both approaches, because each has its own virtues, risks, and rewards.
Stay updated on the latest news, advancements, and changes that are shaping the textbook and academic authoring industry with our bi-weekly Industry News Round-Up. Have an item to share? Email Sierra.Pawlak@TAAonline.net.
Morris Brown College Removes President (January 14, 2026)
Researchers May Be Forced to Rely on a Court You’ve Never Heard Of (January 13, 2026)
By Dr. Nolle Sterne
Q: Maybe it’s the new year, but I can’t seem to get going on my dissertation.
—Word Dawdler
A: Sounds like you’re dragging your dissertation manuscript in sorry tow behind you like an annoying younger brother. You’re probably doing the impossible already—on campus or online, like many other graduate students—juggling family, work, and school. Your academic struggles are intensified by the stresses of such multiple responsibilities and too often you’re slowed down to stop.
Between December 2025 and early January 2026, the Textbook & Academic Authors Association conducted a survey seeking authors’ experiences filing claims in the landmark Bartz v. Anthropic settlement. The majority of respondents 87% (52) said they were educational/textbook authors, 23% (14) said they were university press/academic authors, 8% (5) said they were trade authors, and 3% (2) were unsure which author type they were.
While a majority of respondents to the survey said they had already filed claims (31 of 60), almost the same number of respondents said they had not (29 of 60).
On December 22, 2025, the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA) filed a motion to intervene in the Bartz v. Anthropic case, asking for an order to require curative notice and injunctive relief by Sage Publishing after the company sent a misleading email to its authors. In that email, Sage directed its authors to claim a specific percentage of the settlement and asserted that by not doing so, the authors could delay getting their payment. After negotiating with class attorneys and with Sage about sending a curative email that addresses the main concerns detailed by TAA in the motion, TAA agreed to withdraw the motion. Sage authors should receive the curative email this week.
TAA’s motion was filed after TAA Executive Director Kim Pawlak received an email from a TAA member on December 12 forwarding an email the author received from her publisher, Sage.
Stay updated on the latest news, advancements, and changes that are shaping the textbook and academic authoring industry with our bi-weekly Industry News Round-Up. Have an item to share? Email Sierra.Pawlak@TAAonline.net.
You Can’t AI-Proof the Classroom, Experts Say. Get Creative Instead. (December 16, 2025)
A Tumultuous 5 Years Leading the Nation’s Diversity Officers (December 15, 2025)
Justice Department Will No Longer Investigate Claims of Systemic Racism, Sexism (December 9, 2025)
A University Gave Guest Speakers a List of Banned Words. Was It Just Complying With State Law? (December 9, 2025)
