2018 Textbook award-winning insight (Part 3): Pedagogy and marketing involvement

We recently reached out to winners of the 2018 TAA Textbook Awards and asked them to answer some questions about their textbook writing. The first installment of this four-part series focused on why they decided to write their textbook, and how they got started. The second installment focused on what they do to boost their confidence as a writer, how they fit writing time into their schedule, and what software they use.

This third installment in the four-part series focuses which pedagogical elements in their textbook they are most proud of, and what involvement they have had in marketing their book.

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Member Spotlight: John W. Budd

TAA member John W. Budd is a Professor at the University of Minnesota where he holds the Industrial Relations Land Grant Chair, and both a textbook & academic author in the employment relations writing discipline.

His most recent publication is Labor Relations: Striking a Balance, 5th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2018). The 1st edition won a “Texty” Textbook Excellence Award in 2005. He has also published three previous university press books on work and employment relations.

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Member Spotlight: Mike Kennamer

TAA member Mike Kennamer is a Director of Workforce Development and both a textbook & academic author in the education and health sciences writing disciplines.

He has four textbooks currently in print. The most recent revision was the second edition of Math for Healthcare Professionals, published by Cengage. 

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The most useful textbook & academic posts of the week: May 11, 2018

One thing’s for certain in life. The future is always unwritten. No matter the past experiences or institutional standards, we must change, adapt, and grow with each day – and our writing must as well.

This week’s collection of articles from around the web begins with writing habits, creative research methods, practices for overcoming writer’s block, and ways to evaluate data sources. It continues with exploration of fears and uncertainties related to sharing grant applications and pursuing a PhD as a single parent. Finally, we close with considerations of changes in subscription models, including cancellations of traditional journal subscriptions by universities, and the impact of recent changes in how Facebook is sharing data with the research community.

M. Kirin reminds all authors that “you’re writing someone’s ‘future’ favorite book.” Despite any challenges, fear, anxieties, or past experiences, I hope this week you can focus on the future and share your message through your writing.

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