Productivity tips for authors ‘on the go’

Q: As a “pro on the go” what do you do to ensure you can stay productive?

A: Eric J. Schmieder, author, presenter, and computer technology instructor:

As a corporate trainer and adjunct instructor, I am always on the road and find myself relying more on my mobile device to stay connected, stay productive, and better prepare me to get things done when I do find a place to land with my laptop. I find it important to arm myself with the best tools to keep moving on my long-term projects.

For academics: Are your kids growing up without you?

You were probably thrilled beyond words (mono- and polysyllabic) when your kids were born and you witnessed the true miracle of those so-young lives. The kids grew older, and you hunkered down into your academic career. Maybe your feelings changed—you don’t love them any less, but you may see the children as distracters and interrupters of your work. After all, we have important completions of all the conference abstracts, articles, books, chapters, dissertations, even the course syllabi. And we need to finish all these projects for advancement.

Granted, children can be annoyances and disrupters. Most of the time, though, barring a fall from the tree house, they are bothering you because they want—no, crave—your attention.

Meggin McIntosh to present 2-hr webinar on marketing for academics

Imagine having people read your writing! Imagine having others interested in your work and talking about it! Imagine your efforts receiving recognition! Guess what?! You have to market yourself and your work and you don’t have to spend a lot of money or hire a PR firm.

Join us Monday, May 1 & 8 from 2-3 p.m. ET, for this two-part focused and practical TAA webinar, “Marketing? You’re Kidding Me! I’m an Academic! Marketing that Matters (Lessons from a Puffin)”, where you’ll learn:

10 Tips to help you evaluate an index for quality

The book you have spent so long writing and editing is almost ready to be published. It is in its final layout, and has been proofread multiple times. The one hurdle remaining is the index. Finally, you receive the index manuscript for review. While it may be tempting to give the index just a cursory glance before blessing it with your imprimatur, it is worth investing a modest amount of time to ensure that the index does your book justice. A complete and well-constructed index adds real value to your book by making its content more accessible to readers. How can you be confident that the index you receive is good enough for your book?