To reduce writing anxiety, it helps to re-imagine the practices in which you engage. People who struggle with writing anxiety often think of “writing” as only meaning the most difficult projects—the dissertation, the journal article, etc. They reduce “writing” to only those projects where they face serious writing blocks and anxiety. Meanwhile, these same people often write eloquently and effectively in a number of other roles—they email friends, they reach out to scholars whose work they appreciate, they make posts on social media, they complete administrative and educational materials, etc.
Welcome new members to TAA: January 2022
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 27 new TAA members who joined us in January 2022.
Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: February 4, 2022
Roald Dahl once said, “A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it.”
While our collection of articles from around the web this week (and most) identify many of the challenges of academic writing (and ways to navigate or face those challenges), there are also countless opportunities to advance the world around us through our efforts.
Ask most authors if they have gotten rich from their writing and you will likely hear a resounding no, but it’s worth considering the other forms of compensation that may exist for us fools who choose to write. Happy writing!
Tough love for dissertation drafts
As a dissertation editor and coach, I have much empathy for beleaguered doctoral graduate students wrestling with their tomes. Many candidates seem to get little support from their chairs in guidance, writing, or cheering on. However, a student recently brought to my attention an impressive exception.
At this university, the doctoral students were advised to maintain associations and seek dissertation feedback from their cohort members with regular group meetings. In addition, this chair, unlike many others, held bimonthly meetings (probably uncompensated) with his struggling dissertation students.
Member Spotlight: Daniel G. Bachrach
TAA Member Daniel G Bachrach is Professor of Management and Robert C. and Rosa P. Morrow Faculty Excellence Fellow at The University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Business and is an academic author in the management discipline with additional academic writing in the areas of transactive memory systems and team performance.
His latest publication is Exploring Management, 7e and he is currently working on a revision of a textbook, Management (Schermerhorn and Bachrach), 15e, published by Wiley, which is coming out in 2022..
Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: January 28, 2022
What are your writing goals? What do you hope to accomplish and how will you get there? Sylvia Plath kept hers simple when she said, “Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences.”
In this week’s collection of articles from around the web, we see strategies for keeping up with information, facing changes to the academic publishing industry, sharing or marketing our work, and managing our inner critics.
Whatever your writing goals, work towards those that let you live, love, and say what you need to – in good sentences. Happy writing!