Pay to play: Are submission fees common for publication in journals?

There seem to be many recent email messages, advertisements, and calls for journal submissions that have touted competitive or lower than average submission fees. From a traditional perspective of submitting work to academic journals, you may 1) never paid for submission of articles, and 2) been wary of those journals who required payment for submission, thinking them to be less credible “pay to play” sources of publication.

With evidence of a more common practice of submission fee requirements, we solicited the opinions of TAA members Jörg Waltje, executive director of the Center for Faculty Excellence at Texas Woman’s University, and Patricia Goodson, presidential professor for Teaching Excellence and director of POWER Services for Texas A&M University, who provided different perspectives.

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#AcWriChat Tweet Chat: Not on Twitter? Watch live here on 12/1 at 11 am ET

TAA and SAGE Methodspace are co-hosting a series of Tweetchats for the exchange of ideas and resources about academic writing and publishing. Join SAGE Methodspace’s Janet Salmons and TAA’s Eric Schmieder on Twitter Friday, December 1 at 11 a.m. ET using the hashtag #AcWriChat to discuss submitting proposals, or watch here on the TAA Blog on our live Twitter feed. View a recap of the 11/3 Tweet Chat – Get Organized View a recap of the 11/17 Tweet Chat – Writing Productivity

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The most useful textbook & academic posts of the week: November 24, 2017

During this last full week of Academic Writing Month (AcWriMo) 2017, we focused on sharing ideas. In this post, we share some of the top posts of the week including information on a new publishing company, what makes a good article title, how to express authorial presence, manuscript drafting advice, student reading patterns and OER, and tips for finishing your book. Paulo Coelho reminds us that “Writing means sharing. It’s part of the human condition to want to share things – thoughts, ideas, opinions.” This week, share your ideas and, as always, write.

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10 Remedies for mid-book slog

When the contract arrived for my book Challenges in Writing Your Dissertation, I levitated and floated on the ceiling. My proposal had been accepted, my outline was complete, and my files of notes overflowed. I dove into the full book head-on, bounding out of bed early every day, even Sunday. With not a single email detour, I clicked the manuscript onto the screen and started typing. I would easily make the agreed-on publisher’s deadline.

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6 Ways to take control of your day

Dr. Jane Jones, academic editor and consultant at Up In Consulting, recently presented, as part of the TAA fall webinar series, “The Academic Juggle: Managing Your Writing in a World of Commitments”. Focused on the academic who is juggling multiple commitments and projects, Dr. Jones shared the following six strategies for taking back control of your day, reducing the overwhelm, and feeling more accomplished professionally.

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