Download this 17-page eBook, packed with helpful information for textbook and academic authors on how to be more productive through writing accountability, including:
Project management was originally developed for civil engineering, but even if you are writing a book instead of building a bridge, there are useful approaches to borrow that will improve your work flow. In a previous article, I described that within project management, tools can be roughly divided into “project definition tools” and “implementation tools.” Project definition tools are those that help you determine the scope, the tasks, and the budget (i.e., time), whereas implementation tools are those that help you conduct the work. Here, I focus on the latter, and present two tools from the lens of project management for writing.
It’s one thing to have a dream. It’s another to do the things needed to achieve it. Every dream, including your dream of publication, comes at a cost. That cost will be different for every dream and every dreamer, but there are some common realities to all of them, perhaps the most important being that it is possible to pay too much for your dream.
To avoid paying too much, you must first identify what your dream is worth and measure the likely costs of achieving it.
So, what is your dream worth? Unfortunately, only you can determine the answer to that question. And you must answer that question before you can answer the bigger cost question of “Are you willing to pay the price for your dream?” To help you evaluate the value of your dream, let’s explore how to measure the costs of pursuing a dream.
In their recent TAA webinar, “Writing a Dissertation and Beyond: Tips & Tools for Launching and Maintaining Your Academic Writing Productivity“, presenters Danielle Feeney and Margarita Huerta discuss research-based, practical tools and tips that have helped them successfully complete dissertations and launch productive academic careers. Among the tips and tools shared during their presentation was the use of a writing matrix.
Are you an academic author who is working on multiple projects at the same time? If so, you understand the challenges associated with keeping track of all the pieces for each project in order to meet individual submission deadlines.
In her recent TAA webinar, “Juggling Multiple Writing Projects…and Completing ALL of Them“, Christine Tulley, author of How Writing Faculty Write and career advice columnist for Inside Higher Education, shared two key systems to log all stages of all of the projects and schedule writing time for each to aid in multiple writing project management.
Right off the bat, my answer is a likely no. But I have to confess I am a writer, author, librarian, editor, publisher, book lover and book collector, so maybe I am not the best judge.
Perhaps you think you have too many books at work or at home. Perhaps you have had an “intervention” by your spouse, officemate, or friends. In that case, read on. Perhaps with the holidays upon us, new books as gifts from friends might put you over the top!
Here are some questions to think about as you ponder your books:
