Have you ever noticed that pretty much any advice related to making progress suggests the same idea?
Track your progress.
Gain valuable advice and insight, get your questions answered, or just make a connection for when you need help in the future by signing up to meet with a mentor at the 2023 TAA Conference on Textbook & Academic Authoring, which will be held online June 9-10, 2023.
The deadline for signing up for mentoring is May 15. Limited slots are available and are offered on a first come, first-served basis, so don’t delay, register for the conference today!
Choose from nine different mentors for up to two 15-minute one-on-one discussions:
The big day has arrived. You look in your In Box and there is an email from a journal editor. You submitted your manuscript over 60 days ago and have been patiently waiting for their decision. The big day is here. You click on it. There is likely one of four decisions.
Good news no matter what the decision is! You are moving forward. Here is some advice for understanding their decision and what it means to you:
The first article in this series, based on Rachael Cayley’s October 19, 2022, TAA webinar, “Confronting the Anxiety of Academic Writing,” considered the importance of taking academic writing anxiety seriously. The second discussed Cayley’s suggestions for tackling the intellectual and practical difficulties associated with writing.
In this third article, we delve into the first of Cayley’s three principles for reconceptualizing writing: using writing to clarify your own thinking. In subsequent posts, will discuss the other two principles: committing to extensive revision and understanding the needs of the reader.
Many think about writing a scholarly textbook years before actually picking up the pen to do so. That prelude is like musicians tuning up before a performance. It is an investment of time that is as critical to finishing a book as to beginning it. For a writer, the prelude is a time to organize notes and references. To draft and redraft a table of contents. To organize notes. To connect with potential editors. To investigate potential audiences and find colleagues who would consider adapting it in their teaching. The prelude contributes to the ease with which you can write the book and lays the foundation that there is an audience for it.
Crafting a persuasive academic book proposal is essential for convincing a publisher to accept and publish your work. It is a critical part of the publishing process, as your proposal will need to be both well-written and convincing. Your proposal should be clear, concise, and compelling, setting out the argument for why your book deserves to be published. It must also be relevant to the publisher’s mission and contain a comprehensive outline of your book’s structure. In order to create a persuasive academic book proposal, you must have an in-depth understanding of your topic, the market for your book, and the publishing process. You should also have an understanding of the audience for your book and the best way to communicate the value of your work to the publisher. Crafting a persuasive academic book proposal requires skill, knowledge, and creativity, but with the right approach, you can create a proposal that stands out and gets accepted.
