Why textbook & academic authors should make time for Twitter

Of the major social media platforms, Twitter is, in my opinion, the most effective for wordsmiths like textbook and academic authors. The 140-character constraint on tweets—the messages one posts on Twitter—turns out to be rather freeing: the site rewards concision and encourages straightforwardness.

Specialists like textbook and academic authors can and should use Twitter for professional marketing purposes—to demonstrate their know-how, interface with other experts, reach readers, generate leads, generate publicity for their work, and make professional connections. All of these aims can be furthered with Twitter—it’s just a matter of tweeting intentionally.

Why textbook & academic authors should make time for Twitter Read More

7 Reasons academics should blog

Blogging can be an effective tool for promoting your academic works and establishing yourself as a voice of influence within your academic discipline, said Kevin Patton, author of several anatomy and physiology textbooks including the 2016 Textbook Excellence Award-winning Anatomy & Physiology 9e.

“A blog provides a virtual ‘home base’ to share information about your writing, teaching, and academic interests,” he said. “It provides you an effective outreach tool to network with your peers and students, and allows you to tailor your messages to the specific audience you wish to reach.”

7 Reasons academics should blog Read More

8 Academic blogging questions answered by veteran blogger Mark Leccese

There are various benefits academics can reap from blogging. Mark Leccese, author of The Elements of Blogging: Expanding the Conversation of Journalism and the blog The Elements of Blogging, shared many of those benefits with TAA members in his webinar, Blogging for Academics: A Journalist Turned Academic Offers Tips, Techniques, Inspiration and a Few Warnings. What perhaps is even more valuable is what Leccese shared in regards to how academics can reap those benefits. Below you’ll find his answers to eight pressing questions academics have in on blogging.

8 Academic blogging questions answered by veteran blogger Mark Leccese Read More

8 [MORE!] Academic writing blogs you should be following

The original, 8 Academic writing blogs you should be following, was so popular (and continues to be) it seemed fitting to bring you a second addition—not to mention the fact that the blogs below are worthy of being followed! In no particular order, here are eight academic writing blogs that offer superb advice on everything academic writing and publishing related, plus life as an academic:

8 [MORE!] Academic writing blogs you should be following Read More

How to build an academic brand online

If you Google your own name, are you happy with what the search results show about you and your work? If not, you may want to take steps to improve your online presence to better reflect your academic brand, which articulates your unique expertise and affects the way you are perceived both online and in the real world.

In a recent TAA webinar entitled, “Designing Your Online Presence to Communicate Your Academic Brand,” veteran higher ed blogger Lee Skallerup Bessette and academic branding coach Paula Thompson, both of Academic Coaching & Writing discussed ways to create or enhance your online presence to promote yourself and your work.

How to build an academic brand online Read More