In the hands of an experienced teacher and motivated students, a textbook can be a powerful tool for learning. As with any tool in one’s toolbox, a design that enhances utility, and thereby improves performance, can make a textbook an effective, frequently used implement. As a textbook author, I realize that although effective communication of content is at the center, my textbooks will be used successfully only if the instructional design promotes learning.
5 Phases of a royalty audit
In her TAA webinar, “The Anatomy of a Royalty Audit”, royalty auditor Juli Saitz, senior managing director for Ankura Consulting Group, shared the five phases of a textbook royalty audit: preparation, paperwork, communication with the publisher, document analysis, and the publisher’s response.
Welcome new members to TAA: February 2018
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 45 new TAA members who joined us in February 2018.
The most useful textbook & academic posts of the week: March 2, 2018
This week’s collection of academic and textbook articles have a theme of learning. Perhaps you’re looking to learn how to author academic books, manage an Early Career Researcher blog, or write peer-reviewed research articles. Maybe you’re exploring or developing a threshold concept, working with Big Data, or examining changes in research workflow. Possibly you’re seeking solutions to drive down the cost of textbooks. This week’s collection covers them all.
No matter your learning path, keep in mind Isaac Asimov’s insight, “It’s the writing that teaches you.” Wishing you a great week of learning through writing!
My life as an alt-academic
I learned the term alt-academic (or alt-ac for the trendy) only recently. A colleague told me she wanted to do a book on PhDs who chose not to join “the academy.” In today’s economic climate, university positions for academics with advanced degrees seem more coveted and harder to get than ever. So they seek alt employment.
5 Steps to formatting your academic book for print through CreateSpace.com
As an author and publisher (and new member of TAA) preparing manuscripts of my own design and assisting other authors to do the same, I needed a service that was cost-effective and efficient. After researching several different services, I selected CreateSpace.com, which is a part of Amazon, because it allowed me to print quality textbooks for pennies on the dollar. I also like this service because of the free ISBN number and the fact that if you intend to revise an edition you can lock in the ISBN number for subsequent editions.