How can you improve your writing and productivity, collaborate and network more easily, find new and unexpected experiences, disseminate your research more widely, and build your reputation? Start a blog. Academics can realize many benefits from blogging. This infographic shares ten of those benefits:
The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: February 5, 2016
“I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.” —W. Somerset Maugham Do you sit and write religiously at the same time every single day? Disciplined like a marathon runner is to running every morning? Sometimes discipline and routine come easy. We have a goal that we want to achieve or a passion we are pursuing. But this isn’t always the case. Sometimes we have to force ourselves to be disciplined. We have to force ourselves to show up every day. Rewards and fast approaching deadlines do this well. Even frequent breaks and change of scenery can help. But what other strategies do you use? What do you do on those days when anything at all seems more appealing than sitting to write? Happy writing!
Is digital really better than print? Authors share their perspective
While the debate over print versus digital textbooks (etextbooks) is not new, the content of that debate has shifted in recent years to which is a more effective learning tool for students. As publishers, instructors and students push towards offering more digital textbooks and learning products, will the benefits outweigh the negatives? Several studies have found that it not only takes readers longer to read text on a screen, they tend to skim much more and thus absorb and retain less information than reading from a physical book. Other etextbook readers have reported the tendency to multi-task while reading. One study reported that 90% of students said they were more likely to multi-task when reading onscreen versus 1% who said they multi-task when reading a print book.
Join us in San Antonio for TAA’s 29th Annual Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference!
Mark your calendars, the Textbook & Academic Authors Association’s 29th Annual Conference is fast approaching. Don’t miss out on this valuable two-day writing conference where you will gain inspiration for your writing projects, network with veteran authors, and learn strategies to help increase your publishing success. The conference program is ambitious, offering a wide variety of session topics for both veteran and novice authors. Register soon to take advantage of early registration rates.
Call for nominations to TAA Council
As a member-driven organization, TAA relies on members’ willingness to get involved in governance and other activities of the association. The TAA Governance Committee announces a call for nominations for two open Council positions. Nominations must be received by March 1, 2016. The term for Council positions is three years, with terms starting July 1, 2016. Council members are required to attend two meetings per year, one in January in St. Petersburg, Florida, and one the day prior to the association’s annual conference, held traditionally in June. Most travel and lodging expenses related to attending these meetings is reimbursed. Any member of TAA is eligible to serve on the TAA Council.
The most useful textbook & academic writing posts of the week: January 29, 2016
As an author you have to have a thick skin. You have to be both patient and persistent. You have to be brave. Lacking in any of those qualities is sure to leave you feeling inadequate and even paralyzed to get words on to the page. It is imperative that you remember, as Greg Daugherty reminds us, “rejected pieces aren’t failures; unwritten pieces are.” If you finished a marathon but didn’t win, are you a failure? No. You put in the hours, you showed up, and you finished. If you fall, you get yourself up, dust off, and continue—just as you should with any rejection you receive in your writing career. The only sure way to fail is to not try at all.