I had a conversation with a senior colleague recently about the purpose and value of co-author agreements in collaborative writing projects. He and I talk regularly about research and writing but had not touched on the nature of “agreements” in collaborations. He has built his career in a scientific field where co-authors are the norm, and the majority of his publications included graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, or government agency researchers as collaborators.
Most useful textbook and academic posts of the week: December 17, 2021
As we near the end of the calendar year, hopefully you are reflecting on your writing projects and establishing a plan for future efforts in the new year. In this week’s collection of posts from around the web we find both reflective and forward-facing content that may be of use in your personal writing efforts.
First, reflecting on what has been – whether tackling a revise & resubmit request, reconsidering a stalled book project, or turning your completed dissertation or thesis into a book.
Is there a market for your book?
Writing a book takes hours; perhaps a thousand or more including the research and editing. Needless to say it is a major commitment that authors expect will have a payoff of peer recognition, dissemination of ideas, and (gasp) maybe even a royalty payment. But how do authors know the marketplace wants their book?
Member Spotlight: Kim Mogilevsky
TAA Member Kim Mogilevsky is the CEO of Analytic Orange, Inc. and a textbook author in the social studies discipline. Her most recent publication is Florida History Makers: Myself, My School, My Community. She is currently working on more Florida History Makers social studies textbooks for grades 1-5.
The what, why, and how of an author promotional platform
All textbook, book, and monograph authors need a platform to help sell their idea to a publisher and their work to buyers and readers. Gone are the days that an author can ignore marketing.
What is an author promotional platform? Why should you care? How do you create one? And how do you keep it going? These are the central questions answered by publishing consultant, John Bond during his 2021 Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference presentation.
All the Right Words
Alas, this column is to announce that our marvelous Director of Institutional Memberships & Meetings, Maureen Foerster, has decided after 12 years with TAA that this is the right time for her to retire and start working on all those home projects, travel adventures, and family gatherings she has been saving up for retirement.
Those of you who have worked with Maureen know that her contributions to TAA are legion and will not readily be replaced (though we will, of course, make every effort to fill the gap!).