For doctoral candidates struggling with their dissertations, Challenges in Writing Your Dissertation, by Noelle Sterne, is different from other how-to-write-your-dissertation books: they deal with the structure and contents. Challenges, with lively examples, humor, and provocative questions, addresses the surrounding, often overlooked or ignored but crucial aspects that can seriously delay dissertation completion: emotional, interpersonal, and even spiritual issues.
2025 TAA Conference Featured Book: ‘Gateway to Music’
The award-winning Gateway to Music, by Jocelyn C. Nelson, broadens standard notions of music with an introduction to local and global musical traditions, blended with social, cultural, and historical contexts. It is ideal for music courses and an engaging source for any music lover. No musical background necessary.
Use code TAA20 for 20% off during checkout!
Habit and the Love of Wisdom
By Dave Harris
As a writing coach, I focus on practice and the idea that, for any skilled activity, practice develops skill, and that no matter what our level of mastery, we always benefit from practicing the skill. In this context, “practice” means both small-scale, focused, repeatable, low-consequence activities to increase a skill that will serve their larger purpose (e.g., musicians practice scales to support their ability to play music, tennis players practicing serves to support their ability to compete effectively) or, at a larger scale, an entire career involving actual performance (e.g., a doctor’s medical practice, which has very real consequences for patients).
TAA Member Seeks Participants for Personality, Decision-Making Survey for New Book
TAA member Dr. Derrick Darden is seeking participants interested in completing a short, 3-minute, anonymous survey for his new book, Understanding Personality Traits and Decision-Making Styles. The purpose of the survey is “to explore people’s personality traits and decision-making styles. Our goal is to gather valuable insights to help individuals better understand their strengths and challenges in making choices and navigating life. Your participation in this survey will contribute to our understanding of human behavior and decision-making processes. Your input is valuable to us, and we appreciate your time and effort in helping us with our research.”
2025 TAA Conference Bookstore Featured Book, ‘The Reciprocal Relationship of Culture & Leadership’
The purpose of The Reciprocal Relationship of Culture & Leadership, by Millicent Lindiwe Ndaba, is to demonstrate how culture and leadership interact with each other contextualising this using South African organisations. This seeks to contribute towards building effective global leaders that are in touch with reality. Demonstrating how their behaviour make the families, organisations, societies, countries and the world better places to live/work.
Should You Index Your Own Textbook?
By Ken Saladin
Most authors may not want to index their own textbooks. Indexing has to be done quickly when paginated proofs become available, yet it comes at a time when we’re very busy proofreading the final pages, writing front matter, and getting the book to press. It also must look, to most, like a tedious chore. It may seem better left to a professional indexer, even if the cost is borne by the author.
Even aside from the cost, there are good reasons to leave it to the pros. Indexing is a complex skill that requires understanding of not just the book’s subject matter, but its audience, the publisher’s practices, and the stylistic mechanics of good versus amateurish and dysfunctional indexes.